Richlite! It's the best fretboard

[Shortfinger]

I thought I really liked an L-00 Gibson Studio I played last Monday at a GC here in Denver where we're visiting, so I went back today and played it again. While there, I played Martins, a D-18, D-28VS, D-35, a hog 15 something with cutaway.

The L-00 has a walnut fretboard in the Studio entry level. Other L-00s go up in price from there, and the materials are richlite (Sustainable), rosewood ((Standard), and at the Deluxe top, richlite again.

My benchmark fretboard while in this Denver guitar-store heaven, is on the Martin 000X1AE, our son-in-law's, which I've been playing way too much, since we got here last Saturday.

I've come to think richlite makes the best fretboard. It is silky smooth, hard and more abrasion resistant than any of the woods, and much more dimensionally stable as RH changes.

The X-Martin I'm playing works better for slides than anything I played this week, except that exquisite little Collings mahogany parlor I played during my first guitar-store walkabout.

If richlite had been available five centuries ago in Cremona, Stradivarius would have made his fiddles with it.

This should be a fun thread.

[Wade Hampton]

For once I'm going to resist my usual impulse to play Devil's Advocate, because I think Richlite is an excellent fingerboard material. I don't know if I would call it "the best," but it's certainly a viable candidate for those who choose to think in those terms.

Naturally there will those who disagree, but that's okay: the last I heard, nobody's putting guns to people's heads and making them buy guitars with Richlite fingerboards. Although given the howling that often arises whenever synthetic materials get mentioned on this forum, you'd THINK that firearms and menace were involved!


Wade Hampton Miller

[stormin1155]

I'm perfectly happy with the Richlite fretboard and bridge on my OMCPA4 Martin. There seems to be a consensus that ebony imparts a darker tone than rosewood as bridge material. I'm curious what sonic properties Richlite when used as a bridge.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

you'd THINK that firearms and menace were involved!


Wade Hampton Miller

...booze, money and girlfriends too!

[Shortfinger]

Richlite's the bridge on the "Sustainable" model in Gibson's L-00 series.

I love data. Where are the scientific studies comparing tonal qualities of wood and synthetic fretboards? I would like to see.

Why would Gibson use richlite for its top-of-line L-00?

But I like its feel sliding up or down, hammering on or off, and particularly, bends and vibrato.

[slooky]

Well Shortfinger I have to agree!

[Proclaimer888]

Is it stable?? More so than my rosewood fret-board? If so....and resists some of the issues with humidity.....Sign me up. After all, its all about the music.

[ahorsewithnonam]

I am a fan as well.

[Rudy4]

IMHO the next step is here in the form of Rocklite Ebono (ebony substitute) and Rocklite Sundari (rosewood substitute).

I've used Richlite in the past a couple of time and I have the Rocklite Ebono here and have been playing with it. It's more like real wood with an actual grain and it's easier to work, much like the real thing.

You can go to their website if you'd like to know more about it.

[ChalkLitIScream]

iTS nOt WoOd sO iTs nOT gOoD


That's the mentality of a lot of us. Functionally, its fine, maybe even better than wood because of its consistency. If it holds frets well, is resistant to wear, feels good, and doesnt change much with humidity fluctuations, its perfect.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by ChalkLitIScream

iTS nOt WoOd sO iTs nOT gOoD


That's the mentality of a lot of us. Functionally, its fine, maybe even better than wood because of its consistency. If it holds frets well, is resistant to wear, feels good, and doesnt change much with humidity fluctuations, its perfect.

Just a further comment about Rocklite... it is wood. It is made of small hardwood fibers which are color dyed and bonded together.

[Shortfinger]

Richlite's more expensive according to Gibson. See here: https://aws2.gibson.com/News-Lifesty...ngerboard.aspx

But of course Gibson says that. Look at the L-00 line.

But then look at what Martin does. All their entry-level guitars sport richlite fretboards, while the standards and up sport wood ones, snagged from rainforests.

Something's upside down here.

[Audie]

If it works great. What is BS, is the fact builders raised the price of guitars beccause OF THE SCARCITY OF EBONY. Well, this stuff is ridiculously cheap. Lower the prices commensurate with the hikes invoked over ebony! Do we have an emoji throwing the BS flag. Pretend it has been thrown.

[Wade Hampton]

From what I understand, Gene, Richlite is not an inexpensive material at all. Its main advantage for production line guitar manufacturing is that it can be ordered in the exact size, shape and color wanted, which means that no further shaping or sizing is required. That alone reduces labor costs associated with that component considerably.

As for why Martin uses it for less expensive models and Gibson is attempting to use it on more expensive instruments, that strikes me as a combination of marketing and of both companies having a sense of what their client bases are open to. Martin has what’s probably the most traditionalistic and relatively knowledgeable clientele, whereas Gibson generally doesn’t imbue the same sense of veneration among nearly as many people. Don’t get me wrong - there are definitely some Gibson fans who are deeply aware of Gibson’s history and its many superb guitars. But they’re considerably outnumbered by the Martin traditionalists.

That’s just a guess on my part, mind you, but it’s an educated guess: Martin buyers shopping for high end Martins would howl in dismay if Martin put Richlite on an upper end instrument, but Gibson buyers are less likely to do so.

Hope that makes sense.


whm