Duende Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 My fingers seem to like the feel of Ebony the best. My two main reasons are 1, I actually like the texture against my fingers and the playing experience is better because of this, 2. I find my chord shaping and position shifts feel safer on ebony. What do you prefer and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmeds Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I can’t say what ebony feels like on my Gibby LP’s since they all have rosewood fret boards. However, I have 2 classical guitars with ebony fret boards and 3 with rosewood. In that instance, I prefer the ebony as it feels faster, smoother and more refined; it certainly looks classier as well. I do own a few Parker guitars with carbon fiber fret boards and those are extremely fast and easy to play. Honestly for me, chord shaping and runnng scales seems easier on the Gibson LP not because of the fret board material; rather I find the shorter scale is a tremendous plus. My Fenders are the ones that I find take more effort to play since they have the longest scale length. Play On! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar232007 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 After 19 years of playing guitars with Rosewood FBs, I was at my local GC, and picked up a Gibson LP custom BB, and I couldn't believe how much better it felt. Hopefully, one day (in a million years) I will be able to afford one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Ive always likes Rosewood. It feels better to my fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBB Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I know Maple isn't an option on many Gibsons haha but - Maple to Rosewood - big improvement and Rosewood to Ebony - noticable improvement but less than M to R To me, Ebony seems to have more sustain, wears better, and feels more precise if that's possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Years ago there didn't seem to be a big difference in feel between rosewood and ebony, it was mainly an aestetic difference. Well the tree huggers have ruined that, and the grade of rosewood being used today for fingerboards is nowhere near what was being used 30-40-50 years ago. Today's rosewood is grainy and porous, lighter (or varied) in color, and drier. The quality of the ebony seems to have remained much more consistant. For "vintage" guitars it doesn't really matter to me. For today's "new" guitars, I also prefer ebony. I have a nice assortment of Gibsons with rosewood fingerboards (1947, 1975, 2000), if I can get good detailed pictures I will post them to show what I'm talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 ^ Damn tree-huggers!! Rosewood or ebony? I don't know, I like both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Interesting thread/poll, I voted rosewood, but that's because most of the guitars Ive owned and played had that, I only had 1 with ebony fretboard and it was a completely different animal than the rest of them so it's a little hard to compare, which makes me think I shouldn't have voted, maybe I should have left it to the ones that have experience with both but in the same model of guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I voted Rosewood, but only because I've never played an Ebony fingerboard. I would not be opposed to Ebony if the opportunity came up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I like my boards like my weminz. Dark smooth and my fingers all over them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aymeric22 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 My 95 Studio has an Ebony one... it's quite sweeter than rosewood one. The legend says that the sound is different... but to tell that you must compare the same guitares (except for the board). I guess than the touch (and the look) is more different than the sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr bill Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hello Sear, Gotta say ebony feels a looks best to me, but just about all the guitars I've played or owned were rosewood. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbursted Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I like my boards like my weminz. Dark smooth and my fingers all over them... Could not have put it any better. I voted ebony, I like the denser feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldiablo Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I personally like Ebony better. Just feels more solid to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBB Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Got a question for you all. I have a 61 Martin acoustic that I'm certain has an Ebony bridge and fingerboard, but I have found 2 lists that say Martin switched to Rosewood in 1947. Is there a definate way to tell? It looks black as night with tight grain and smooooth feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Is there a definate way to tell? It looks black as night with tight grain and smooooth feel. This is what I was talking about on the quality and type of rosewood being used today. The old rosewood was almost as dark as ebony. The main difference is the grain. Ebony has no visable or textured grain, it's black and smooth. Rosewood has a texture to the grain that looks like someone took a razor blade and cut little 1/4" to 1/2" slices straight into the wood, ebony does not have this. You may even have to use a magnifying glass to see them. On the old fingerboards this is probably the best way to differentiate without the advantage of a side-by-side comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Fun with Photoshop, a digital camera, a bunch of guitars and a beautiful woman (behind the camera, not in front of it, sorry). My wife put this shot together for us, a nice comparison shot of various era rosewood fingerboards, and an ebony throw in for good measure. The '47 L-7 rosewood board is nearly as dark as the ebony on the L-7. I would think it's age has something to do with this, but the grain and texture is still way different than the others. The '75 LP's board is a nice even color with slightly noticable tight grain and a little texture. The '00 345 has streaky color, very pronounced grain and many more pits than the others. It also seems to be softer and shows more where than the others. I threw in the pic of the old Silvertone just because it's a beautiful piece of rosewood and compares favorably with any Gibson board I've seen. The last photo is the ebony board on my L-5, black as night and smooth as a baby butt. This composite photo turned out so well (and interesting) I think I'm going to print it out and frame it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hmm, I gave this one a lot of thought and I don't know which one I prefer. Two of my guitars have ebony and the rest are rosewood. Honestly I can't seem to find any reason one way or another. Sear, you're working my brain too hard!! Good poll question though because it got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canon_mutant Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 OK, boys and girls, now that I own an ES-355 with Ebony and the 50th with Rosewood I am naturally a SUDDEN AND ABSOLUTE EXPERT :- on this subject and my answer is . . . Drum roll please . . . I have no frankin' clue! I love the way they both play and I can make them both sound equally good or like complete crap! When I sound great, it ain't cuz of the fretboard wood. When I sound like crap, it ain't the fault of the fretboard wood. It's pretty up to much me to get it right or muck it up. I think the fretboard wood has more to do with particular model aesthetics than it does function and I find it almost comical when I hear folks say Rosewood rules - I wouldn't own Ebony or vice versa yet you do hear it from some. And of course, Maple is complete junk yet I can make my maple clad Strat sound awfully sweet in between occasionally sounding like complete crap on it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmeds Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Well said Garth. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and quite frankly so is the music that he/she produces. Ebony, rosewood, maple might just be the convenient excuse we need when we have a bad session with our guitars. For that matter it could also be the perfect reason to tell others why that last song played so wonderful! Play On! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.