Fret Board ?

[Eddie LeBlanc]

BTW at one time Pau Ferro was a higher quality choice than rosewood in the manufacturing business.
It was only after the 2017 Law trying to prohibit the use of Rosewood, did Pau move into the more common models. And now Rosewood seems to be a rare choice.

Fender CITES Changes - Rosewood vs. Pau Ferro Fretboards

 

[Durham52]

I think Pau Ferro is fine. The fact that it is now commonly used for fingerboards/fretboards would suggest that is one of the woods that is suitable for the job.

When it comes to questions of density, hardness, oiliness and other properties which might be attributed to woods, I'm convinced that we attribute too much to the name, as if every piece of Pau Ferro, or Ebony is exactly the same, which of course it is not. Climate, soil fertility and other factors can affect how slowly, or quickly a tree grows and therefore how dense it's wood may be, how strait it's grain may be and a host of other factors.

Pau Ferro is listed on the wood data base as having a Janka hardness rating of 8,710N, slightly harder than Wenge, a little softer than Padauk and Bocote. But they're all significantly less hard than say Purpleheart at 11,190, Rosewood at 12,410, Ebony at 13,700, then the really tough stuff, Katalox at 16,260, Snakewood at 16,900, Gidgee at 18,990 and Quebracho at 20,340. *Note.(Hardness in wood is determined by how deep and impression a steel ball, of a a particular size, makes in the surface when pressed down with a particular amount of force.)

Of course individual pieces of Pau Ferro, depending on where the tree grew and what part of the tree the board was cut from, might be harder or softer that the average.

The reality is just about any reasonably hard and dense wood which produces a decent tap tone and has a workable gain, isn't too prone to warping, splitting, or shrinking excessively and which can be worked to a fine finish, should make a serviceable fretboard.

"Traditional" woods used for the job were selected because they met those criteria and probably also because they were considered attractive. There's nothing magical about them and they certainly aren't the only woods that can do the job.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Pau Ferro it is a tonewood, right? I'm buying a Fender Player Jazz Fretless Bass. What can I expect from this fretboard? The only thing I've found is that it is harder than rosewood. I have a MusicMan with ebony would that be close.

Man... this devolved into a tone wood debate FAST. I dunno if someone already said something to this affect, but the harder the fretboard material, the more of that fretless "mwah" sound you get.

 

[aetheldrea]

View attachment 4135344

Which part of the guitar vibrates the most? Have a guess.

I’m going to guess... the strings?
What do I win?

 

[Keith Guitars]

I've made many fingerboards from Pau Ferro over the years - easily upwards of 300,
both fretted and fretless, guitar and bass, electric and acoustic.
Also bridges and tailpieces for acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments.

It's a great wood. Stable, dense, resists string wear better than many (better than E. Indian Rosewood in my experience),
and takes a high polish. It's not too oily so it glues very well, and sounds great.
(Yes, it makes a difference. I and basically every other guitarmaker I know agree on that point.)

Although it's relatively recent to brands like Fender, many high-end small shop builders have been using it for years.
Sadowsky, Spector USA, Veillette, and Citron come to mind.
Peavey was using it on their USA stuff for a while also.
I honestly prefer it to Indian Rosewood. It can be a bit pale or 'washed out' looking sometimes, but
a nice dark piece can be stunning.

Cheers!
Martin

 

[Chrisk-K]

Pau Ferro

The ugliest wood in my book. I will never buy anything made of PF.

 

[Paul New]

I've made many fingerboards from Pau Ferro over the years - easily upwards of 300,
both fretted and fretless, guitar and bass, electric and acoustic.
Also bridges and tailpieces for acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments.

It's a great wood. Stable, dense, resists string wear better than many (better than E. Indian Rosewood in my experience),
and takes a high polish. It's not too oily so it glues very well, and sounds great.
(Yes, it makes a difference. I and basically every other guitarmaker I know agree on that point.)

Although it's relatively recent to brands like Fender, many high-end small shop builders have been using it for years.
Sadowsky, Spector USA, Veillette, and Citron come to mind.
Peavey was using it on their USA stuff for a while also.
I honestly prefer it to Indian Rosewood. It can be a bit pale or 'washed out' looking sometimes, but
a nice dark piece can be stunning.

Cheers!
Martin

Rob Allen doesn't agree.

 

[casbonano]

The only time I remember that the fingerboard on my player Jazz is pau ferro and not rosewood is when I see the bass from afar sitting on its stand and notice the wood is slightly lighter in color... or when on I get on TB.

I can’t say I notice a difference. I played two player series basses when I purchased mine. Identical specs. The one I purchased just happened to feel and sound like the best jazz I have ever personally played, while the other one felt cheaper than a Squier Affinity and sounded terrible. Same materials, including the fretboard.

I think if you get a good one, you’ll like the pau ferro just fine and find it to be similar to rosewood, really.

