Alternative fingerboard material.

[ErikH]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

When Fender came out with the SRV Strat, it had a Pau fingerboard, and that was considered an upgrade of sorts from Rosewood. No one complained then. I find it funny that people think it's heresy now that Fender has changed to PF on most of it's cheaper guitars, but I understand the reverence for Rosewood, it's one of the favored fingerboard woods, along with maple and ebony. I would rather have Rosewood myself, but we as guitarists are just going to have to get used to the current situation with regard to regulations on the use of some woods. I draw the line at Richlite and similar composition "fake" woods on fingerboards, companies like Hagstrom have been using something similar on their fretboards for years now. You just have to pay a premium now for Rosewood and Ebony on the high-volume guitar companies.
Al

I'm a fan of Pau Ferro. It's like a denser Rosewood with a little more snap to it. The very first SRV Strats came with Rosewood (somewhere around 50-100), Brazillian Rosewood in fact. Since then it's been Pau Ferro.

[ICTGoober]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I have to give props to Bob Taylor who is leading the move back toward non-dyed ebony fingerboards, and for bootstrapping the tonewood planting program in Africa and Asia. He is trying his best to educate the public about not judging fingerboards on color ONLY, and then replenishing stocks of tonewood trees as an investment in the future of the musical instrument industry.

I think it's great when an industry leader decides to give back instead of just taking.

[ItsaBass]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I don't mind pau ferro on some finishes. I certainly don't mind it in terms of feel. It's just that it tends to run a bit lighter and more streaky than rosewood, which doesn't look good on some finishes IMO. I just got a honey blonde Fender with a matching headstock, and the pau ferro looks great on it. It'll look even better once I go to the anodized pick guard. The pau ferro matches the light-toned, "woody" look of the guitar. It wouldn't look very good on a black guitar, though.

[orpheo]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

'you don't want the tone of a composite body'.

Well, I've got a nice story to tell you here. Ever heard of Aristides? I know I have. Kirk Hammett has. Matt Heafy has. Ihsahn has. Aristides is a composite body. We don't use wood at all. Not one sliver. Only composites. Our fretboards are richlite too. Because of the composite nature of Aristides guitars, each little difference en nuance in tone is audible and magnified. We did tests with richlite versus ebony and rosewood and richlite comes on top in terms of tone, stability, ease of manufacturing and warping. It is the superior material in every way. We just have to let go our notion that guitars HAVE to be made of wood.

that being said. Pau ferro can be VERY dark too. In fact, some of my boards are so dark, I have to actually write on it that it's PF and not indian RW.

[Zombiwoof]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I'm a fan of Pau Ferro. It's like a denser Rosewood with a little more snap to it. The very first SRV Strats came with Rosewood (somewhere around 50-100), Brazillian Rosewood in fact. Since then it's been Pau Ferro.

I never saw one with the Rosewood board, obviously that was a limited edition for the launch. Most of them have been Pau Ferro, and this was way before it was necessary because of the regulations and such. That was my point, and that there was no backlash about the PF board that I'm aware of. From the beginning, the ones I saw listed in stores online had PF boards, there may have been some questions because people didn't have a lot of knowledge of the wood, I thought it was supposed to be an upgrade. Back then they could have made them all with Rosewood, the rest of the Fender line had Rosewood at that point.

As for Richlite being a "superior" material for fingerboards, it's still a modern substitute for a traditional guitar-making wood, and guitarists are a traditional bunch. Real wood is a more organic component in my eyes, and guitars are not the problem in the Rosewood/Ebony situation in the first place as far as I can see, it's other industries that have used the bigger proportion of those woods. There are many smaller boutique guitar companies using alternate materials in guitar making, even bigger ones like Ovation who used the molded fiberglass backs on acoustics, but for the most part most guitars sold have had mostly real wood construction. There are those that think that MDF is a better material for amp cabs, but I think most guitar players would rather have an all-wood cab. I believe that right or wrong, most players see the use of composite materials in general a cost-cutting feature rather than an upgrade.
Al

[Darg1911]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I never saw one with the Rosewood board, obviously that was a limited edition for the launch. Most of them have been Pau Ferro, and this was way before it was necessary because of the regulations and such. That was my point, and that there was no backlash about the PF board that I'm aware of. From the beginning, the ones I saw listed in stores online had PF boards, there may have been some questions because people didn't have a lot of knowledge of the wood, I thought it was supposed to be an upgrade. Back then they could have made them all with Rosewood, the rest of the Fender line had Rosewood at that point.

