Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
- Thread starter MetalManiac
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uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
They have the history 57 custom reissue which is mahogany top. A lot of people are desperately trying to lift the sound out of the gutter with brighter pickups, though.
Don't forget the no-RI customs are swiss-cheesed. And some 68 RIs chambered.
They have the history 57 custom reissue which is mahogany top. A lot of people are desperately trying to lift the sound out of the gutter with brighter pickups, though.
Don't forget the no-RI customs are swiss-cheesed. And some 68 RIs chambered.
Boogie Bill
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
I have G&L guitars with maple, ebony and rosewood; and frankly it doesn't make much difference to me. I have 10 Gibson Les Pauls (plus a 335), and three are ebony. (Two Supremes and an Elegant.) I think my three Historics are Madagascar rosewood. The rest are Indian rosewood, including the 335.
I think there are tonal differences with Indian versus Madagascar versus Brazilian, and from my limited experiece the Brazilian sounds best, with the Madagascar close behind. The 2003 LP R9 Reissues with Brazilian boards are amazing. Brazilian is a very musical sounding wood.
The twofold appeal of ebony in my opinion is cosmetic, and feel. I love that smooth feel. And intricate mother-of-pearl and abalone inlays look spectacular against the black of ebony.
But honestly, I think it's a moot point for me. I have never selected one of my guitars to play solely for it's fingerboard wood.
Bill
I have G&L guitars with maple, ebony and rosewood; and frankly it doesn't make much difference to me. I have 10 Gibson Les Pauls (plus a 335), and three are ebony. (Two Supremes and an Elegant.) I think my three Historics are Madagascar rosewood. The rest are Indian rosewood, including the 335.
I think there are tonal differences with Indian versus Madagascar versus Brazilian, and from my limited experiece the Brazilian sounds best, with the Madagascar close behind. The 2003 LP R9 Reissues with Brazilian boards are amazing. Brazilian is a very musical sounding wood.
The twofold appeal of ebony in my opinion is cosmetic, and feel. I love that smooth feel. And intricate mother-of-pearl and abalone inlays look spectacular against the black of ebony.
But honestly, I think it's a moot point for me. I have never selected one of my guitars to play solely for it's fingerboard wood.
Bill
Northwinds
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Source? I disgree, all my guitars have ebony boards and I have zero issues, especially maintaining them. BTW, they are all around 30years old and look as good as new. Rosewood is also far more prone to cracks
Source? I disgree, all my guitars have ebony boards and I have zero issues, especially maintaining them. BTW, they are all around 30years old and look as good as new. Rosewood is also far more prone to cracks
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uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
I feel that different Rosewood sounds drastically different, but it's hard to get good data on it. Brazilian rosewood in particular can be pretty dark. I like the paler colored rosewood boards much better.
I don't think Ebony is too different from run-of-the-mill rosewood.
And I don't think any of this plays (sound-wise) a big enough role to matter. I think a lot of people are mislead by the specific guitars that maple, rosewood and ebony end up in. In the Strat world one-piece maple is often combined with brighter pickups because "that's what the customer expects". One-piece maple in Strats also has a slight tendency to come with smaller vintage-style frets and with thicker and/or V-shaped necks.
In the Les Paul world, sure many LP Customs sound darker but then most of the time the LP Customs are made from heavier wood because "that's what the customer expects".
So I think people need to be very careful when assuming there's an audible difference just because of the woods used and what guitars you noodled on in Guitar Center. When I exchanged same-construction necks between maple and rosewood on a Blazer the difference was very small. I think large frets make a bigger difference just for starters. As does the truss rod used.
So I pick ebony because it feels better.
I feel that different Rosewood sounds drastically different, but it's hard to get good data on it. Brazilian rosewood in particular can be pretty dark. I like the paler colored rosewood boards much better.
I don't think Ebony is too different from run-of-the-mill rosewood.
And I don't think any of this plays (sound-wise) a big enough role to matter. I think a lot of people are mislead by the specific guitars that maple, rosewood and ebony end up in. In the Strat world one-piece maple is often combined with brighter pickups because "that's what the customer expects". One-piece maple in Strats also has a slight tendency to come with smaller vintage-style frets and with thicker and/or V-shaped necks.
In the Les Paul world, sure many LP Customs sound darker but then most of the time the LP Customs are made from heavier wood because "that's what the customer expects".
So I think people need to be very careful when assuming there's an audible difference just because of the woods used and what guitars you noodled on in Guitar Center. When I exchanged same-construction necks between maple and rosewood on a Blazer the difference was very small. I think large frets make a bigger difference just for starters. As does the truss rod used.
So I pick ebony because it feels better.
JOP
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Ebony all the way for me.
Alpine White or Silverburst?
Ebony all the way for me.
Jeffrec
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
I have an '87 Custom, (obviously with an ebony fretboard). Even though rosewood is suposed to be warmer sounding, I've had no issue with the Custom being overly bright. It's pretty danged warm to me. Best LP I've ever played.
