What is your favorite fretboard material and why?
- Thread starter Marked Man
- Start date
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High Plains Drifter
... drifting...
I've got a Strat with rosewood board/ rosewood neck and it's insanely comfortable. Edges aren't rolled but they feel "soft". The solid rosewood neck gives a genuine sense of familiarity when playing. Also it's a very stable neck as well and stays in tune consistently regardless of slight temp/ humidity changes.
Black..
Maple is second as long as it's painted to match the body color.
Maple is second as long as it's painted to match the body color.
Pingu
NOOT NOOT
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Maple -> Ebony -> Rosewood (sorta)
I never thought about it until clicking this thread but I have a really heavy tapping hand and all the guitars I like to pick up for that sort of stuff have unroasted Maple boards (and also Maple or Mahogany necks).
I think flamed boards are the prettiest but very busy visually. I really love to look down at a Birdseye board while playing.
I visually love Rosewood fretboards and have no preference on whether or not my dark fretboards are RW or Ebony, but I find RW necks themselves to be too warm for me. Someone before me said it felt soft. I agree, but for me that's both in terms of feel and tone.
Ebony -> RW probably for placebo effect. Not that my EMGs cared anyway...
I never thought about it until clicking this thread but I have a really heavy tapping hand and all the guitars I like to pick up for that sort of stuff have unroasted Maple boards (and also Maple or Mahogany necks).
I think flamed boards are the prettiest but very busy visually. I really love to look down at a Birdseye board while playing.
I visually love Rosewood fretboards and have no preference on whether or not my dark fretboards are RW or Ebony, but I find RW necks themselves to be too warm for me. Someone before me said it felt soft. I agree, but for me that's both in terms of feel and tone.
Ebony -> RW probably for placebo effect. Not that my EMGs cared anyway...
Kyle Jordan
Ace of Knaves
I still am going to give a high quality, black Ebony the nod. Not the heavily dyed and polished versions, though they are still good.
The Richlite on my Aristides is rapidly reaching that level though, but it’s too soon for me to tell. I need more long term play time and to see how the board reacts and behaves. The other synthetic boards are here too or a bit under for me.
Maples of various sorts look great and right on Strats and Teles to me. Superstrats too, but that’s where I start to prefer the look of Ebony.
The rest, eh. Not my bag or in the case of Rosewoods, can just fuck right off.
The Richlite on my Aristides is rapidly reaching that level though, but it’s too soon for me to tell. I need more long term play time and to see how the board reacts and behaves. The other synthetic boards are here too or a bit under for me.
Maples of various sorts look great and right on Strats and Teles to me. Superstrats too, but that’s where I start to prefer the look of Ebony.
The rest, eh. Not my bag or in the case of Rosewoods, can just fuck right off.
mbardu
Well-Known Member
1.regular richlite
2."maple valley" richlite
3.figured richlite
Seriously, richlite is nice. I'm not in the camp to believe fretboard material is going to seriously affect the sound either way (I mean it's not like the wood was magnetic and affecting the strings vibrations...) so for all practical intents and purposes, richlite is superior. It won't crack or dry out or contract/expand nearly as much.
There is something to be said about "real" wood of course..maybe you like the texture of wenge, the streaks in PME or the cachet of brazilian rosewood.
In a vintage-styled instrument, it's a bit weird to have richlite too...
But on a modern guitar, I objectively don't see much downside.
spudmunkey
Well-Known Member
1. Ziricote
2. Good rosewood and Richlite
4. Roasted birdseye maple
5. Zebrawood
6-9 would include plain maple, un-roasted birdseye, ebony, royal ebony, and the order would change on any given day with the winds/tides.
10. Pale Moon Ebony (there's a green-ness to it I don't enjoy on anything but jet black guitars)
11. Shitty rosewood and "rosewood"
I haven't owned cocobolo, jatoba, bubinga, wenge, pau ferro, koa...anything else I haven't mentioned.
All of the above opinions are 98.9% aesthetics, 1.1% feel...and that 10% is really only a factor with with #11. Zero tonal considerations were made.
