RichLite : Thumbs up or Thumbs down?

[Rudy4]

I'm excited about the number of luthiers who are experimenting with a Richlite alternative, Rocklite.

https://www.rocklite.co.uk/

Rocklite's ebony substitute is called Ebano and they also now produce a dead-ringer rosewood substitute product named Sundari. I have blanks of the Rocklite material in my shop that I haven't used yet, but it's a great looking product.

Rocklite is made from actual wood fibers, has actual grain, and users have reported better results when bonding as well as machining.

It's a UK product but is now being stocked by Luthier's Mercantile as well as a few other U.S. stocking distributers.

[Guildman]

When I first came across richlite a few years ago it was in my head more than anything. When I played the road series GPCRSG however I didn't know or pay attention and thought it was a great playing guitar. When it came out in the discussion didn't sway me away whatsoever. I've owned it since August.

[Guildman]

Originally Posted by IndyHD28

First of all, both companies describe themselves (today) in these terms.

Of course Martin innovated through the years. Just think of the Mr. Martin that bet his company on X-bracing design, a revolution compared to whatever was the conventional wisdom of the day. (Kind of reminds you of another current maker today, doesn’t it?).

Taylor leads the industry, today, with innovation in design, inside and out in an attempt to improve the guitar. Martin works to copy what they made in the 30’s, a tacit admission that they’ve done little since to improve the guitar. Martin’s strategy appeals to mostly Baby Boomers who can afford to buy multiple copies of these premium guitars. But that demographic will eventually fade.

There are a lot of folks that buy Taylor or Martin as well as Guild and Gibson that don't get on forums but rather what they feel and hear. When I bought a Guild D-40 10 years ago I swore it would never leave. We'll, lol, its been gone almost 3 years as well as the dreadnaught that replaced it. I could have stopped right there 10 years ago but GAS and guitar forums have greatly influenced the journey.

[AZLiberty]

Richlite is a "more afordable" substitute for wood.

It's used to save a buck. It may in fact have superior qualities to wood. Functionally it's just fine. Bottom line though, it's used by manufacturers because it affects the bottom line.

If I am buying a cheap stage guitar like a Martin X-series or Road Series, I don't care if Martin uses Richlite. Martin saves 5 or 10 bucks on the manufacturing cost, and in theory that drives down the cost to the consumer as well.

When Martin uses on a guitar costing over $1000, then frankly they (Martin) just look cheap. I'm not going to buy it. It's the wrong material for that price point.

On the other hand, when I spend a couple grand on a Carbon Fiber guitar, I fully expect the fretboard to also be composite material. Using wood would defeat the purpose.

[drive-south]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

Richlite is a "more afordable" substitute for wood.

It's used to save a buck. It may in fact have superior qualities to wood. Functionally it's just fine. Bottom line though, it's used by manufacturers because it affects the bottom line.

If I am buying a cheap stage guitar like a Martin X-series or Road Series, I don't care if Martin uses Richlite. Martin saves 5 or 10 bucks on the manufacturing cost, and in theory that drives down the cost to the consumer as well.

When Martin uses on a guitar costing over $1000, then frankly they (Martin) just look cheap. I'm not going to buy it. It's the wrong material for that price point.

On the other hand, when I spend a couple grand on a Carbon Fiber guitar, I fully expect the fretboard to also be composite material. Using wood would defeat the purpose.

This^^^

I also wonder how Richlite will hold up after 3 or 4 decades. It's plastic and look what happens to pick guards, bridge pins , tuner buttons and binding.

[Paddy1951]

Originally Posted by drive-south

This^^^

I also wonder how Richlite will hold up after 3 or 4 decades. It's plastic and look what happens to pick guards, bridge pins , tuner buttons and binding.

In 30 or 40 years you will be able to ask why there isn't any ebony or rosewood to use on acoustic guitars.

[Sagebrush Tom]

Originally Posted by IndyHD28

Thumbs down.

I am thrilled with Taylor’s approach (watch their Ebony video). After buying into the Crelicam mill in Camaroon, Bob Taylor discovered that the locals were leaving 90% of the trees they cut to rot on the forest floor because they weren’t perfectly black wood. He decided this was unacceptable and has singlehandedly turned the market to accept “smokey” Ebony as they call it. As a result, Taylor uses Ebony for fretboards on their cheapest $650 (list) Mexican-made guitars.

Meanwhile, Martin continues to stain their Ebony fretboards and problems are occurring with the stain not bonding to brownish portions of the wood. So, instead of embracing variegated Ebony, promoting it as beautiful and good, it’s a problem for Martin. Legacy vs Innovator.

Richlite is here to stay whether we like it or not. I've owned a couple of Martin's with richlite fretboard (gpcpa3 and dcpa5k) and didn't notice any difference between wood vs. richlite.
Martin has been dyeing ebony fretboards for over a century.

[bsman]

If Yoda were here, he might say: "Runs strong in this thread does the perception bias..."

[JAMKC]

I have to add that I had a Martin Jeff Tweedy that was a fantastic guitar and the Richlite fretboard was a joy to play. Should have kept it!

[FrankHudson]

I keep my thumb planted on the back of the neck and don't wrap it to where it touches the fretboard. Not sure how that impacts my answer (grin).

I have no long term experience with Richlite, but when I play a guitar with a Richlite board I like the smooth feel when I fret too hard and am actually rubbing the fretboard, such as when bending strings. And speaking of that, my longest term experience with similar materials is my fretless Jazz bass, which has an Ebonol fretboard. Now there's an instrument where fretboard material is, well, highly "material".

On the fretless bass the ebonol board feels super smooth, speaks well, and despite using round-wound strings, it seems impervious to wear even though the strings are being pressed, slammed, and rubbed against it.

Originally Posted by drive-south

I also wonder how Richlite will hold up after 3 or 4 decades. It's plastic and look what happens to pick guards, bridge pins , tuner buttons and binding.

Except Richlite isn't made out of those materials. And those items aren't all made out of the same stuff.

Richlite is composed of approximately 65% recycled paper and 35% phenolic resin.

[archerscreek]

Richlite fretboards feel nice, hard and fast to me. They look great as well. If it cost more to produce, the masses would tend to think it's inherently superior than a harvested wood which is susceptible to atmospheric changes.

[mr. beaumont]

I had a student with a Richlite-boarded Martin.

Unless you looked REALLY CLOSE and realized there was no grain, you'd never know it wasn't ebony.

I would only defer to the lutheirs of the group about how difficult it is to work with, in terms of refrets and such (I've honestly heard people say "easier" and "more difficult, so...) but as far as feel, it's pretty much just like ebony.

[stephenT]

I've had two Martins w/ richlite, still own a Martin D Jr w/ richlite FB and bridge. I really like the D Jr.

Best I can say is "i can deal with it". Would i prefer RW or pau ferro? Yes. any day. If one's a strummer I can see how you'd never tell the difference but I play a lot of lead, moving up and down the fingerboard. After a 3hr gig my hands can feel the difference. I'm going to buff out the frets and the fingerboard and see if the feel improves.

[slooky]

I love richlite! Works great with my sweaty hands vs ebony that traps sweat and dirt.