Phenolic or composite fingerboards

Phenolic and composite are different words that describe the same thing. Phenolic is a "composite" material made from layers of resin impregnated textile material (paper, fabric, etc) that is compressed under heat . The resulting material is hard, strong, and can be engineered to have many different properties depending on it's end use. Do not confuse a composite fretboard with the fretboards that come on the Cort Curbow basses. These are Ebonol and a cousin to the engineered hard rubber originally developed for bowling balls. It is a true homogenous material without layers or grain.

I don't have a problem with synthetic fretboards. The only real difference I've noted is that they seem to project a bit of "clickiness", for lack of a better word. I find it hard to press the strings without hearing them contact the neck. Ebony doesn't do this for me. The tone from composite fretboards is great and I would use them in my own constructions if the material were a little bit more accessible and it were easier to work with.