darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 As my thread title asks… Can someone tell me if there's a big difference between Ebony and Black where Epi's are concerned? I notice that some "black" models come with a white pick guard, while the "ebony" has a black pick guard. Hmmmm! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Semantics, and Marketing, mostly. Ebony, Black, Jetglow (on Ric's), it's all black! Some are (high, medium, low) Gloss, some are Matte, some are Translucent, some are Opaque. "I see the red door, and I wanted it painted Black, Ebony, Jetglow!" lol Whatever hardware, etc., comes with a certain model, specifically, might be a factor, in it's presentation, to the marketplace, or it's specific model characteristics. But, basically, "Black is black" regardless of what they "name" it. There may be "degrees" of "Black." Some with added tints (purple, blue, yellow, etc.) "Ebony," in some cases, it used to designate a matte finish version, as it looks more like the color of an "Ebony" wood, or fret board. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Semantics, and Marketing, mostly. Ebony, Black, Jetglow (on Ric's), it's all black! Some are (high, medium, low) Gloss, some are Matte, some are Translucent, some are Opaque. "I see the red door, and I wanted it painted Black, Ebony, Jetglow!" lol Whatever hardware, etc., comes with a certain model, specifically, might be a factor, in it's presentation, to the marketplace, or it's specific model characteristics. But, basically, "Black is black" regardless of what they "name" it. CB Black is black… I want my baby back? LOL! I was asking because I tend to avoid "black" guitars. I like some contrast and color with my axes. However, a certain "shade" of black could be cool. "Ebony", it seemed, might be one such "shade". When I look at pics (online is not always reliable), it appears as if "black" is glossy, and "ebony" might be more matte. I guess there's no better way to find out than in-person. Thanks, CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 ES-339 P90 in "Ebony": ES-339 in "Black": Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Well, when I was a "kid" both my guitars ('68 Les Paul Custom, and '68 Ric 360-12) were "Black!" Not just "Black," but Gloss Black! No, I wasn't "Goth" as this was decades before that trend! I just liked "Black" guitars, for some reason. I grew out of that trend, but I still like it, on some models. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Well, when I was a "kid" both my guitars ('68 Les Paul Custom, and '68 Ric 360-12) were "Black!" Not just "Black," but Gloss Black! No, I wasn't "Goth" as this was decades before that trend! I just liked "Black" guitars, for some reason. I grew out of that trend, but I still like it, on some models. CB Funny. Two of my first good-quality guitars were black, as well. I had a black Strat, and then I sold that and bought a black SG Standard—which I still own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Not surprising. Also, my '68 LP Custom (first year, of it's reissue) only came in "Black," sometimes referred to as "Tuxedo!" I got the "Ric" to go with it! LOL CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Not surprising. Also, my '68 LP Custom (first year, of it's reissue) only came in "Black," sometimes referred to as "Tuxedo!" I got the "Ric" to go with it! LOL CB "Tuxedo"… did it come with a coat-tail-piece! (Ba-dum!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 "Tuxedo"… did it come with a coat-tail-piece! (Ba-dum!) Well, I'm not sure, but I think maybe Les Paul himself coined that term, for the Les Paul Custom, initially, because it looked like, and was/is, and upscale version, with the gold hardware, and black body, which also was (arguably) more at home in upscale orchestras, and/or venues. And, with the black body, it receded, visually, into the background and therefore, placed more emphasis on the player's hands, etc. At least, that's what I've read, in several places, over the years. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Well, I'm not sure, but I think maybe Les Paul himself coined that term, for the Les Paul Custom, initially, because it looked like, and was/is, and upscale version, with the gold hardware, and black body, which also was (arguably) more at home in upscale orchestras, and/or venues. And, with the black body, it receded, visually, into the background and therefore, placed more emphasis on the player's hands, etc. At least, that's what I've read, in several places, over the years. CB That sounds like it could be historically accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Now that's confusing right there. Black is ebony, and ebony is black. That's the way it is. So, go and call one sheen one thing and another sheen another, as if that makes them different colors? Gloss black or flat black. Gloss ebony, matte. Whatever. See, I have a hard enough time dealing with Gibson's use of "Standard", "Traditional", and "Classic". OK? Now, we do have Sheraton's, Riviera's, and now, Epi 335's. I get it. It's all good. Choices. But...now we have to keep track of what is black and what is ebony? THAT's gonna make no sense, especially down the road when they decide to change the specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongMan Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 ES-339 P90 in "Ebony": ES-339 in "Black": Well, the ES-339 P90 "Ebony" is plain black, while the second guitar in "Black Royale" has a metallic black finish. In Epiphone color terms "Ebony (EB)" normally means an opaque plain black finish - pretty much like a piano. Most times it is glossy, sometimes like on the current ES-175 Premiun it is matte. Other black Epiphone finishes are e.g. "Translucent Black (TB)", here you can see the wood grain thru the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Black is blacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Well, the ES-339 P90 "Ebony" is plain black, while the second guitar in "Black Royale" has a metallic black finish. In Epiphone color terms "Ebony (EB)" normally means an opaque plain black finish - pretty much like a piano. Most times it is glossy, sometimes like on the current ES-175 Premiun it is matte. Other black Epiphone finishes are e.g. "Translucent Black (TB)", here you can see the wood grain thru the finish. The ES-339 pictured above, with humbuckers, is listed on the Epi site as just "black"—not the sparkly "royale". I've seen the new "translucent black" on some 2015 Gibsons, and it's a nice finish. (added: Ok, I see the Epi site lists the finish on that second guitar as "black royale" in the info—although, the color swatch is "Black (BK)".) Damn! Wish the P90 model was offered in the royale black! Black is blacker Ok! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 My favorite shade of black is "Nunmor Black." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 My favorite shade of black is "Nunmor Black." Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Well, the ES-339 P90 "Ebony" is plain black, while the second guitar in "Black Royale" has a metallic black finish. In Epiphone color terms "Ebony (EB)" normally means an opaque plain black finish - pretty much like a piano. Most times it is glossy, sometimes like on the current ES-175 Premiun it is matte. Other black Epiphone finishes are e.g. "Translucent Black (TB)", here you can see the wood grain thru the finish. My OCD is kicking in. Why, would the "Ebony" guitar have a white toggle switch cover, and the Black Royale, with a white pickguard have a black one? Arrrgh! By the way, I not only have OCD, but CDO, which is OCD in its proper alphabetic order. Play well! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 My OCD is kicking in. Why, would the "Ebony" guitar have a white toggle switch cover, and the Black Royale, with a white pickguard have a black one? Arrrgh! By the way, I not only have OCD, but CDO, which is OCD in its proper alphabetic order. Play well! Pete Yeah… black-on-black… white-on-black… WHY??? Why not tortoise shell-on-black? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Yeah… black-on-black… white-on-black… WHY??? Why not tortoise shell-on-black? I think tortoise shell would look good on black or ebony... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Half of my guitars are black: Even my mandolin: The label inside the mandolin has BK which I take to be black and the Casino says EB which I percieve as ebony. Both have glossy finishes. I also used to own a Gibson Faded LPDC in ebony that had a satin finish: Sounds like the two are interchangeable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 I think tortoise shell would look good on black or ebony... Yeah, I am playing around with different pick guard "finishes", in advance of buying the ebony. The B.B. King "Lucille" comes with a tortoise shell pick guard, so I might do that: A black pearloid pg would look cool, as well, against the black finish: Nice collection of guitar-noir, zeplin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Yeah, I am playing around with different pick guard "finishes", in advance of buying the ebony. The B.B. King "Lucille" comes with a tortoise shell pick guard, so I might do that: A black pearloid pg would look cool, as well, against the black finish: Nice collection of guitar-noir, zeplin! Maybe it is just my conservative nature, but the tortoise shell in the photo is way too red for my liking. I do like the black perloid, though! YMMV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Other black Epiphone finishes are e.g. "Translucent Black (TB)", here you can see the wood grain thru the finish. I got a nice example of that on an Epi Performer ME.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 Maybe it is just my conservative nature, but the tortoise shell in the photo is way too red for my liking. I do like the black perloid, though! YMMV... I actually totally agree with you. I'd prefer a more "brown" tortoise shell. I just used the first example that I stumbled upon from my inter-web search. Something more like this would probably prove more to both our liking… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I actually totally agree with you. I'd prefer a more "brown" tortoise shell. I just used the first example that I stumbled upon from my inter-web search. Something more like this would probably prove more to both our liking… Ah! Much, much better! I could live with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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