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Fretless boards...hmm

B

bassjamm

Mar 22, 2006
154
0
#1
Hi all!

I've just given RIM basses a deposit for a Marseer lined fretless 6er, and i was wondering...are there any light woods that are any good for fretless boards? For instance...has anyone used Palemoon Ebony?

Failing that, what other woods could i choose from?

Thanks
Jamie

p.s. Robbie at RIM is helping me out on this one, i just thought i'd do a bit of research for myself. Thanks
 
#3
and if you're going to order it acrylic impregnated, you can even use spalted woods

I have a gorgeous slab of Tulipwood (not Tulip Poplar) that will eventually find its way into a fretless when I can locate a top that works well with the extreme figuring this board has.

all the best,

R
 
#4
Yeah, I think Tulipwood and Pale Mun ebony would be fine on a fretless. The Tulipwood (dalbergia frutescens) would be about rosewood-ish in durability and Pale Mun maybe a little more durable but slightly less than black ebony. The Pale Mun might be a bit busy for an unlined board if you spend any time looking down at where your hand is.
 
#9
Light in colour/appearance!!!

I'm going for a darker top, but something fairly extreme, like a highly figured Redwood burl or buckeye burl...or i can get my hands on a nice piece of Afzeila...but i think the burls are a little more up my street!!! So i'd like something that will go nicely with a darker busy wood...and if possible, i think the contrast of a light (in appearance) wood, would be pretty cool!!

What are stabilized woods?
 
#10
go check out the subforum in the sponsored section for larry davis. he's a good man and will stablise almost any wood you order from him if you ask for it.

you can get much much more information there, but its basically impregnating the wood with acrylic in a giant vacuum chamber. makes any wood feel like glass. and much more durable.

i think pale moon is the nicest wood ive ever seen.
 
#15
PM ebony is an excellent fboard wood.
I played brian b's oracle with it and it was a cross between
katalox and a rosewood if that makes any sense at all?!?
its dense but open, fine grained but not too dense.
its most similar to madagascar ebony in feel I guess is the main bullet point of this presentation.
:D
 
#16
mmmmmmm ... stabilized maple from Gallery Hardwoods

MapleAcrylicFingerboard_1.jpg


MapleAcrylicFingerboard_2.jpg


just arrived today :hyper: one slab will find its way into a 4-string fretless ... the other two are wide enough for a 6-string, but as of yet are not scheduled for a specific bass.

all the best,

R
 
#18
yessir - flat as can be

and I should note that this is not wetted in any fashion, just the bare dry wood as it arrived from Larry. I'll have to update the images after I get a shot with a little naphtha wiped on it ... YEOWSA

(and yes, I am glad that klocwerk doesn't know exactly where I live!)

all the best,

R
 
#19
bassjamm said:
Light in colour/appearance!!!
Click to expand...
Well, that simplifies things!

Avenbok. A.k.a hornbeam, IIRC.

Boring as plain maple, until you come closer... The most intreaguing light greenish grain pattern will come out. Quite less prone to yellowing than maple, stays white/green/grey for years. Hard enough and wear resistant (frequently used as bearing material in the old days).

It's a twisting and 'clover growing' tree, so choose your planks with some care. It has to be dry... ('Clover growing': the cross section of a trunk has a shape similar to a four leaf flower.)

To see an example, go to my website, the about page, and folow the link at the bottom. Bad pics, but something.
 

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