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Old 08-18-2010, 09:21 PM
richnrbq richnrbq is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Philadelphia
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Seems to me that fretboard wood choice is about aesthetics first and far behind, long term durability and feel. I think John Mayes's take on the minimal influence of fretboard wood and tone is really credible on two fronts. First, from everything I've seen and heard, he's a top notch builder- his expertise comes from a deep experience few of us have. Second, the fretboard is a reflective surface much more than a resonant one as far as tone is concerned, so the tapping qualities of the various woods wouldn't seem to be as significant. Maybe a harder wood would have some minimal effect on tone as a reflective surface, but given how much more significant top and b/s choices are as resonant components of the guitar, it can't mean much.

My thought is that it's really about feel and aesthetics when it comes to the fretboard. Ebony gives a simple, classic look with a hard, even feel under the fingers. Rosewood gives some interesting visual possibilities, many of which really look great to me. My two Santa Cruz's, OM and Vintage Southerner, have ebony boards which look and feel great. I had a J-45 True Vintage with a lovely rosewood fretboard that played and sounded great too.

I think it's a question of personal preference in look and feel more than anything else.

Rich
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