Fretless Zebrawood fingerboard?

[Bass Viking]

Here`s a photo of the Kiesel bass in question:

 

[Passinwind]

Good point. It would also depend on how highly figured the fingerboard is. A figured wood could help on a fretless by providing reference points, a birdseye maple for example (would probably require some kind of coating).

I'll ask my friend Marco Cortes about this next week when I go down to the shop. Pretty sure I've seen some zebrawood boards, but not on a fretless.

 

[ctmullins]

I wouldn't worry about hardness, the grain pattern i might find hard to deal with on a fretless though.

What makes you suppose that?

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Here`s a photo of the Kiesel bass in question:

View attachment 3263934

Ahhhh, you want an already built Carvin. I was going to say that you can have Carvin coat the board with superglue (cyanoacrylyte) but it is an option 50 (voids the 10-day trial.) I have an epoxy guy, if you need, but an epoxy job is labour intensive (i.e. expensive). I don't know if you are well versed in fretless but coated boards will sound different than wood. You will also need to plane coated boards too, they just tend to last a little longer.

 

[HolmeBass]

I haven't done anything more technical than cyanacrylate hardening via wiping and sanding, which is easy to do at home if you have adequate ventilation. But the luthier I design preamps for does acrylic infusion with a vacuum pump, which looks pretty DIY-able. One of the basses I got from him has an acrylicized spalted maple board that looks and feels a lot like ebony, but obviously with a different grain figure. I think you can find starter kits online, but I haven't dropped into that rabbit hole just yet.

And then he also does epoxy infused boards, which still show a little grain and feel a lot different than a coated and ground board a la Jaco, Thor, etc. This is my new one, which is epoxy infused purpleheart:

View attachment 3263367

I'm currently using GHS Pressurewounds on this, but my friend tells me that full roundwounds should be OK. Purpleheart is more or less in the middle of the rosewood family as far as hardness.

My goodness!! That purpleheart is striking and gorgeous!

 

[Passinwind]

My goodness!! That purpleheart is striking and gorgeous!

The whole bass is crazy. It was put together with leftover parts from a now defunct model line and that was the only unlined non-maple board neck we could find in the shop. I had a completely different body wood and finish in mind, but this pairing was a matched set and I thought it would be a nice change from all the natural finishes on my other basses. And then Marco decided it needed a different pickup set from any of his many production options, which will beget different electronics, and...

 

[HolmeBass]

The whole bass is crazy. It was put together with leftover parts from a now defunct model line and that was the only unlined non-maple board neck we could find in the shop. I had a completely different body wood and finish in mind, but this pairing was a matched set and I thought it would be a nice change from all the natural finishes on my other basses. And then Marco decided it needed a different pickup set from any of his many production options, which will beget different electronics, and...View attachment 3264047

I will go out on a limb and guess “crazy good”. Just a real pretty bass. With that fingerboard you could also go brightly painted body with neon strings and have a bass that would make a real big visual splash! But it works perfectly with that body too. Purpleheart and Osage Orange can be a really striking natural wood color combo, a buddy makes hand drums and has used that combination to great effect. Instead of carving the drums as per tradition he builds by gluing together vertical staves of wood.

 

[mmbass21]

I noticed a fretless bass on Kiesel`s In Stock page that has a zebrawood fingerboard. I`m curious if it`s durable enough? Does anyone out there have experience with this?

I have a Kiesel with a zebrawood fretboard (fretted) and it's fantastic. Definitely durable and looks even better! It looks like it doesn't have the hard as nails coating on the fretboard which is an option to increase durability. If that's something you want I believe it's something that can be added to an in stock item if the coating goes over everything. Definitely call them if you have questions.

 

[Bass Viking]

Ahhhh, you want an already built Carvin. I was going to say that you can have Carvin coat the board with superglue (cyanoacrylyte) but it is an option 50 (voids the 10-day trial.) I have an epoxy guy, if you need, but an epoxy job is labour intensive (i.e. expensive). I don't know if you are well versed in fretless but coated boards will sound different than wood. You will also need to plane coated boards too, they just tend to last a little longer.

I'm not buying it, just curious about zebrawood durability. It caught my eye because it's seeeeexy...

 

[Bass Viking]

I have a Kiesel with a zebrawood fretboard (fretted) and it's fantastic. Definitely durable and looks even better! It looks like it doesn't have the hard as nails coating on the fretboard which is an option to increase durability. If that's something you want I believe it's something that can be added to an in stock item if the coating goes over everything. Definitely call them if you have questions.

I`m not in the market but if I was I would probably order it as is, try it out to make sure I like it, and then have some kind of coating done locally. As DiabulousInMusic pointed out, having Kiesel do it would void the 10 day trial.

 

[Bob_Ross]

This is my new one, which is epoxy infused purpleheart:
View attachment 3263367

My pants moved.

 

[Passinwind]

I will go out on a limb and guess “crazy good”. Just a real pretty bass. With that fingerboard you could also go brightly painted body with neon strings and have a bass that would make a real big visual splash! But it works perfectly with that body too. Purpleheart and Osage Orange can be a really striking natural wood color combo, a buddy makes hand drums and has used that combination to great effect. Instead of carving the drums as per tradition he builds by gluing together vertical staves of wood.

The purpleheart will go progressively darker over time, eventually looking a lot like Indian rosewood. That body finish should still be pretty complementary as that happens, I think. I've already seen how that board looks with patina on it, as it sat collecting dust for a few years in my friend's shop. But I'll definitely enjoy the bright purple phase for however long it stays like that. The big deal is the sound, which is fab.