Fretboards Rosewood vs. Ebony
 

I was was wondering why typically you see Ebony used for the bridge/Fretboard on higher priced guitars but you see Rosewood used on most cheaper guitars. Is it purely a wood cost/Cosmetic upgrade? Is there any sound/performance advantage to using Ebony over Rosewood? I actually prefer the look of the Rosewood but I hardly ever see it on upscale guitars. Just curious....

Rosewood is a great wood for fretboards. Today, you are lucky if you get rosewood with such alternatives as micarta and whatever else they are using. Ebony is just better than rosewood. Its harder producing better tone, its black (which looks awesome). I'd say the biggest difference though is tone. You know it when you are playing on a quality ebony board.

I quite disagree with that. Just because something is harder does not mean it produces "better" tone. First the fretboard wood on a acoustic is relatively null in terms of modifying the tone. Secondly what is "better"? What's better to you may be horrible to me.

On bridges there is a tone modifying difference. While it's not enormous it's there. Ebony is denser and therefore tends to dampen the tone a bit more lending to a darker overall flavor, while Rosewood is usually lighter in weight and does not dampen as much lending to a quicker slightly brighter open tone. I've heard people say Ebony makes for a guitar with more bass, but in reality I believe that it actually just dampens out some high end and gives the impression of more bass because the highs are not as prominent. I, personally, much prefer the rosewood for bridges, but within that I tend to go for the slightly more dense rosewoods. I'm usually going for a weight more than a certain wood. Lately I've been liking Madagascar, Brazilian and African blackwood for bridges, but I've been modifying them so that the weight ends up about the same in the end. Plus the rosewoods normally have a bit more resonance or "Q".

Of course this is all things being equal and they never are!

http://mayesguitars.com/images/mj55-2.jpg

I completely disagree with your evaluation of ebony. I believe you said fretboard material on an acoustic does not affect tone. Thats absurd. I cannot say whether ebony produces better tone than rosewood for sure, thats splitting hairs and is just my opinion. Nice guitar though, the rosewood does look good with the burst.

A rosewood fretboard on a high end guitar is a real turn off for me! They just look like the builder was trying to save money, even when the rosewood is Brazilian! FAIC, a quality guitar always has an ebony board & bridge as part of its appointments!

Don

PS

Do you guys think I'm an ebony snob? HawHawHaw!

I did say it's "relatively null". Do I think it has ZERO effect? Nope. But I've replaced quite a few fretboards from ebony to Brazilian, and from Indian to ebony and I've never heard a change in tone. If you think my opinion is "absurd" that's fine.

You're not alone! Lots of people think that and want it either from a looks standpoint, or tradition. Either way is fine, and we are all lucky we can order them the way we want them.

No offense, I did not realize till now that you are a luthier. In that case what do I know. I have both rosewood and ebony boards and love both. Its the other alternatives like micarta that I just do not like.

No offense taken. You know what you like, and many times that's all that really matters. Like I said to Don, we are all lucky we can order guitars they way we like them. No one guitar is for everyone. I think you'd like African blackwood for fretboard/bridge material. Very similar look as ebony, but a little livelier properties in my opinion. I think Micarta on a fretboard technically and sonically works perfectly fine, but I'd never use it! I'm not a type of wood snob, but I am a wood snob :)

Tonewise, I've heard that rosewood may be preferable insofar as it creates more resonance than ebony, which can dampen the sound slightly. The main acoustic sales rep at my local Sam Ash, Jossian, a great guy and a real fount of knowledge, told me that for classicals without a truss rod, ebony may be preferable because it's more stable and less prone to warping, twisting and effects of climate.

Aside from that, I think much has to do with cosmetics and snob value, as someone mentioned. I like the look of ebony on a large number of guitars. However, one I have on back order, a Gibson CJ-165 Maple in antique natural, really does look great with the slightly paler rosewood fingerboard. It complements the light spruce and maple colours perfectly.

Argghhhh, enough!

The word is "damp" when referring to acoustic properties. "Dampen" means to wet.

Thanks for that reality break. Now back to fingerboard materials...

I'm interested to learn how people perceive Dana Bourgeois' comments regarding fingerboards:

(From Tapping Tonewoods, by Dana Bourgeois, "How the Selection of Species Helps Define the Sound of Your Guitar", Acoustic Guitar Magazine, March/April 1994.

"Fretboard materials also exert an influence on overall tone, although they probably act more as icing on the cake than as a layer of the cake itself. Brazilian rosewood fretboards and their denser rainforrest counterparts add sparkle and ring, and Indian rosewood fretboards can help fatten up the midrange. Wenge, a dense, dark-colored African hardwood unrelated to the rosewoods, has tonal properties remarkably similar to those of Brazilian rosewood."

Ebony is generally denser and more abrasion resistant so it will last longer and make a heavier neck (not necessarily by much depending on the piece of rosewood. Rosewood is generally more dimensionally stable and so is less likely to get 'fret sprout'. This can be compounded because most ebony is not quartersawn these days and so is less stable than the well quartersawn ebony boards of yesteryear. Ebony is also more brittle and likely to crack, but that is of very little practical concern if it is well seasoned and kept conditioned.

As others have said, ebony has greater internal dampening, so that when you tap it it does not ring so long as a very low dampening wood like most true rosewoods, but if you can tell the difference in tone on a finished guitar your ears are orders of magnitude better than mine.

Dense does not equate to resonant...ebonies have higher internal damping than rosewoods, with Gabon and Madagascar having higher damping per unit mass than Macasser.

It's easy to hear the differences between boards...get a couple similarly sized fretboards of different species (I use EIR, BRW, Madagascar ebony, macasser ebony, and Honduran rosewood), hold at the 1/4 length point (held loosely between two fingers), than ping the board with a fingernail. The BRW usually has the longest duration of audible tone, followed by the Honduran rosewood, the Macasser, the EIR, and the Madagascar ebony.

The real advantage to ebony boards is the slower wear. A mid-Sixties Martin D-18 will usually show a lot more wear than a D-28 from the same timeframe, given the same owner and usage...just a softer wood. Keep in mind that classical builders routinely pair a rosewood bridge and ebony board to get the best out of both woods.

I'll go for an ebony fingerboard every time. In my collection, have several instruments with ebony fingerboards that are approachng 90 years of age and they are still in very nice condition. They also look very nice with mother of pearl inlay. From an appearance standpoint, ebony is the winner, at least in my estimation.

I also couldn't go so far as to say that there is no difference in tonal quality. While I haven't done scientific studies on it, someone must have. A good example of the high regard in which ebony is held is its virtually universal use for orchestral string instument fingerboards, from Amati and Stradivarius on.

If there's no difference, I would think that we would see violins and cellos with rosewood fingerboards. It's an interesting issue.

I know that banjo players certainly believe that the wood of the fingerboard makes a great deal of difference in tonal quality. Again, I don't know how scientific that thought may be. I guess the jury's still out.

Put my vote down for ebony if you take a poll. It sure looks good on my Martin guitars.

I certainly understood your use of the word dampen. It has several meanings, one of which is to attenuate sound.