My Pedulla MVP has Cracks on the Ebony Fretboard

The main problem with ebony, is that its a very hard stiff wood. Because of this it doesn't respond to humidity changes very well.

The main thing you can do is to keep your bass in its case while not playing it so your bass can better acclimate to changes. One other thing you can do is oil your fretboard. I don't know if others recommend it, but I do it to all my guitars with linseed oil once every 6-7 months or so if I play the instrument a lot.

 

You can get the cracks filled if they become serious enough, but they don't look too bad in that pic.

Keeping the bass in its case will help some, but I'd recommend a small humidifier for the room/floor of your dwelling so that the bass isn't getting completely dessicated. A good fingerboard oiling would probably help, too.

 

I've got a '79 Les Paul Custom guitar with the same things. Does not affect playability.

 

I always oil my hard, stiff wood.

Seriously, I've always put oil on all my fretboards, which have been made of ebony, rosewood, pau ferro. The only time I've ever had fretboards crack are when I fail to oil them...especially in the winter months.

You don't necessarily have to keep it in it's case. I like to have my basses out on display, ready to pick up and play. But I also use a humidifier (ideally a whole house humidifier is best if you live in the northern states.

 

I just use lemon oil. I've used it for 30 years and never had an issue with it. Use it sparingly...very little goes a long way!

 

Those cracks will probably disappear in spring.

 

I have had really good results with this on my ebony board...

http://www.gerlitzusa.com/prd_honey.html

 

Just spray it on and rub it in with a soft cloth. Let it "soak into the wood" for ten minutes or so, and then go over the board with a soft cloth one last time. A little goes a long way.

 

There are many "fretboard specific" oils out there that
all do the same thing. In fact, the ones with petroleum
disolates {paint thinner} in them will actually dry out
the board. I could give you three that don't contain
Petroleum Disolates,
1. Wilberts Lemon Oil. {Pure thick lemon oil that can be found
in any supermarket}.
2.Hoppe's No#9 oil. {Typically used for firearms and rifle stocks, found in Walmart, Kmart, or any sporting shop.}
3. Power Chord. {Can be found in music stores or ordered
direct at www.powerchord-us.com }

All three of these will give you a supreme finish that will
last you for 6 months of heavy play, and a year of light play.

Keep On A Choppin.........!
P.S. I left one thing out! Try to keep your bass in a room that has roughly
the same temperature all year round.
For me, it's my basement. It's the warmest room in the winter, and coolest
in the summer, always ranging at about 72-74 degrees.

 

dude you're number one in the pedulla club, that's awesome. I'll be joining in like a week or 2!

i have no life

anyway, i can't really help here, but i'm gonna keep my eye on this for info cause i'm sure this problem will arise for me too eventually.

 

I use this on all my basses, bodies, necks and fingerboards. http://www.howardproducts.com/feednwax.htm

 

I was told you should avoid products with wax in them, as they can build up in the wood over time and make it less resonant. Or something.
A bottle of Formby's natural lemon oil furniture polish lasted me from college until my wife started using it to polish the furniture, which works out to about eight years.

 

Wow! Thanks for mentioning that. And falls in line with the advice to wait a day before unpacking a shipped guitar. Decades ago, a teacher recommended always keeping the bass in it's stand so you could always/easily pick it up and practice/write. Tsk, tsk.

 

This has been many years. I currently use the music nomad F1 oil but same practice

 

Oiling an ebony fingerboard is not going to keep it from cracking. The wood is so dense, the oil is barely penetrating below the surface anyway. The oil is more for aesthetics than actual maintenance. There are 200-300 year-old viol family instruments with perfectly healthy fingerboards that have never been oiled.

The reason ebony cracks like that is because it doesn't expand and contract the same way the neck wood does. The ebony is glued to the neck with a very high strength glue. Hopefully hide glue, but more likely PVA. Unless the glue joint fails, the ebony is going to be pulled apart when the other wood expands more quickly than the ebony can.

The phenomenon is not exclusive to ebony nor guitars. It happens in all forms of woodworking when you have disparate woods joined over a large surface.

The best solution is to keep the humidity stable year around.