 

[Iridescentone]

Pau Ferro it is a tonewood, right? I'm buying a Fender Player Jazz Fretless Bass. What can I expect from this fretboard? The only thing I've found is that it is harder than rosewood. I have a MusicMan with ebony would that be close.

You can expect it to feel very smooth to the touch. Sound-wise, expect nothing IMO.

It seems that folks who dislike pau mostly complain that it doesn't "look" like dark rosewood. Personally I like pau more than the typical rosewoods that are available nowadays. It's not like Brazilian rosewood is an option anymore, so....

 

[Turnaround]

Pau Ferro is a great for my fretboards on most all of my Spectors. Actually harder than Rosewood.

Actually not. Janka hardness of Pau Ferro is 8,710 N, and Indian Rosewood is 10,870 N. Hard Maple is 6,450 N, so Pau Ferro is harder than maple, but not as hard as Indian Rosewood.

 

[BurningSkies]

You can expect it to feel very smooth to the touch. Sound-wise, expect nothing IMO.

It seems that folks who dislike pau mostly complain that it doesn't "look" like dark rosewood. Personally I like pau more than the typical rosewoods that are available nowadays. It's not like Brazilian rosewood is an option anymore, so....

The most beautiful fretboard I have is the Brazilian RW slab on my Telecaster. It was made for me in 2000ish when there was less issue with rosewood in terms of customs though still 'banned'. It was recycled from old furniture use, and thus sustainable. When oiled and not neglected it's really stunning. I don't have any issues with the Pau Ferro on my Dingwall Voodoo Prima, it's fine...medium color tone, medium grain, etc. Nothing bad, but definitely not a 'stunner'.

I also have a bunch of other Rosewood boarded stuff, some Indian, some farmed (maybe Indonesian? I'm not sure), that all looks the part of dark brown with darker grain throughout. It's all fine. My maple boarded instruments are also great. I've had a lovely bass with a wenge board and would totally do that again too.

For fretted bass these days I'm favoring my newest, a Dingwall Super P that has a really thick Macassar ebony slab that is dark and even looking.

In my playing experience the 'system' of your bass as a unit is much too complex to point to any one piece of wood as an explainer of much. You've got numerous pieces of wood put together in different ways, with different densities (no matter the type of wood), different consistencies, different geometries and levels of fitment. You've got variables in hardware (everything from the nut, to bridge to neckbolts, different electronics with levels of component precision. Does any one piece count? Sure. But they all count in different amounts and different ways based upon the actual instrument.

That said, as I mentioned before, when dealing with fretless where the wood IS your witness point rather than a fret, I'd consider it more of a contributor than otherwise when you've got a piece of metal for contact. There's also considerations in the surface, how hard it is, how well it will stand up to continuous wear, etc.

...So I generally think of the fretboard in terms of instrument aesthetics. I'd kind of like to do one with a super-figured piece of Ziricote if that's feasible for stability reasons. We haven't even mentioned that one yet.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Actually not. Janka hardness of Pau Ferro is 8,710 N, and Indian Rosewood is 10,870 N. Hard Maple is 6,450 N, so Pau Ferro is harder than maple, but not as hard as Indian Rosewood.

 

[Iridescentone]

In my playing experience the 'system' of your bass as a unit is much too complex to point to any one piece of wood as an explainer of much. You've got numerous pieces of wood put together in different ways, with different densities (no matter the type of wood), different consistencies, different geometries and levels of fitment. You've got variables in hardware (everything from the nut, to bridge to neckbolts, different electronics with levels of component precision. Does any one piece count? Sure. But they all count in different amounts and different ways based upon the actual instrument.

Agreed 100%. All those variables are why build 'expectations' aren't always met. There's a fairly wide "standard deviation" at work when it comes to woods. They don't always behave as expected and often overlap, especially when attached to other pieces of wood, which also may not behave as expected. But sometimes they do, there's an element of luck involved along with some predictability.

Hardware and electronics are reliably consistent, so they can be factored out of the equation when considering why two otherwise identical basses can sound wildly different. Enter the all-important neck/body "marriage". IME, that's the unavoidable 'wild card' at play.

Will anyone ever run an experiment with a large enough sampling of identical basses, but with different wood combos, to scientifically quantify exactly how much "wood matters"? I doubt it. All we really have are generalities and anecdotal personal experiences. But at least that's something, I suppose. Cheers.

 

[landrybass]

Pau Ferro it is a tonewood, right? I'm buying a Fender Player Jazz Fretless Bass. What can I expect from this fretboard? The only thing I've found is that it is harder than rosewood. I have a MusicMan with ebony would that be close.

I have a Jazz Master 6 string guitar with PF board. It sounds fine, does the job. Its a little orange but looks nice and darkens up with oil. My only gripe is that when it gets dry, which is easy this wood dries fast, it feels FURRRRRRY. Bends feel sticky at times. But its a mexican Fender so eh, its fine.