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  #46  
Old 03-17-2015, 07:05 PM
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Why doesn't anybody ever complain about plastic binding and plastic pickguards and plastic tuner buttons and plastic dot markers?
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  #47  
Old 03-17-2015, 07:06 PM
RustyZombie RustyZombie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire View Post
Why doesn't anybody ever complain about plastic binding and plastic pickguards and plastic tuner buttons and plastic dot markers?
Believe me, they sure did, but that was before the internet.
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  #48  
Old 03-18-2015, 11:19 AM
stinger23 stinger23 is offline
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Default Black Richlite

I've owned guitars with richlite, personally I think it's great, looks great and always will, smooth as silk and is adverse to humidity and temp changes.

Don't get me wrong, I like wood fretboards as well, but I don't believe richlite is inferior to wood as a fretboard material, definitely would not be a deal breaker for me at all! In fact, on some models I prefer it.
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  #49  
Old 03-18-2015, 01:04 PM
Riverwolf Riverwolf is offline
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Such a funny thread.
Revisit this in ten years.
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  #50  
Old 03-18-2015, 01:46 PM
good_hillbilly good_hillbilly is offline
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Originally Posted by mondoslug View Post
Why?

It seems like this is opening a can o' worms but I didn't see a thread on it & today's the first I've even heard of the stuff


I probably would have bought a OMCE online today unplayed, except for that. Might be fabulous but...why do it to that guitar? Is it just a money thing?


The fingerboards are just fine, they look great and are nice and slick under the fingers. I'm very skeptical of using the material for the bridge though. No way is a resin-impregnated bridge as good a carrier of vibrations as an actual piece of wood.
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  #51  
Old 03-18-2015, 02:29 PM
lskit lskit is offline
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There are all kinds of synthetic materials in our guitars. Is it done to save costs, certainly. However, if saving that cost is the price for the wealth of consistently well-built guitars that are available today, it doesn't bother me. If you don't want the synthetic material, there are other guitars at other price points with more traditional materials. I bought a GPCPA4R that has a Richlite fingerboard. The GPCPA4R is not a traditional looking Martin Guitar anyway, with its cutaway top.

I don't notice the difference between the Richlite fingerboard and the Rosewood or Ebony fingerboards on my other guitars. I did notice that, partially due to the Richlite fingerboard, I was able to buy a well-built, Martin guitar that was perfect for my needs at a price I was comfortable paying.

As others have pointed out, our guitars contain all sorts of non-traditional materials. If they didn't we would probably be without elephants, tortoises, abalone and the Brazilian rain forests. There are lots of great sounding guitars with lots of plastic parts these days!
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  #52  
Old 03-18-2015, 03:10 PM
davidd davidd is offline
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I'd prefer a good ebony board. The problem is I'm seeing more punky ebony boards on newer guitars. The ebony on my 2013 D18 isn't any where near as good as there was just a few years ago. I just bought 2009 Martin Custom GC MMV dread that has way better ebony on both the bridge and neck than my D18. If the trend continues Richlite will be ok by me.
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  #53  
Old 03-18-2015, 03:14 PM
Fred Watson Fred Watson is offline
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I am not a stickler for tradition -- I do not believe in doing something just because that is how earlier people did it. At one time, all of these traditions that some people blindly follow were, in themselves, new ideas and methods often initially met with skepticism.
If these new materials can give as good or better results, (sound, looks, feel, durability, value, etc.) then why not use them?
But, let's not go to the other extreme and try them out on our dollars just because they are new; make them earn their acceptance. Kick the ball back into the manufacturers' court for them to prove (before sale) and warranty (after sale) that these new materials are as good or better than what we already have.
I think that a good full-replacement warranty for, say, 10 years, would be a good first step by manufacturers. You think that that will ever happen?
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  #54  
Old 03-18-2015, 04:30 PM
lmacmil lmacmil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwimTrunks View Post
I have been checking out the Martin GPCPA4 and the Larrivee LV-03E, and i just learned that the martin has a synthetic fretboard. I guess all my research payed off.
Larrivee, here i come! Can't wait to feel your sweet ebony under my fingers.
I hope you really liked the Larrivee better. It would be silly, IMO, to pass on a guitar you liked because of the fretboard material.
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  #55  
Old 03-18-2015, 04:56 PM
doublescale1 doublescale1 is offline
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I have a Marting GPCPA3 w/Richlite fretboard and a G&L ASAT Special w/ebony board - can't feel or hear a difference - I know one is acoustic and the other electric, but both fretboards have the same "snappy" note response that ebony has as opposed to rosewood. I just play 'em and they sound real good. I also understand that Richlite will take a re-fret better than ebony since it will not crack or fracture like ebony is prone to do. I just don't dig in as a traditionalist if I can't hear the diff.
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  #56  
Old 03-18-2015, 09:00 PM
tlite tlite is offline
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At the risk of sounding redundant- play it. If you like it, and have no psychological hangups about the material, go for it! I played a new D16-RGT at Sam Ash that had just been unpacked, Factory setup was great, and it played really nicely. Looked good, too.

A lot of people are fine with richlite, but those folks won't be the 'purists', and that's completely understandable.

No idea how it holds up over the years, etc., but outside of the mental hangup of having a synthetic fretboard, I found it to be a nice playing material.

BUT- don't discount that psychological hangup! If it even slightly seems like something you won't be able to get past, you probably won't be happy with it in the long run.
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  #57  
Old 03-19-2015, 06:00 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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I had a Martin CEO4R with Micarta bridge and fingerboard and I really don't understand the issues people seem to have with the stuff. Complaints that it isn't 'traditional' are common. Neither are the plastic binding, scratchplate, bridge and end pins or the fibre used for rosettes you'll find on your 'traditional', mass-produced Martin.
Micarta/Richlite are almost indistinguishable from ebony in feel and appearance; luthiers like it because it won't chip as ebony is prone to doing, and it is easier to work.
Perhaps we should revert to gut strings, tied-on gut frets, tortoiseshell and elephant ivory to keep the purist happy. Guitars evolve and your D-16 is a very different animal from a Belchior Dias five-course guitar from 1590.
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Last edited by AndrewG; 03-19-2015 at 06:13 AM.
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  #58  
Old 03-19-2015, 06:06 AM
slopeshoulder slopeshoulder is offline
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Richlite..........No Kidding, the pink slime of the guitar world. Guitars should be made of solid wood! There is enough of it around! Don't start talking about price point. Manufacturers passing off a way to overcharge the consumer as OK or doable. NO!
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Last edited by cigarfan; 03-19-2015 at 06:51 AM. Reason: language and be nice
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  #59  
Old 03-19-2015, 06:16 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slopeshoulder View Post
Richlite..........No Kidding, the pink slime of the guitar world. Guitars should be made of solid wood! ****! There is enough of it around! Don't start talking about price point and all that other crap. Manufacturers passing off a way to dick the consumer as OK or doable. NO!
What utter nonsense! Martin are very clear about the materials they use and why they use them, and to imply that they are "passing off" is an absurd accusation. As with your suggestion that there is "enough of it around" nothing could be further from the truth. The dearth of solid black ebony, Brazilian rosewood and Honduras mahogany are examples of once-common, now-scarce and protected, timbers.
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Last edited by AndrewG; 03-19-2015 at 06:38 AM.
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  #60  
Old 03-19-2015, 06:39 AM
jimmy bookout jimmy bookout is offline
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It's Bob Taylor's fault.






Oops, wrong thread.





Four years ago, when this thread was started, the original question was about Richlite being a money saving deal, which it is not.

Jimmy
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