Walnut Fingerboard? OK or Bust?

[2tonic]

You're GTG.
Black Walnut can be incredibly hard, depending on which part of the tree it's harvested from, and how it is sawn.
It can be injected with polymers or Diamond Coated (fiberglassed) to achieve granite-like toughness.
It's a beautifully figured hardwood.
All that said, all it has to do is hold the frets.
Sure, the fretboard/neck sandwich is the resonant link between the nut and the bridge so the more rigid it is, the better, theoretically........... regarding sustain. A more flexible combo may have a fortuitous effect on tone.
Who knows? What's the reason for one piece maple necks, as opposed to a maple neck with a maple fretboard?
Again, the fretboard only holds the frets and provides you a tactile indicator that you have depressed the string as far as needed to fully contact the fret and not pulled it sharp. The frets are all that counts.
Proof? Ever seen a Gittler? It's a steel rod with frets suspended over it, no fretboard. Looks like a fish skeleton.
Sounds cool as hell. Blue light special cool.

 

[LowActionHero]

I don't know much about black walnut either, despite having 2 in my backyard, but i agree that if Gretsch used it, it's probably good. But the only way to if YOU like it is to order it and see. Looks, price and return policy are good - I'd try it!

I think with the 'end of Rosewood' looming, we'll be seeing lots of less popular woods being used.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I was going to put a walnut board on my next build, but chickened out. I'm using dyed maple instead.

Chicken, dyed.

How dark are you able to get the maple by dying it?
Is that the same as staining?

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I've used walnut for a couple of fretless instruments using flatwounds. No problem, but I did top coat the boards with water-weight CA which made it considerably more wear resistant.

Seems like a good way to go, doing the top coat.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I don't know much about black walnut either, despite having 2 in my backyard, but i agree that if Gretsch used it, it's probably good. But the only way to if YOU like it is to order it and see. Looks, price and return policy are good - I'd try it!

I think with the 'end of Rosewood' looming, we'll be seeing lots of less popular woods being used.

I think this is exactly why Gretsch is moving away from RW.
Wonder if FMI will move in that direction with their other instruments?
Maybe the Squiers will be next, reserving the Rosewood for the F brand?

But I don't think we'll see much poplar wood being used.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

You're GTG.
Black Walnut can be incredibly hard, depending on which part of the tree it's harvested from, and how it is sawn.
It can be injected with polymers or Diamond Coated (fiberglassed) to achieve granite-like toughness.
It's a beautifully figured hardwood.
All that said, all it has to do is hold the frets.
Sure, the fretboard/neck sandwich is the resonant link between the nut and the bridge so the more rigid it is, the better, theoretically........... regarding sustain. A more flexible combo may have a fortuitous effect on tone.
Who knows? What's the reason for one piece maple necks, as opposed to a maple neck with a maple fretboard?
Again, the fretboard only holds the frets and provides you a tactile indicator that you have depressed the string as far as needed to fully contact the fret and not pulled it sharp. The frets are all that counts.
Proof? Ever seen a Gittler? It's a steel rod with frets suspended over it, no fretboard. Looks like a fish skeleton.
Sounds cool as hell. Blue light special cool.

Lot of good stuff to consider.
I'm learning a thing or two about fretboards.
Never really gave it much thought before.
Thanks.

 

[Slidlow]

Chicken, dyed.
View attachment 2931575
How dark are you able to get the maple by dying it?
Is that the same as staining?

A lot of inexpensive violins used dyed pear wood for the fingerboard. Pear is pretty dense and fine grained and could be used dyed to desired color. Maybe any fruitwood as well like apple or citrus varieties.

 

[mpdd]

a little google question:
Do walnuts grow in china?
Rolling a pair of walnuts between palm and fingers—believed to improve circulation—has been a Chinese pastime for hundreds of years. ... Demand has grown alongsideChina's economic boom, and vendors say they are especially popular among the newly wealthy and gangsters profiting from Beijing's grey economy.Oct 14, 2014
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[ThinCrappyTone]

That's a great looking bass.

