Ebony Wood - Best Choice For The Fingerboard - Exotic Wood Zone (2024)

FAQs

Is ebony the best fretboard wood? ›

Ebony. Considered the supreme tonewood for fingerboards due to its solidity, resiliency, and firmness, ebony was the primary fretboard wood in use from the 15th century till very recently. It is smooth and oily even when unfinished, giving it a fast playing feel and great responsiveness.

Because maple is dense, hard and thinly grained it produces a zingy snap to the sound of a guitar. The density of maple also gives you good sustain.

Ebony fretboard makes the neck stiffer by adding a laminated structure to the length of the neck! The ebony fretboard is well-known for its brighter sounding quality compared to rosewood. Ebony feels smooth under the fingers, with plenty of brightness in terms of tone and feel.

Re: Black Ebony Fingerboards

The three main types of ebony I have are: Macassar, Indian and Gabon. All of them vary. Some are pure black, some are very dark grey and some are striped. In my experience, Macassar and Gabon are the easiest to work with, while the Indian is harder and tends to crack more easily.

Re: Fretboard woods: Rosewood vs Ebony

Rosewood is going to give you a smoother, rounder tone when you first "attack" the string, and ebony is going to be snappier, and harder sounding, kind of like maple it's a stronger, more solid sound.

Thus, the flat-sawn board is mainly used for the fretboard. African blackwood has the highest hardness, with values of 15.5, 18.7, and 16.5 kN, respectively. The second hardest wood is ebony (14.3, 12.2, and 10.5 kN, respectively), and those values for Indian rosewood are 9.1, 6.6, and 6.8 kN.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CONDITION MY FINGERBOARD? Every time you change your strings, you should clean and condition your fingerboard. This will remove the dirt, sweat, and grime that build up on the neck and around the frets. In addition, it will keep your fingerboard looking brand new.

Because of its colour, durability, hardness, and ability to take a high polish, ebony is used for cabinetwork and inlaying, piano keys, knife handles, and turned articles. It was employed by the ancient kings of India for sceptres and images and, because of its supposed antagonism to poison, for drinking cups.

Royal Ebony is native to western Africa. It separates itself from our black Gaboon Ebony due to the extreme color variations within the heartwood. It looks closer to Black & White Ebony or Macassar Ebony with its unique color patterns. Royal Ebony is an extremely hard, dense, and heavy wood, with a very fine texture.

Are ebony fretboards unfinished? ›

An unfinished fretboard would be a rosewood or ebony fretboard, something where the actual wood is exposed, with no coating (finish) on top of it.

A Medium Height and Medium Width provide great playability potential, which makes bends and vibrato easier by allowing you to get 'under' the string easier. This sized fret, often called Medium-Jumbo, provide enough width and height that bending and vibrato don't suffer.

Sticky fretboards are complicated, creating difficulties in playing. Quality fretboards support playability and complement the perfect tone. Most guitar manufacturers choose between three fretboard options: Ebony, Rosewood and Maple. Ebony is the best choice for the fingerboard!!

Brasler noted that tonally, ebony sits somewhere in between maple and rosewood, with a pleasing brightness that works well with the fourth-generation Noiseless pickups in the American Elite Series.

Ebony has long been a prized wood for guitar builders. Because of its beautiful dark color, density, and durability, Ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon) has been a highly valued wood since ancient times.