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Les Paul Customs Now Use Richlite Boards.


Malchik

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Is that what that is? Man, I wanted a 4001/4003 bass for so many years... until I played one. It had a lot of problems — gaps in the binding, very cheap looking pickguard — but ultimately it was the thick layers of polyurethane (or whatever they use) on the fingerboard that turned me off. It wouldn't matter what wood was underneath that much clearcoat.

 

I used to have a '77 LP Standard in Trans Amber with a very plain Maple cap (everyone called it a "Birch top") which I regret selling and have occasionally looked to find another. The Baked Maple would probably look cool on that configuration.

 

Gibson's torrefied maple is not sealed, and I LOVE it. The torrefaction process darkens the wood. The maple on my LPCC is similar in color to rosewood. Like anything when dealing with a natural material, coloration does vary. Some folks have posted pics that are lighter, but most others including the ones I've seen personally are all dark.

IMHO, it's just top notch.

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My Carvin bass and two Taylors all have ebony, and when I got my CC the fretboard was a total non-issue as far as feel and function.

 

Another forum I used to frequent somewhat has had a multitude of posts regarding this and (once you wade through the predictably mean spirited posts of some of their "experts") the posts suggest to me that the biggest difference between ebony vs baked maple comes down more to perception than significant differences.

 

Hopefully most of us with CC's love the fretboard since we have no choice anyway :^)

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My Carvin bass and two Taylors all have ebony, and when I got my CC the fretboard was a total non-issue as far as feel and function.

 

Another forum I used to frequent somewhat has had a multitude of posts regarding this and (once you wade through the predictably mean spirited posts of some of their "experts") the posts suggest to me that the biggest difference between ebony vs baked maple comes down more to perception than significant differences.

 

Hopefully most of us with CC's love the fretboard since we have no choice anyway :^)

 

Exactly! The majority of people who are ranting about the torrefied maple have likely never even picked up and played one of these guitars. When someone who reads their rants actually tries one of these guitars it becomes pretty obvious that most of the whiners have no first hand experience of what they are talking about and are just whining for the sake of whining. I would LOVE to take the whiners and sit them down blindfolded and let them listen to guitars with torrefied maple, rosewood, and ebony be played to see if they can tell which guitar has which fretboard. Then let them play each one and see if they can tell. I doubt they could tell even by feel, with the exception of the more experienced players. They could probably pick out the rosewood by feel, but the ebony and maple are both very smooth and dense.

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  • 1 year later...

I've played several Richlite fretboards, and each and every one felt like Crap. It's made of paper, and it feels like paper. Also, please explain to me the resonant properties of resin and paper? Yeah, not happening. It's a cheap, horrible feeling material that could probably survive a nuclear war. Then again, with the way it feels, I would hope it wouldn't. They fixed the Indian Rosewood issue by cross-grain lamination, so why not fix the Ebony issue?

 

-Ryan

 

Richlite might be made of paper, but in no way whatsoever does it feel like paper. Making the assertion that it does, indicates to me, that you've never played a guitar with a Richlite fingerboard, and have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Richlite feels neither "cheap", nor "horrible". In fact, as far as playability and tone are concerned, my Richlite guitar easily plays the most effortlessly, and arguably sounds the best. (I am having extreme difficulty in finding the "cheap" and "horrible" in that.) I have Gibson Les Pauls with rosewood, ebony, and Richlite fingerboards, as well as other nice guitars with maple and rosewood fingerboards. Blindfolded, I have no doubt in my mind that you could NOT tell the difference, based on feel or tone. Having "played several Richlite fretboards that felt like Crap", how about doing a video on youtube, where you can prove to the world how you can amazingly distinguish between a wood fretboard and a Richlite one (with your ever-so golden ears and magic fingers), while blindfolded? Obviously, you have access to both, so that shouldn't be a problem. (Make sure you don't cheat.) You are pompous in your attitude, and failing the test, as I have no doubt you will, would really put you in your rightful place. So...instead of a smart aleck reply, how about a video substantiating your "cheap" and "horrible" claims?

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  • 11 months later...

I inherited a Martin D-16 with a Richlite fingerboard, from a buddy who committed suicide. I really like the sound of the guitar. I don't believe the Richlite board makes a difference. Luthiers can speak to any added difficulty to frets that need replacing, but I think the frets will outlast my time on earth. I performed a song dedicated to my buddy who committed suicide, and the audience loved the sound of the guitar, as I did. My buddy was THE guy who turned me on to Jimi Hendrix in 1968; so playing the Wind Cries Mary on his guitar was no little feat. Ok, I did change the strings to a hybrid light/medium set to improve playability, especially for a Hendrix song.

 

I also have a LP Studio '60s Tribute from 2012 with P90s, that has a baked or torrefied maple board. The look of the fingerboard looks better than rosewood, as it has no pitting or grain. The playability is not affected by the board, in my opinion. I have 3 other guitars with ebony boards, so I know what is considered old world quality. These days I know the world supply of ebony is endangered, so there is a reason for using alternative materials, so the world will still have natural sources of wood.

 

Oh the Martin sounds pretty damn good and so does the Gibson LP, despite the fingerboards. There are raging discussions on Fender sites as to the sound that maple vs. rosewood fingerboards produce. I have a 1990 Strat Ultra that has an ebony board and I not yet been able to discern any significant sound differences from my rosewood boarded 1970 Stratocaster. All the differences are in the pickups. The same is true between my Gibson ES-347 ( Series 7 or Dirty fingers pickups w/ gold covers- see my avatar) with an ebony board vs. the LP Studio w/ torrefied maple; the pickups make the differences. One would hope Richlite can save a few thousand trees each year. The last time I played any of these fingerboards, I don't recall touching the surfaces of the fingerboards so I can't 'feel' a difference. I am one of a few guitarists that have unsweaty hands, so all my guitars don't wear as fast, especially the fingerboards.

 

Play the hell out of the guitars you have, that is the only reward you can get.

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I bought a 2014 Les Paul Custom in July and the Richlite board is fine. No issues with tone or feel. TBH I don't even think about it.

 

Ya it feels fine on my 2014 Midtown Custom.... I just buffed it out with wax to make it just a tad more slick and to clean it up

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there is nothing wrong with Richlite. But I'll be in the cold cold ground before I buy a LP Custom without an ebony board. Yeah yeah....maple has been used before. And I wouldn't buy one of those either. I'm just an old Luddite in that regard I guess. Not to mention, I won't buy a new Gibson anyways for a couple reasons.

 

2007 1957 Reissue LPC ftmfw

 

photo3_zps21541c7e.jpg

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