Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - Favorite woods for fretboard, and why

Why Rocklite? Cheaper? Better for the environment?

I'm an ebony guy, although it will be Rocklite moving forward. I think Ebony sanded to 600 and lightly buffed is the height of elegance on an acoustic guitar.

Lot's of good alternatives and you guys have named many of them already.

Just wanted to add that not everyone uses a fret board the same way as some of us geezers did back in the day or even still. There is a trend in the biz with mostly shredders (shredders matter too, some of my best friends are shredders

) to ask for and seek out "scalloped fretboards."

Although a self explanatory term the point of a scalloped fretboard is so that the player may fret a note but not necessarily have firm or any contact with the fret board. :shock:

Go figure. Although this trend seems obscure still you never know shredder guitars have had a major influence on guitars in general like it or not.

Regarding fretboard material I'm a rosewood fan mostly for the resistance to chipping AND I love the way a nice looking piece of well quartered rosewood looks especially after being cleaned up with OOOO steel wool and having Howard's-feed-N-Wax applied, twice if I want it darker.

I feel as though CITES are designed to tighten the noose around guitar builders. Start restricting more and more wood and watch the entire guitarmaking industry die.

Why are they making such a big deal out of restricting brazilian rosewoods? Is it really causing such a big environmental damage? You know like ivory?

Why Rocklite? Cheaper? Better for the environment?

Why are they making such a big deal out of restricting brazilian rosewoods? Is it really causing such a big environmental damage? You know like ivory?

Author:	DennisK [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Branching from Hesh's thread here where he mentions ebony not being ideal: http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=685913#p685913 Personally I don't care much for ebony either due to its high humidity expansion. I generally use various rosewoods, although I do worry a bit about long-term wear. Except on African blackwood, which is likely even more wear resistant than ebony. But it's also more scarce, expensive, heavy, and difficult to work with. So what are everyone's favorites? There are many properties to consider. Is there one wood that has it all?

Author:	violinvic [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I have only used ebony and eir. No complaints, so far. I figure that if it works for C.F. and Orville, it should work for me.

Author:	Bryan Bear [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I’m not qualified to give a good answer as to what is the best wood for fretboards. I tend to think of any wood that is hard/durable, reasonably stable and dark as a viable candidate. I have used jatoba a few times and really like it. I did one in Osage orange, it is slowly darkening into an acceptable fretboard color. One of my current guitars will get a katalox fretboard we’ll see how I like that. In addition to these no traditional choices, I have other fretboard blanks on the shelf that I have not gotten to. There is Chechen, ziricote, granadillo and some machiche that might make the grade.

Author:	jshelton [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
We've switched to Rocklite Ebano synthetic fingerboards.

Author:	bftobin [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 3:49 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Grenidillo and katalox are the first to come to mind. Both are pretty hard and durable

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Author:	J De Rocher [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 4:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I don't fully get the knock against ebony. By now many millions of guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, and other stringed instruments have been built with ebony fretboards. I have difficulty seeing how this could be so if ebony's deficiencies were actually a big deal in practice. It may not be ideal in all ways, but it has apparently been quite good enough for the job. Lately, I've been liking Macassar ebony a lot. The stripey figuring is more interesting visually to me than a plain black ebony board, but it's still dark enough that inlays stand out nicely against it.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 5:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I love Indian Rosewood for the fretboard. I like the look and the way it works and feels. But I have used Padauk and am building my first acoustic guitar with Granadillo, which I really like. I don't have a long enough history with these two woods to say whether they are better or worse than rosewood or ebony, but I intend to build with several more types of wood in the future. There is so much beautiful wood out there, and if someone like LMII offers it, I trust it to be at least decent for the purpose. Keep in mind I've built about 9 or 10 instruments, so take anything I say with a fat grain of salt.

Author:	johnparchem [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 6:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I generally use a rosewood. East Indian and Cocobolo have been the two I have used most. I like the look and it is lighter than ebony. When I am doing more delicate inlays I like ebony as I can make invisible mistakes. I have used Rocklite Ebano and Sundari and when my stash of ebony and rosewood fingerboards shrinks I would be happy to use either depending on what look I want. The sundari is an amazing ringer for East Indian Rosewood. The product is very easy easy to work with.

Author:	bftobin [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 7:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I did invest in good ebony when it was ten buck apiece for the good stuff (I have over a hundred) and Madagascar RW at five bucks a piece (about eighty) so I'm pretty much set. But should I need more in the future..........

