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Just an update on my experiences with these synthetic fingerboards. We now have them on two guitars (two others nearly ready) and I'm completely delighted with them. They work and look like good quality ebony. I see no reason to buy any more ebony fingerboards since the quality available from vendors is nothing like it used to be and one has to wait for years for them to cure (no wait with the ebano ones). I know some among us think the price is too high but good luck finding a quartered completely black fingerboard at any price.

Thanks for the feedback John.
I'll be using the last of my black ebony stock this next year. You are right, replacing them has become a struggle. I'll be looking into the Rocklite boards.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I've no problem with these new alternatives and in fact would love to start using them but have yet had a client that wants it. Not that I build a lot of guitars for people but still. I've only got a few real good Malagasy boards left and then some Gaboon and Indian for another 30 guitars. After that maybe I'll make the move.

Well I can certainly understand that. Many years ago I bought a couple of Madagascar ebony logs from Gilmer hardwoods and sawed them myself. The wood was exceptional and by careful sawing I extracted a bunch beautiful quartered ebony fingerboards. This year I traded the last of these beautiful fingerboard blanks to a fellow OLF subscriber for some BRZ RW veneer for some experimental guitars I want to build. I have some Gabon ebony fingerboard blanks that I bought a few years ago but am not happy with them and by the looks of the current offerings and prices of ebony those are the last ebony I will be buying. As is our rule, I have fully disclosed to our customers that we will be building with the Rocklite ebano fingerboards exclusively from now on and nobody has backed out. If someone in the future absolutely insists on ebony we still have this Gabon stuff but it's definitely second rate and I will make that clear to the client.

Yeah it's getting to that point for sure. I think in Trevor Gore's book he has a bit about how ebony was never really a good choice for fret boards. I can't agree more, mostly from my repair experience but now due to the availability of quality ebony too. There's nothing like refretting an ebony board on a 1920's guitar! But even with the most perfect QS boards it's not the most stable choice. IT sure does look great though and it's hard to beat that tradition.

Thanks. My Ebony stock is getting low and I have been thinking of those.

Interestingly the clients that I have discussed somewhat figured Ebony with have no problem with it. The most common response is “Well it’s wood not plastic, it should look like wood”. Ebony with a little reddish flame figure in some areas seems especially well received.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I need to pick up some Rocklite Ebano boards for my next two builds.

Santa bundled me a set of Blackwood Tek and I'm excited to try it. I just saw a finished Michael C guitar with it and I thought it was ebony until he told me different. Really impressed with the look. Black from 4 feet away revealing subtle grain lines as you get closer.

New username, same Pat Mac

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Pat

Rocklite makes superb binding. Looks like ebony, but bends. Great for headplates too.

I've used it for fretboards, it looks great but isn't super stiff. If you already use CF rods in your neck, you'll be fine.

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nigel

http://www.theluthierblog.com

Do you mean it bends right around like plastic binding does or do you use heat?

"If you already use CF rods in your neck, you'll be fine."

Do you think it would be needed for a Classical neck?
There are plenty of dark (but not black) woods that will work fine as a fingerboard if you can sell a non-ebony board. I thought it was funny that when the BRW fretboards originally used on lower priced guitars became Cites listed their perceived "tone enhancing" virtues were extolled by some and the prices exceeded those of ebony. I have several board feet of Bubinga and Pau Ferro I bought I can make into $3 fretboards, so until a reasonably priced synthetic comes on the market that is the route I will take.

Our necks are laminated with ebony strips (we have lots of ebony scrap left over from the logs I sawed) so we've never felt the need for carbon fiber or any other reinforcement. I agree that there are many worthy substitutes for ebony fingerboards but if you look at the high end classic or flamenco market you won't find anything but black fingerboards. Our clients seem content with the idea of synthetic fingerboards but I suspect would balk at anything that wasn't black.

" I agree that there are many worthy substitutes for ebony fingerboards but if you look at the high end classic or flamenco market you won't find anything but black fingerboards. Our clients seem content with the idea of synthetic fingerboards but I suspect would balk at anything that wasn't black."

Hi John,
I'm sure you are right. Classical and Flamenco guitarists will accept some forward looking designs as long as they outwardly look traditional. Steel string players may be open to a wider range of different looking materials but prefer traditional construction methods as a general rule. But I could be wrong....

The classical world is filled with very conservative players and it's even worse with flamenco. I recently went to a demo of a bunch of big name classic guitars made by some successful luthiers. Every one of them had rosewood back and sides, spruce tops and ebony fingerboards. I thought the best of the bunch was a Romanillos. The player who was demonstrating the guitars referred to a Steinway model B piano sitting on the stage as "that ugly monster". I wanted to go up and slap some sense into him. Every high quality instrument deserves respect.

By the way, thanks for recommending the West System epoxy. It is vastly better than the System III T88 I was using.

Ha! I remember many years ago a classical guitar student from one one of the local universities heard about me and came to inquire about a classical guitar. I had one for sale at the time and he asked if it was ok to bring to 'master' to see if he approved of it. Of course I did, and I knew that master was well respected, he came back and said he could not buy it. Why? I had inlayed a side dot! God forbid!

Typical! By coincidence, three of the last four traditional flamenco guitars we've built had abalone side dots at the request of the clients. It's a puzzle to me since flamenco is frequently played with a capo. I would find dots on a flamenco guitar confusing and undesirable to say the least. On a classic I would want them.

The "Master" probably felt that side dots are a "crutch" and undesirable for a student guitar. It would have been easy enough to drill it and fill it if it was an ebony board.
At one time I had a 1960 Manuel Velazquez guitar for sale for the Princely sum of $700 (what I paid for it as a used guitar). After playing it for a short time the student declared the guitar was "played out" and walked away from it. I'm not unhappy about that.

Clay, you didn't finish the story. What became of the Velasquez? On a similar note I sold a Jose Ramirez 1a peghead in the late 70's for $350 and was glad to be rid of it.

Hi John,
I still have it. At the time I had a couple of classical guitars and wound up selling the other one, so I kept the Velazquez. It's in it's case gathering dust. The finish is "alligatored" and was like that when I got it. Do you know what kind of finish he used in 1960 by any chance?

Clay, I'm really not too familiar with Velasquez guitars but at that age I'd guess french polish. A little test with some alcohol on the back of the head would certainly reveal if I'm right. Glad you still have it, I suspect it's worth a bit more than $700 now .