Let's Talk Ebony Fretboards For Five Minutes.

[László]

I always love ebony fretboards on acoustic guitars. Sometimes, I like them on electric guitars. My most recent PRS is a Special Semi-Hollow with an ebony board. I like the guitar quite a bit, and am digging the tone.

However, ebony boards have their pluses and minuses. I find I get a more searing attack with rosewood on electric guitar, and a little bit more sustain. I get a quicker attack with ebony, and more articulation, at the expense of a faster decay time for each note.

This is not a criticism, it's an observation. It's not just based on one guitar - I've had at least a dozen electrics with ebony boards, many PRS, and several other brands and goodness knows how many acoustics.

They've all shared those characteristics. It's enough of a sample size for me, and I'm OK with the generalization.

On electric guitar, rosewood is my go-to. On acoustic, ebony is my go-to. But with the right guitar, I could go either way. Yes, horses for courses!

I could say much the same about maple fretboards. Ebony and maple are two sides of the same coin, as far as I'm concerned. And yes, I really like each one in the right context.

I have no axe to grind on this topic. I just think it's interesting.

Looks aside - certainly ebony looks beautiful - what are your preferences?

 

[Going Modal]

I absolutely adore the look and feel of the ebony fretboard on my Artist V. And there's no doubt in my mind that the "extra little something"--notably: fast-attack, snappiness, and a little sizzle (for shizzle!)--on that guitar are due to its ebony 'board. The pickups are spectacular, too; however even acoustically it has a certain snappiness & zing.

BUT with all that being said, I don't think I'd want the ebony fretboard on too many other guitars. It's sort of off in one direction from the middle-ground, and I don't need a bunch of that. Sure, an all-maple neck for my Tele, maybe for a Swamp Ash Special too perhaps. But I can appreciate the rest of my guitars have the more "standard" rosewood fretboard and them being more neutral/balanced and working generally well with most pickups, etc.

 

[veinbuster]

I like ebony a lot. Most of my acoustics have it. I do have it on a hollow body and like how much texture it lets me flavour the pic attack with.

I have African Blackwood on a few electrics and would probably go with that over ebony on an electric I specced. The attack is tempered a bit over what you described with ebony. Sustain is comparable to Rosewood.

I haven’t bought one, but Blackwood makes an acoustic that has a wonderful ring.

 

[László]

I absolutely adore the look and feel of the ebony fretboard on my Artist V. And there's no doubt in my mind that the "extra little something"--notably: fast-attack, snappiness, and a little sizzle (for shizzle!)--on that guitar are due to its ebony 'board. The pickups are spectacular, too; however even acoustically it has a certain snappiness & zing.

BUT with all that being said, I don't think I'd want the ebony fretboard on too many other guitars. It's sort of off in one direction from the middle-ground, and I don't need a bunch of that. Sure, an all-maple neck for my Tele, maybe for a Swamp Ash Special too perhaps. But I can appreciate the rest of my guitars have the more "standard" rosewood fretboard and them being more neutral/balanced and working generally well with most pickups, etc.

I loved my Artist V!

I like ebony a lot. Most of my acoustics have it. I do have it on a hollow body and like how much texture it lets me flavour the pic attack with.

I have African Blackwood on a few electrics and would probably go with that over ebony on an electric I specced. The attack is tempered a bit over what you described with ebony. Sustain is comparable to Rosewood.

I haven’t bought one, but Blackwood makes an acoustic that has a wonderful ring.

I haven't had one with African Blackwood. I'll have to give one a play, if I find one.

 

[WEDGE]

I love the feel of ebony sooooo much. But my favorite guitars, the ones that have been home, have all had rosewood boards.

 

[Prs Mods too]

Times up!

 

[KentuckyBoiledChiccan]

I only had two ebony fingerboard guitars in my life. A LA Custom Shop Ibanez back in my 7 string days and custom made Mayones guitar. To me it was always aesthetic thing more than tone shaping feature.

I was always using thick enough strings with enough tension to not to have a feel of the fingerboard so I can equally be happy with maple, rosewood and ebony.

Again, it's just aesthetics here

 

[alantig]

I love ebony fretboards.

I yield my remaining 4:58 to 11Top.

 

[gush]

I love the look and feel of an ebony board.

I had recorded some tracks with my 89 cu24 and and one particular track the notes I played were right around 10th fret and those notes just explode off the fretboard, almost to the point of being unbalanced with the rest of the guitar.

Anyway, my ce22 has a really tight grain, almost like ebony.

Edit. Sometimes I'm clear as mud.

I love ebony but my prs guitars are all rosewood with my 86 being Brazilian.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I only have an Ebony board on my luthier made acoustic. Really nice feel and tone, but the Ebony can’t take all the credit.

I’ve a Ziricote fretboard on one guitar and Rosewood on the rest.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Great topic...I love the look of ebony on everything I've ever seen it on...and tonally speaking, Les nails it (of course)...In a word: Bright.
I am really digging the rosewood necks/fingerboards right now..."Mids for days" and with them overdriven, it just falls right into my wheelhouse.

Now, for you serious (REAL) musicians...(Meaning NOT me, as I am just a basement dweller), Theoretically, I'd consider Stainless frets if you go Ebony.
I'd imagine the tone from Ebony /Stainless would be tons of highs, even almost shrill...IIRC, Parker Flies had this combo (Or something similar), and indeed, they were pretty bright.

My reasoning: I've seen a few ebony boards get nicked/damaged when having a re-fret performed.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

I have rosewood, ebony, maple and African blackwood on various guitars. Tone-wise, I've never had otherwise identical guitars with different boards, so I can't definitively say what tonal differences come from fretboard wood. It seems like ebony and maple have a faster attack than rosewood, with blackwood splitting the difference, but some of that could be prejudice based on having read that about those woods. I love the look and feel of both ebony and blackwood, but in "the heat of battle" I can't say it matters a whole lot.