Author:	CarlD [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Favorites..... I haven't built enough to have an opinion. What I've used: Manzanita. Why? Cuz it grew on my property and I've had to clear most of it off for wildfire prevention. It's harder than Ebony so fretting is tougher but it looks kinda cool. I've used it for bridges, rosettes and peghead veneers. Attachment: PICT0256.JPG Attachment: PICT0022.JPG Bocote. Why? To match the rest of the baritone guitar... back, sides, bridge, rosette and veneers. No problem with it. Ebony, cuz I have about 50 slotted seconds (most with faux binding) that I got back in 2005 on Ebay. I think they are M*rtin, little wormholes and chips but they have cleaned up OK. PM me if you want some.

Author:	Clay S. [ Thu Jul 04, 2019 10:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Pau Ferro (a.k.a. morado, bolivian rosewood, etc.) is a hard and reasonably dark close grained wood that is not too expensive and works well for fretboards.

Author:	Hesh [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 4:40 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Lot's of good alternatives and you guys have named many of them already. Just wanted to add that not everyone uses a fret board the same way as some of us geezers did back in the day or even still. There is a trend in the biz with mostly shredders (shredders matter too, some of my best friends are shredders ) to ask for and seek out "scalloped fretboards." Although a self explanatory term the point of a scalloped fretboard is so that the player may fret a note but not necessarily have firm or any contact with the fret board. Go figure. Although this trend seems obscure still you never know shredder guitars have had a major influence on guitars in general like it or not. Regarding fretboard material I'm a rosewood fan mostly for the resistance to chipping AND I love the way a nice looking piece of well quartered rosewood looks especially after being cleaned up with OOOO steel wool and having Howard's-feed-N-Wax applied, twice if I want it darker. Reminds me - Joe White I still have your two Watkins CNC BRW fretboards so you will have to come visit me to get them.

Author:	doncaparker [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 6:06 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I like East Indian Rosewood a lot, and you can darken it significantly with a few different products. I tried some Honduran Rosewood on my last two guitars, but I’m not crazy about working with it. It sounds good when you “ping” it, but it can get these little chips or voids when you work it. Maybe I need to be more careful with planing direction, but I also saw this happen with some rasp work on a bridge. I’m probably going to avoid it for a while. It sure did sound good when I dropped bridge blanks on my bench, though.

Author:	Tai Fu [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I never really tried to see how various woods performed long term, so I can't speak for that. I like EIR. CITES sucks but then Aliexpress/Alibaba/Taobao doesn't care about CITES, so I can get them (and also if CITES wants to get mad at China for "international transfer" they'll go on about how Taiwan is not "international"...). The wood sands fairly well and it looks pretty good in my opinion. Ebony is good to work with, it doesn't gum up sandpaper, does it less than EIR in fact. I don't care so much about the smell however... African blackwood is a pain to work with. It gums up and dulls sandpaper in a short order, but it smells great and the tap tone on it is just so crisp... almost like steel.

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Author:	Ernie Kleinman [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:38 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
FWIW I have 2 gtrs made in 73 and 72 by M dunn the FB is from BRW,it has held up extremely well > I have used ebony, brw eir katalox, figured, locus,t OO,. hornbeam , etc etc.

Author:	James Orr [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I'm an ebony guy, although it will be Rocklite moving forward. I think Ebony sanded to 600 and lightly buffed is the height of elegance on an acoustic guitar.

Author:	Tai Fu [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:27 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Why Rocklite? Cheaper? Better for the environment?

Author:	James Orr [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Tai Fu wrote: Why Rocklite? Cheaper? Better for the environment? Yep. Just due to the lower environmental impact. I actually prefer the look of lower grade ebony with streaks and color variation as opposed to the perfectly jet black stuff, but I can't think of a reason not to use Rocklite instead of Ebony. I do love a rosewood fretboard as well, so I think I overstated my position above, but for the most part I prefer a black fretboard.

Author:	Tim L [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:55 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I like ebony and rosewood. Ebony has a nice texture and is easier to fill and blend when doing hand cut inlays. It does chip easier but the offset is that is it's easy to fill and color match with dust There certainly other materials that work. I think that the government restrictions, price and availability weigh on the use of rosewood and ebony more than suitability.

Author:	J.L.K. Vesa [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:59 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
James Orr wrote: I'm an ebony guy, although it will be Rocklite moving forward. I think Ebony sanded to 600 and lightly buffed is the height of elegance on an acoustic guitar. I agree, and I am stocked for life for jet black well aged and dried boards. I also offer to refret my own builds even though I do not do repairs otherwise. I also stock and offer Eir, ziricote, pau ferro, maple, padauk, snakewood, wenge, madrose and maybe some others I cannot remember. But I have a strong preference for ebony.

