Fingerboard selection: Brazilian rosewood vs ebony

[Bananafist]

I like ebony fingerboards over and above brazilian rosewood because, to me, it has more bounce and better feel. The guitars I had with rosewood boards (all brazilian from a time when availability wasn't a consideration,) have all moved on. If you sweat at all when playing, ebony doesn't absorb it like rosewood, and discolour.

[Tone Gopher]

Thanks for keeping this thread alive.

I just found this at Dana Bourgeois' (aka Pantheon) website:

http://www.pantheonguitars.com/tonewoods.htm

"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, the traditional fingerboard material found on violins, classical guitars, and high-end steel strings, has the lowest velocity of sound of all the woods commonly used in lutherie and has definite damping characteristics..."

[mutley2209]

i prefer an Ebony fretboard, my Avalon has a bound ebony fret board that plays great and the binding goves it a great look

[Bruce Sexauer]

Ebony out wears BRW by a factor of three, holds frets better, and inlays invisibly. But it is very compelling visually, and has a tradition to uphold. I currently charge a Franklin for it over my standard Ebony.

[OC1]

Sorry about the price confusion, I didn't noticed the "Brasilian" in the Rosewood question.
Many high production factories these days use East Indian Rosewood for fingerboards becaus it is cheaper and plentiful than a good looking ebony.

Obviously they don't and can't use Brasilian Rosewood as any new stock is prohibited to use. I don't even keep thinking about brazilian rosewood anymore as I have no desire to hunt for old stock or to break law chasing illegaly imported new stock. For some reason, the punishment for brasilian rosewood is higher than trafficking drugs.
If you build from BR, the customer won't be able to travel with the guitar across borders, it will be likely confiscated, unless you provide him certificate it is not BR but EIR.

In any case I would prefer Ebony fingerboard to rosewood (brasilian or not) and rosewood bridge.