Pros and cons of Rosewood/Ebony fretboards vs. finished maple?

[Pinch]

7 hours ago, saturn said:

Maybe it's in my head, but it seems to me a RW fretboard gives a slight bit of resistance or friction when bending notes. 

Same here. Could be all in my head though. 

[merciful-evans]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:01 PM, jdgm said:

This thread needs guitar pics.

I have only one maple fingerboard guitar, my old Tele which was my main teaching guitar for over a decade.

The fretboard varnish wore off and I got it redone.  I did not like the feel of it unvarnished and it was getting dirty too.

I read once that maple has the brightness and 'ping',  rosewood has a slightly darker/warmer tone and less sustain, and ebony (harder and closer-grained than rosewood) has the best of both.   Violins, violas etc are overwhelmingly fitted with ebony boards - though even makers of those are having to source alternatives now.

Remember the LPs with maple boards?   Looked a bit strange IMO but must have sounded fine.   I never played one.

And how about this?  Not mine a Fender Master build....the staining colour and gold knobs are a bit OTT for me but I bet it's a wonderful instrument.

 

Fretboard woods are many and varied now of course; Indian laurel is used on many cheapies but it's still a good, hard fretboard wood. 

https://mynewmicrophone.com/is-laurel-a-good-guitar-tonewood-electric-acoustic-bass/

But how do all of these things compare with....Richlite?

 

BTW I'd have a lot to say in a thread about the tone of trapeze-tailpiece gtrs versus stud-mounted. 

Best wishes to all!

Nice maple examples. I dont have a Richlite fb but I have a similar synthetic one 'Resinator' (Hagstrom material term). I just checked the spelling and discovered this

As your Hagstrom Resinator fretboard consists of a special 50/50 (Wood/Composite) material, we recommend to oil in your fretboard at least once per year using Paraffin oil (which can be purchased at most hardware stores for a very reasonable cost). The best time to oil the fretboard is when you are changing strings on your instrument.
After removing the strings, simply use a clean dry cloth and apply the Paraffin oil to the cloth. You only require about a tablespoon of oil to address the entire fretboard

 

I've never oiled it in the 8 years I've used it, so perhaps I should; but tablespoon !?  

I think I can anticipate "the tone of trapeze-tailpiece gtrs versus stud-mounted" stance too. If so, I'm onboard. 

 

[Pinch]

6 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

Nice maple examples. I dont have a Richlite fb but I have a similar synthetic one 'Resinator' (Hagstrom material term). I just checked the spelling and discovered this

As your Hagstrom Resinator fretboard consists of a special 50/50 (Wood/Composite) material, we recommend to oil in your fretboard at least once per year using Paraffin oil (which can be purchased at most hardware stores for a very reasonable cost). The best time to oil the fretboard is when you are changing strings on your instrument.
After removing the strings, simply use a clean dry cloth and apply the Paraffin oil to the cloth. You only require about a tablespoon of oil to address the entire fretboard

 

I've never oiled it in the 8 years I've used it, so perhaps I should; but tablespoon !?  

I think I can anticipate "the tone of trapeze-tailpiece gtrs versus stud-mounted" stance too. If so, I'm onboard. 

 

Oh! Oh! I can help! 

I've experience with Resinator 'boards, and trust me, if you add a tablespoon, you'll make a mess. Hell, a TEASPOON would make a mess! Just a few drops on a cotton cloth is enough for the entire fretboard. 

And as always, soak the cloth in water before disposal. 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Pinch

[Sheepdog1969]

Here are three types of fretboards. Finished Maple, Rosewood, and Ebony, (from left to right.)