Author:	Ken Nagy [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:55 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Hesh wrote: Lot's of good alternatives and you guys have named many of them already. Just wanted to add that not everyone uses a fret board the same way as some of us geezers did back in the day or even still. There is a trend in the biz with mostly shredders (shredders matter too, some of my best friends are shredders ) to ask for and seek out "scalloped fretboards." Although a self explanatory term the point of a scalloped fretboard is so that the player may fret a note but not necessarily have firm or any contact with the fret board. Go figure. Although this trend seems obscure still you never know shredder guitars have had a major influence on guitars in general like it or not. Regarding fretboard material I'm a rosewood fan mostly for the resistance to chipping AND I love the way a nice looking piece of well quartered rosewood looks especially after being cleaned up with OOOO steel wool and having Howard's-feed-N-Wax applied, twice if I want it darker. Looking through photos of old romantic guitars I was amazed at the differences. I like different. Some are very nice. Why haven't any of those caught on at all? I saw one that had a scalloped fingerboard with NO frets at all, Somewhere back in the mid 1800's. Naturally, I can't find it now. Would tall frets give the same kind of experience? I've only done one guitar, and I used rosewood. I've used mainly ebony, and the striped Macassar ebony for violins, but have used some brown rosewood (not as hard and stiff, which is more of a problem for violins than guitars), some Surinam, or something rosewood? (probably an ironwood?) that was yellowish, grainy, and very hard, but really needs filling, Katalox is very nice, I used Royal ebony that was black and white, and the white is actually hard, unlike the white of katalox. Violins don't have frets, so you don't have to concern yourself about how it saws, or holds the tangs. But they have more engineering involved, because half of the length is cantilevered over the belly. The tight radius makes them wedge shaped as well. Really violinists are SO TRADITIONAL that anything other than perfectly black is looked on with caution, if not distain. Not so good for a guy like me who throws tradition to the wind. The CITES stuff is something to consider. What's strange is that you can buy the stuff locally, but then it can't leave the country. Is that how it works? Why bother with that kind of nonsense. Where do you find out which woods are on the list? If you bought it legally, why would it be a problem? Either make it illegal, or make it legal. I really don't understand any of that, but would rather avoid any problems later. I like CarlD's idea of using wood from his yard. I only have a silver maple, Russian olives, and some Populus tremuloides, not anything for fingerboards. I really look for looks and hardness, tapping them in the store, and then find how it cuts, and how smooth you can get it. Most have been fine, only that light colored grainy wood being more trouble. I have curly bubinga for the guitar I'm building; it looks very cool, like a light figured mahogany. I can get 2 out the the piece I bought at Woodcraft for probably about $25.

Author:	Tai Fu [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
I feel as though CITES are designed to tighten the noose around guitar builders. Start restricting more and more wood and watch the entire guitarmaking industry die. Maybe "they say" it's not the intent but who cares? I mean if they put all rosewoods on the list because someone "might" label brazilian as something else, well they might as well restrict all woods with a density of more than a certain value because people can dye and stain those woods to make it look like anything. Why are they making such a big deal out of restricting brazilian rosewoods? Is it really causing such a big environmental damage? You know like ivory? And if those stuff are so valuable, why can't they farm the stuff?

Author:	J De Rocher [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Tai Fu wrote: I feel as though CITES are designed to tighten the noose around guitar builders. Start restricting more and more wood and watch the entire guitarmaking industry die. Seems to me that when writing the recent new rules, CITES did not target the musical instrument industry. If anything, they did the exact opposite and failed to consider the musical instrument industry. Tai Fu wrote: Why are they making such a big deal out of restricting brazilian rosewoods? Is it really causing such a big environmental damage? You know like ivory? Seriously?????

Author:	jshelton [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Tai Fu wrote: Why Rocklite? Cheaper? Better for the environment? I had the good fortune to be able to buy logs of Madagascar ebony before CITIES. I sawed and milled them myself to get the maximum quantity of fingerboards and they were (are) beautiful. I traded the last six a year or so ago for some Brazilian RW. At my age I don't have the time to wait for ebony to cure. As I'm sure you're aware, ebony is notoriously unstable and takes a long time to cure. My taste in ebony was ruined by that wonderful Madagascar stash. Most people don't get the opportunity to work with perfectly quartered, coal black ebony fingerboards. Why Rocklite? No cure time, it doesn't warp, check or shrink, it's ready to use and stable, it's coal black, it mills just like ebony, glues like ebony and accepts frets just fine. The only down side is the price. Our guitars sell for a lot of money, what's an extra $20-30 for a dependable product that looks great?

Author:	doncaparker [ Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Favorite woods for fretboard, and why
Tai Fu wrote: Why are they making such a big deal out of restricting brazilian rosewoods? Is it really causing such a big environmental damage? You know like ivory? Google "why is Brazilian Rosewood illegal" and you will learn something important.