I have an '87 Custom, (obviously with an ebony fretboard). Even though rosewood is suposed to be warmer sounding, I've had no issue with the Custom being overly bright. It's pretty danged warm to me. Best LP I've ever played.
Bass_Medic_05
Purveyor of Low End
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
+1 ....although I really prefer maple with black block inlay
+1 ....although I really prefer maple with black block inlay
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
If you are lucky any color Studio can come with an ebony fretboard. Apparently Gibson pre-made a whole bunch of body/neck combos and decided the color later on market demand, and if there are too many bases intended for white around they just paint them red or black or burst or whatever they think sells this month.
If you are lucky any color Studio can come with an ebony fretboard. Apparently Gibson pre-made a whole bunch of body/neck combos and decided the color later on market demand, and if there are too many bases intended for white around they just paint them red or black or burst or whatever they think sells this month.
alteredbeast
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Always ebony here. the feel, the crisper sound, the look. i like the feeling of a newly oiled ebony board. slick as hell.
Always ebony here. the feel, the crisper sound, the look. i like the feeling of a newly oiled ebony board. slick as hell.
Lewguitar
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
I think rosewood sounds best and Brazilian Rosewood better still. More mids. More complexity.
Ebony has a purer sound and doesn't add as much of its own color to the tone of the instrument. Great for violin, viola, cello and string bass but not as great for rock and blues tones.
Everyone who's actually owned both knows, or ought to know, that a Les Paul Standard (rosewood) almost always sounds "better" than Les Paul Custom (ebony).
I think rosewood sounds best and Brazilian Rosewood better still. More mids. More complexity.
Ebony has a purer sound and doesn't add as much of its own color to the tone of the instrument. Great for violin, viola, cello and string bass but not as great for rock and blues tones.
Everyone who's actually owned both knows, or ought to know, that a Les Paul Standard (rosewood) almost always sounds "better" than Les Paul Custom (ebony).
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Bludave
New member
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
I own 2 Les Paul's. a studio and a standard. Now we all know that a standard is a better guitar in almost every case. In my case as well the standard is by far a better player and a better sounding guitar. The standard has RW board. The studio is a really nice guitar. I have a gothic les Paul studio which is all black with brushed aluminum appointments. Based on these two I would always pick the standard. But if you compare a standard to a custom I think the custom would win. I haven't
Personally played too many customs or at least not at length. But a really good custom would be hard to beat. I do have a 359 which is a custom version of a 339. And it is a smoking good guitar
I own 2 Les Paul's. a studio and a standard. Now we all know that a standard is a better guitar in almost every case. In my case as well the standard is by far a better player and a better sounding guitar. The standard has RW board. The studio is a really nice guitar. I have a gothic les Paul studio which is all black with brushed aluminum appointments. Based on these two I would always pick the standard. But if you compare a standard to a custom I think the custom would win. I haven't
Personally played too many customs or at least not at length. But a really good custom would be hard to beat. I do have a 359 which is a custom version of a 339. And it is a smoking good guitar
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Gotta go with Lew on this one. As much as I like the slick feel of ebony, I'd rather have rosewood; it does seem to help the tone. 2/3's of the poll went with ebony, I didn't think there were that many guitars with ebony...some of these boys just may have a bunch of rosewood guitars.
Gotta go with Lew on this one. As much as I like the slick feel of ebony, I'd rather have rosewood; it does seem to help the tone. 2/3's of the poll went with ebony, I didn't think there were that many guitars with ebony...some of these boys just may have a bunch of rosewood guitars.
Myaccount876
Amira-Maker
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Ebony all the way for the feel and how beautiful of a wood it is. But if the supply is quickly diminishing, I'm very willing to give it up and use substitutes, such as a maple fretboard dyed black to look like ebony.
Ebony all the way for the feel and how beautiful of a wood it is. But if the supply is quickly diminishing, I'm very willing to give it up and use substitutes, such as a maple fretboard dyed black to look like ebony.
alteredbeast
New member
T
TheProphet
Guest
Re: Poll- Les Paul Ebony Fretboard VS. Les Paul Rosewood Fretboard ?
Own a mix of both. Prefer the feel of ebony. The tone difference is almost negligible on most guitars that I own. My personal opinion is that the body materials make up the bulk of the guitar's tone. Run two similar guitars where the only difference is fretboard material and I'm going to wager there's not a whole lot different. My Navarro and LPCL have the same body materials and body thicknesses. Just different shapes and one has an ebony fretboard, the other has rosewood ... Both sound remarkably similar.
Own a mix of both. Prefer the feel of ebony. The tone difference is almost negligible on most guitars that I own. My personal opinion is that the body materials make up the bulk of the guitar's tone. Run two similar guitars where the only difference is fretboard material and I'm going to wager there's not a whole lot different. My Navarro and LPCL have the same body materials and body thicknesses. Just different shapes and one has an ebony fretboard, the other has rosewood ... Both sound remarkably similar.
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