 

[Boogie]

Having friends like 11Top, I’ve had the fortune to play a metric a$$load of Ebony fingerboard-equipped guitars (it’s his fav) and completely agree with Les’ assessment. It has its place. Steve likes it for the look/contrast against the amazing colors he specs. I like it for the immediacy of attack and decay. It can transform an overly warm guitar in a good way. But I’ve learned that I’m a rosewood guy, period. Should I get Ebony on my next build? Yeah, probably. There’s a black limba Strat body waiting for me to bring it into this world and I’m thinking of a mahogany neck with Ebony board. I’m afraid a roasted maple + Ebony combination would result in a bright result. Not sure, but a long talk with 11Top will straighten me out. Wood combinations are an art and science and few know more about it.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Great write up! I will always prefer Ebony fingerboards. My fingers feel most at home on Ebony. It feels like the notes are under my fingers, like the string is an extension of my fingers. Its the only fretboard wood that makes my fingers "fing".

It's one of the reasons I picked up the SE HB II! Its the only PRS I have with an Ebony board.

All my other axes are Rosewood and no Maple boards. I just can't bond with the Maple.

 

[11top]

Yep. I am an ebony fret board addict. I like the look; blasphemy right?

I play mainly classic hard rock. I mainly use modelers these days. I know what pickups I like. My ears are old and worn out.

So what does all that mean? Given the factors listed above, I choose ebony because I love the look and feel, and I can’t really discern a real difference in tone in my music genre and my setup.

Maybe not very scientific, but there you have it.

 

[bodia]

Two thumbs up p for ebony!

 

[László]

So what does all that mean? Given the factors listed above, I choose ebony because I love the look and feel, and I can’t really discern a real difference in tone in my music genre and my setup.

Maybe not very scientific, but there you have it.

Well, of course none of this needs to be scientific, it's all 100% personal preference. That's a good thing. I've always said it'd be a drag if we all played the same stuff, sounded alike, etc.

Of the factors you mentioned, musical style seems especially important. The style involves higher gain than I play with. I'm more of a blues or Brit-rock kinda player, and as a result, I use far less gain in my work than is typical in classic hard rock.

Of course, the more gain used in the amp (and/or associated pedals), the more compressed the signal, and compression always adds sustain. So in your situation, it not only makes perfect sense to play with an ebony fretboard, you're also getting the look and feel you want with very little tradeoff.

Having friends like 11Top, I’ve had the fortune to play a metric a$$load of Ebony fingerboard-equipped guitars (it’s his fav) and completely agree with Les’ assessment. It has its place. Steve likes it for the look/contrast against the amazing colors he specs. I like it for the immediacy of attack and decay. It can transform an overly warm guitar in a good way. But I’ve learned that I’m a rosewood guy, period. Should I get Ebony on my next build? Yeah, probably. There’s a black limba Strat body waiting for me to bring it into this world and I’m thinking of a mahogany neck with Ebony board. I’m afraid a roasted maple + Ebony combination would result in a bright result. Not sure, but a long talk with 11Top will straighten me out. Wood combinations are an art and science and few know more about it.

I lean heavily toward rosewood, too. But I like having one with ebony when I have more than one electric guitar.

I've liked the PRS' I've had with ebony boards, most especially the Artist V. For some reason, that one was the quintessential ebony fretboard PRS for my taste.

I had an SC58 Artist with ebony. I liked it, but I wound up replacing it eventually with the McCarty Singlecut, a guitar that gives me that searing vintage LP style sound and sustain, with a PRS cherry on top. The McSC has a Madagascar RW board; in fact, all 3 of my PS electrics have that type of fretboard.

Madagascar sounds a bit more...oh gosh, this is going to sound a little nuts...'chocolate and caramel' than BRW or IRW. I think it's a wonderful fretboard material all-around, though I also like BRW a lot, and even IRW is pretty great. BRW is nearer to ebony than IRW, in terms of the speed of the note attack.

I have rosewood, ebony, maple and African blackwood on various guitars. Tone-wise, I've never had otherwise identical guitars with different boards, so I can't definitively say what tonal differences come from fretboard wood. It seems like ebony and maple have a faster attack than rosewood, with blackwood splitting the difference, but some of that could be prejudice based on having read that about those woods. I love the look and feel of both ebony and blackwood, but in "the heat of battle" I can't say it matters a whole lot.

I think so much depends on the player and the style. In the 'heat of battle' I need to feel super-comfortable with what I'm playing, because I'm generally coming up with the part and experimenting with it take by take, while learning to play it well at the same time.

If I'm not getting the vibe and tone I have in mind, it's tough for me to get a good take, and then I get worried and stressed.

 

[veinbuster]

So...in perfect world, here's what y'all should have for electric fingerboards:
1 ebony: because it has class and style, an bitchin' attack
1 African Blackwood: just trust me on this
2-3 rosewood: because its rock and roll
1-2 maple: for flavour
1: zirocote or cocobolo: because they are so pretty

So, get on it.

 

[11top]

So...in perfect world, here's what y'all should have for electric fingerboards:
1 ebony: because it has class and style, an bitchin' attack
1 African Blackwood: just trust me on this
2-3 rosewood: because its rock and roll
1-2 maple: for flavour
1: zirocote or cocobolo: because they are so pretty

So, get on it.

Wait? No pink ivory?

 

[veinbuster]

Wait? No pink ivory?

Oh, you're welcome to whatever extras suit you.