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ebony fingerboards xP

nikko18

By nikko18
in Gibson USA


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nikko18

nikko18

Posted
Posted

i was at GC today and played a bunch of gibsons. one of the ones i played was one of the new les paul customs which had a ebony finger board. i have heard before that this would change the sound but i didn't think it would be so drastic. i did not like the sound of the guitar at all.

what do you guys think about ebony fingerboards?

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FennRx

FennRx

Posted
Posted

all LPCs come with an ebony board, not just the new ones. you also have to keep in mind that the sound of the custom is not just from the board, but also the wood and pickups. are you used to playing with the 490/498s? or are you more accustomed to the newer LPs with the BB Pros?

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littlekenny

littlekenny

Posted
Posted
all LPCs come with an ebony board' date=' not just the new ones. you also have to keep in mind that the sound of the custom is not just from the board, but also the wood and pickups. are you used to playing with the 490/498s? or are you more accustomed to the newer LPs with the BB Pros?[/quote']

 

 

+1

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Silverbursted

Silverbursted

Posted
Posted

Ebony is a much more dense wood than Rosewood. Thus the sound should be much brighter, but on the LPC, when combined with the heavy weight body and the 490/498 pup combo, it all balances. The thing I dislike about LPCs is the gold hardware. I wish Gibson would make the silver hardware available on all the models, not just a few (Silverburst is the only one I can think of now that comes with silver hardware), so I'm going to stick with the Traditional and the Historics for all the reasons Les Pauls are the best.

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SilverLesterStd

SilverLesterStd

Posted
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Nikko, you definitely want to compare guitars on the same amp whenever possible. Also, you may have heard this on the forum before - All LPs are somewhat different. That means that not only are the models different, but individual guitars are different in the same model.

 

I was into the burst finish guitars and was trying them out to see which burst I was going to buy. I happened to see a non-custom Silverburst on the wall. I tried it and could not make another axe sound that good after I heard the sound and felt the resonance in the board. Yes, the fingerboard is ebony on the guitar I ended up buying.

 

I have played a few LPCs since then. Some I like OK and a couple have been great. Once again - All different. I cannot stress this enough - All different. Oh, and did I use the words "same amp?"

 

Maybe you ARE lucky and it's like Tim said, your Mom dodged a $4000 bullet.

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RichCI

RichCI

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My 1991 Custom has an ebony fretboard. I think there are other factors involved that have a greater influence on tone than just the fretboard - like pickups and amps. Personally, I really have no preference for fretboard; material when it comes to ebony and rosewood outside of liking ebony better with a black guitar and favoring my Strat with the maple fretboard over the one with rosewood (but they're different model Strats too).

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Bram

Bram

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- Good ebony has a brighter/tighter attack.

 

- Good rw has a warmer/more rounded attack.

 

 

With the right pickups/amp/pedals you can make the guitars tone at your own taste (at least if you care for the details and if you know your own set-up). For example: I don't like TOO MUCH brightness or TOO MUCH warmth. It needs to have a ba-

lanced tone.

 

I find it easier to work with a naturally bright sounding guitar. Pickups/amps etc. can always tame the highs a little bit, but it's a nightmare if you want more treble in a naturally warm sounding guitar (it's against the guitars nature). That's why I like LP Customs personally (or at least LP's with an ebony fretboard).

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Cruznolfart

Cruznolfart

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- Good ebony has a brighter/tighter attack.

 

- Good rw has a warmer/more rounded attack...(snippage)....

 

With respect:

 

I find myself wondering about how many of these opinions are based on hearsay. How would one quantify "good ebony" or "good rosewood" in the first place? It implies there would be a discernible audio difference between the best examples of each type of wood and little or none between lesser examples of the same wood. I apologize if I sound skeptical but I'd be quite amazed if a blind test were to support these opinions. I'd be willing to bet most listeners, guitar players or otherwise, with all other things being equal, would be hard pressed to hear a consistent describable distinction between the two.

 

When listening to electric guitar music it's easy to hear the pickup type and string type (round-wound/flat-wound) but I don't think most people can tell the difference, by listening in a normal environment, between one type of fretboard wood and another. I'm sure there are opinions to the contrary and I'd be delighted to be proven wrong. But how many have really tested their own abilities to discern one from another by a blindfold test?

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Bram

Bram

Posted
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Let's face it:

 

Imagine five Les Paul Customs (all of the same type) with rosewood fretboards and five Les Paul Customs with ebony fretboards. Same pickups etc.

 

Playing all of these LP Customs through one single amp with the same settings you'd pick the ebony boarded Les Pauls

for the brighter/tighter tone.

 

The tone differences would be really noticable!

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