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Has pau ferro fallen from grace?

#42
darwin-bass said:
Seems that a decade or so ago, pau ferro was becoming fairly common, even showing up on Fender basses.

Now it seems like we're back to rosewood and maple with a dash of ebony. Did pau ferro prove to not be all that great or have people just gone back to what they're used to?
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It just never "made it" - again, people are used to what they're used to so this wood that looked a little like rosewood but felt more like ebony put people in mind of the 60s cheapoes where they darkened maple to give it the look of a cap and they didn't get past that first impression.
Pau Ferro is wonderful wood - indeed a cross between rosewood and ebony - but it's all about marketing - good things don't always last - easy to sell things do.
 
#43
TrustRod said:
Mike Tobias has used a ton of it. Fender at least for a while used it on 5 strings as it was easier to find wide boards. The color is lighter than rosewood and I think more people prefer the darker rosewoods.

This quote from Wikipedia sums it up well. Note the other names as some luthiers use those.

Its wood is often used for making fingerboards for electric basses and guitars. It has a similar feel and similar tonal attributes to rosewood, but is harder and has a slightly lighter colour. The wood may also be used for flooring, fancy furniture, and handgun grips. It is also known by the names morado, palo santo, caviuna, Brazilian ironwood, and Bolivian rosewood, though it is not actually rosewood.
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Yeah - that's the other thing - people are used to what rosewood looks like and Pau Ferro looks different and anything different is BAD always, no matter what. If Fender and Gibson didn't use it before 1964 it is EVIL and heralds the end of the world.
I mean, I love me some retro equipment - but that doesn't mean there haven't been innovations or discoveries or simply things the guitar companies had missed pre 1980.
 
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#44
Thought this might be of interest, for Roger's comments on the rosewood alternatives.

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I've got an NYC with Brazilian rosewood, and a Metro with morado. I like the appearance and feel of the morado just as much as the real rosewood. That's a matter of taste and preference, so YMMV. But last summer when I put some money down on a new NYC build, I asked for morado.
 
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#45
Ewo said:
Thought this might be of interest, for Roger's comments on the rosewood alternatives.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I've got an NYC with Brazilian rosewood, and a Metro with morado. I like the appearance and feel of the morado just as much as the real rosewood. That's a matter of taste and preference, so YMMV. But last summer when I put some money down on a new NYC build, I asked for morado.
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Granadilla..... wow. What a beauty
 
#47
OP here - the reason for my question is that I just purchased a Warmoth jazz neck with a pau ferro fretboad to use in place of my maple fb neck. The wood grain pattern really caught my eye. So far (less than a week) I'm quite happy with it. In my head it is just a very pretty, albeit lighter color, rosewood.

I'll have to get some pics of the bass with the new neck but for now, here their neck pic.
BN7725A.jpg
 
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#48
i just bought a fretless neck from eden, with a nice slab of indian rosewood for the fingerboard. if ebony had been an option i would have purchased that. but: i would have been happy with anything, really.

i just want my instruments to play well for me: i'm not too concerned about the fb wood choices. i don't know what/where my other rosewood fb's origins are. i'm sure i'd be just as happy with pau ferro. i'd actually like a maple fretless. maybe a fender is in my future!
 
#49
Axstar said:
In this case I think the onus is on Jeff Scott to quantify his post, as it seems like a fairly cattish retort otherwise. It shouldn't be up to Fender_Bender to go research something that has been thrown out like that. Imagine if I wrote a post voicing my concerns about the potential use of LiPo batteries as an emerging technology in active basses, and somebody turned my post around by saying "Well you've clearly not been listening to Bob Jenkins!". In this case I'm apparently an idiot for not knowing 1) who Bob Jenkins is and 2) his stance on LiPo batteries. In this case it seems to be a slightly lazy form of argument from authority; I don't have to make the effort of writing anything beyond mentioning Bob Jenkins, as citing his name is enough to turn an argument around.
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Saying "google is your friend" is like posting in all caps. It's often used in a context of being rude and looking down on another. So much so, that nowadays it should not be used in a discussion forum.

Think of a better way.
 
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#52
If not mentioned already, Musicman uses Pau Ferro on it's fretless basses. It is a very hard wood and holds up better than most for fretless fretboards.

From MM's website........
Fingerboard Fretted - maple or rosewood; Fretless - Pau Ferro with or without inlaid fretlines
 
#57
Fender's Jaco Pastorius Jazz model uses Pau Ferro. I chose Pau Ferro board on Maple neck for a custom Fretless neck recently. For fretless, it is supposed to wear better. Sounds sweet with some Rotosound nickle strings. Certainly wouldn't mind it on a fretted board either, beautiful wood.
 

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