I've love to try a Rocklite (like Richlite, but with more "grain", and they make something that's an attractive alternative to rosewood, and doesn't look layered like Richlite, because even though it is layered, it's stacked/cut on a bias. ///////// not =====
2. Good rosewood and Richlite
4. Roasted birdseye maple
5. Zebrawood
6-9 would include plain maple, un-roasted birdseye, ebony, royal ebony, and the order would change on any given day with the winds/tides.
10. Pale Moon Ebony (there's a green-ness to it I don't enjoy on anything but jet black guitars)
11. Shitty rosewood and "rosewood"
I haven't owned cocobolo, jatoba, bubinga, wenge, pau ferro, koa...anything else I haven't mentioned.
All of the above opinions are 98.9% aesthetics, 1.1% feel...and that 10% is really only a factor with with #11. Zero tonal considerations were made.
I've love to try a Rocklite (like Richlite, but with more "grain", and they make something that's an attractive alternative to rosewood, and doesn't look layered like Richlite, because even though it is layered, it's stacked/cut on a bias. ///////// not =====
trem licking
Well-Known Member
My favorite is tonewood (runs and plays somewhere else with tin ears) hehehe!
Most of my 6 and 7 strings are rosewood or something similar, one Strat copy is maple.
For bass, I used to prefer wenge and rosewood, but I've come to like maple just as much. I used to hate maple fretboards: when I play basses with maple fretboards they have this kind of subdued high end that I always describe as a "plunk" sound. I've experienced it on Fender J's and P's, various Peavey basses and Dingwalls with varying electronics and strings.
I haven't owned any instruments with phenolic fretboards, but I have played them and they seemed fine. Even stuff from 20 years ago that had it seemed fine, maybe it's better now?
For bass, I used to prefer wenge and rosewood, but I've come to like maple just as much. I used to hate maple fretboards: when I play basses with maple fretboards they have this kind of subdued high end that I always describe as a "plunk" sound. I've experienced it on Fender J's and P's, various Peavey basses and Dingwalls with varying electronics and strings.
I haven't owned any instruments with phenolic fretboards, but I have played them and they seemed fine. Even stuff from 20 years ago that had it seemed fine, maybe it's better now?
Lorcan Ward
7slinger
African Blackwood
Like ebony but smoother and darker. Definitely my favourite fretboard wood for look and how your fingers slide on it. Also needs less oiling and has a tighter grain so doesn’t need as much cleaning.
I haven’t played richlite yet and I will admit a pale moon ebony board looks the best when paired with the right woods.
Like ebony but smoother and darker. Definitely my favourite fretboard wood for look and how your fingers slide on it. Also needs less oiling and has a tighter grain so doesn’t need as much cleaning.
I haven’t played richlite yet and I will admit a pale moon ebony board looks the best when paired with the right woods.
Marked Man
Well-Known Member
Yeah, let's see the rest of it!
Lorcan Ward
7slinger
bigcupholder
SS.org Regular
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Rosewood is the most stable. Ebony shrinks/expands a lot more with humidity changes if you live somewhere cold. Maple is a pain to keep clean and feels bad to play on a finish.
Marked Man
Well-Known Member
ClownShoes
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Rosewood gunks up the easiest and looks fkn gross when its dirty.
Unfinished birdseye maple looks the best and you don't even need to clean it. Just gets better with age.
Unfinished birdseye maple looks the best and you don't even need to clean it. Just gets better with age.
diogoguitar
SS.org Regular
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Feel: ebony > roasted maple > rosewood > maple
Looks: maple > rosewood > others
I wish I could take one picture that would do it justice to my strat's rosewood. This one has some kind of flame around the 3-5 frets. Yes, a little flame/transparent look on the rosewood. Anyway, I really like rosewood's looks. For feel it's ebony for sure.
Looks: maple > rosewood > others
I wish I could take one picture that would do it justice to my strat's rosewood. This one has some kind of flame around the 3-5 frets. Yes, a little flame/transparent look on the rosewood. Anyway, I really like rosewood's looks. For feel it's ebony for sure.