 

[Panada]

a better question might be: why did fender, et al, ever make a fb on a fretted board with ebony/rosewood/maple in the first place? the fb material on a fretted instrument is more about tradition/aesthetics = it's the frets which do the heavy lifting, not the fingerboard.

My understanding is that it was thought you needed a hard wood to hold the tangs of the frets firmly in place.

 

[JRA]

My understanding is that it was thought you needed a hard wood to hold the tangs of the frets firmly in place.

sure...when using wood in the first place. my point was that on a fretted, electric instrument the use of woods = tradition. leo used the most economical approach with the most ubiquitous materials of the time...

also: we keep that tradition alive with our money. as soon as an innovator/manufacturer comes up with a cheaper, 'better-than-wood' product some of us will be playing those. if trees ever become 'off-limits'* we'll all be playing those!



*some already are!

 

[jumbodbassman]

IIRC fender made a walnut precision special that was all walnut. they are pretty valuable and i have never heard a complaint abut the fretboard.

 

[muggsy]

IIRC fender made a walnut precision special that was all walnut. they are pretty valuable and i have never heard a complaint abut the fretboard.

View attachment 2931733View attachment 2931741

I was just going to post about those basses. I have one, it's 35 years old and there are zero issues with the walnut board.

 

[James Collins]

Who knows? What's the reason for one piece maple necks, as opposed to a maple neck with a maple fretboard?

Separate fretboard is probably the more traditional way. Single piece maple neck is easier to carve on a CNC and probably requires less glue time-still needs a little for the skunk stripe to place the truss rod. I also assume it is a little easier to repair a broken truss rod in a situation with a glued on fretboard.

That said, my understanding is a multi-laminated neck (say 5 or 7 pieces and a separate fingerboard) creates a more stable neck that holds up to temperature/humidity changes better. I imagine in practice it is a marginal difference.

 

[jamro217]

Chicken, dyed.
View attachment 2931575
How dark are you able to get the maple by dying it?
Is that the same as staining?

I haven't started on it yet, so just how it will turn out is a mystery. If it comes out grey or olive green, it'll get a coat of paint instead. It's going to be a fretless, so I wanted to try and make it as sturdy as possible. I wasn't 100% sure about the walnut, but hard rock maple is a sure bet. BTW, is that the next generation tribute to The Atomic Rooster?

 

[UNCLE SUSAN]

Ask Steve Wishnevski at Wishbass.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Ask Steve Wishnevski at Wishbass.

Thanks.
I've got an email in to FMI asking several questions including the fretboard ones.
I'll let everyone here know what they say.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I haven't started on it yet, so just how it will turn out is a mystery. If it comes out grey or olive green, it'll get a coat of paint instead. It's going to be a fretless, so I wanted to try and make it as sturdy as possible. I wasn't 100% sure about the walnut, but hard rock maple is a sure bet. BTW, is that the next generation tribute to The Atomic Rooster?

Emo chicken?
Punk Plymouth Rock?

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

All-righty then...
I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread.
Thank you.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger and put in my pre-order, order for the Gretsch Junior Jet, Walnut Stain (Black Walnut fretboard) bass. NBD will be a ways off as FMI has them going out in batches every couple of months.
Fingers crossed for late March, but if not, late May.

Anyway, David at FMI was very good about answering my questions.
Here are his responses to my inquiries about fretboard durability, holding frets, and tone.
I also asked if the Black model will convert to Walnut or continue using Rosewood.

-----
*** How durable do you expect these boards to be? >>> Very! They are a walnut and resin composite that is extremely durable and sonically awesome, we are quite pleased with it!

*** Will they have issues holding frets? >>> There should be none at all, we simply would not use it if it was a known issue.

Tonally it may be a bit crisper due to the density of the material.

Yes Black will convert as well if continued.
-----
That's all for now. Will report back on NBD.

 

[Englishman]

Just to mention in this thread, the dark stain Gretsch is using on their walnut boards rubs off easily on your fingers.