As for Richlite being a "superior" material for fingerboards, it's still a modern substitute for a traditional guitar-making wood, and guitarists are a traditional bunch. Real wood is a more organic component in my eyes, and guitars are not the problem in the Rosewood/Ebony situation in the first place as far as I can see, it's other industries that have used the bigger proportion of those woods. There are many smaller boutique guitar companies using alternate materials in guitar making, even bigger ones like Ovation who used the molded fiberglass backs on acoustics, but for the most part most guitars sold have had mostly real wood construction. There are those that think that MDF is a better material for amp cabs, but I think most guitar players would rather have an all-wood cab. I believe that right or wrong, most players see the use of composite materials in general a cost-cutting feature rather than an upgrade.
Al

Based on retail pricing I don't think Richlite cuts a whole lot of cost. Blackwood Tek definitely does. But Blackwood Tek is real wood. It's treated, dyed and compressed pine. It's being used on cheap as well as not so cheap guitars. Looks like Reverend is heading toward using it exclusively. I don't think that the guitar industry was going to cause the extinction of Rosewood, Ebony and other "tonewoods" especially with tree plantations becoming more the norm. But, I think with the growing CITES regs., woods, wood products and alternative materials are all going to become more common. We either get used to it or be prepared to wipe certain intruments, or even whole brands, off of our wishlist.

Personally, I'm fine with Richlite. The only thing that worries me about it is re-frets, which I haven't seen any definitive information on. I haven't seen or played anything with a Blackwood Tek board but I doubt that Reverend would have gone to it's use if it was a poor material.

[Mincer]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

'you don't want the tone of a composite body'.

Well, I've got a nice story to tell you here. Ever heard of Aristides? I know I have. Kirk Hammett has. Matt Heafy has. Ihsahn has. Aristides is a composite body. We don't use wood at all. Not one sliver. Only composites. Our fretboards are richlite too. Because of the composite nature of Aristides guitars, each little difference en nuance in tone is audible and magnified. We did tests with richlite versus ebony and rosewood and richlite comes on top in terms of tone, stability, ease of manufacturing and warping. It is the superior material in every way. We just have to let go our notion that guitars HAVE to be made of wood.

that being said. Pau ferro can be VERY dark too. In fact, some of my boards are so dark, I have to actually write on it that it's PF and not indian RW.

Every review I've read about these guitars is positive. Hopefully if I make it to NAMM early next year I might find one to play. I know my meager musician budget is no match for the price of them, but I am still very curious.

[orpheo]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I highly recommend you drop by. I wont be there, 100%. I don't know which guitars we'll ship out but... they're bound to be b0ner inducing.

[Mincer]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

Will miss you at NAMM, but looking forward to trying them.

[dystrust]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

Personally, I'm fine with Richlite. The only thing that worries me about it is re-frets, which I haven't seen any definitive information on. I haven't seen or played anything with a Blackwood Tek board but I doubt that Reverend would have gone to it's use if it was a poor material.

+1

I know it isn't the same material, but I've heard too many horror stories of phenolic boards wrecked by refret mishaps. I'd be much more comfortable with Richlite if it was accompanied by stainless frets.

[Seraphial]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I'm assuming this is very similar?

http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eg_detail18.php?year=2018&cat_id=1&series_id=11&data_id=236&color=CL02

[Darg1911]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I'm assuming this is very similar?

http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eg_...236&color=CL02

Yep, that's a Blackwood Tek fretboard (even though they are just calling it treated New Zealand pine). Blackwood Tek specifically uses pine (Pinus radiata) grown on plantations in New Zealand.

[Adieu]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

I'm assuming this is very similar?

http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eg_...236&color=CL02

Wow

Guitar's a joke and I'm all fored up to hate on the pine product sight unseen... but that ibanez website is impressive. Extremely impressive.

Since when have they published such comprehensive info???

[Darg1911]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

Wow

Guitar's a joke and I'm all fored up to hate on the pine product sight unseen... but that ibanez website is impressive. Extremely impressive.

Since when have they published such comprehensive info???

It's a $200 guitar. That you hate the pine based board has pretty much been established.

Maybe you've posted it in the past and I missed it but I'm curious as to what guitars you own or favor. I ask out of my own curiosity as I'm trying to figure out whether your are a cork sniffer or maybe just a contrarian in general. Of course, you are free to ignore the question.

[orpheo]

Re: Alternative fingerboard material.

+1

I know it isn't the same material, but I've heard too many horror stories of phenolic boards wrecked by refret mishaps. I'd be much more comfortable with Richlite if it was accompanied by stainless frets.

Aristides has stainless steel frets.