Stewmac fretboard color

[Monts]

Hey all,

I’m going to take a crack at a Stewmac 000 kit. Got it yesterday and I’m digging it.

I was going through the parts and checked out the fretboard, took it out of the packaging and set it aside. Completely solid black ebony. Picked it up again about an hour later and the grain stripe that you see in the pic just showed up! Is it possible that developed after it came out of the plastic? At first I thought I spilled something on it...but it’s definitely in the grain.

IMG_0884.jpgIMG_0885.jpg

[mirwa]

Looks like natural colouring to me, possible maybe in your excitement of opening the pack up you just glanced at it and assumed it was solid black

Steve

[Monts]

Possible... but I swear it wasn’t! Haha [emoji38]

[Carey]

Originally Posted by Monts

Possible... but I swear it wasn’t! Haha [emoji38]

If you want it all black, Fiebings (sp?) leather dye usually works well.

[lar]

It was (I'm sure still is) common for some manufactures to stain discolored areas of ebony fretboards black because that's what customers wanted/expected.

In some cases, ebony was thrown out if it wasn't 100% black. A waste of good wood.

Then Taylor came along. They embraced the natural colors and we all learned that no, all ebony isn't necessarily 100% black, and that's not only ok, but it adds character and uniqueness to the guitar.

Personally, I like it. Keep it - and show us build photos as you progress.

A few years ago I bought some cherry wood for a carpenter to make a door jam. When I got the wood home I noticed it had a bunch of swirl marks in it. I asked the carpenter if I should return it and get more straight grained wood. He looked at me like I was crazy. He was shocked I would consider returning it. He said I should have paid double what I paid because it was considered a higher grade due to those swirl marks. He installed it. It looks FANTASTIC.

[Monts]

Actually Stewmac just said they's send me another one, so I guess I'll see what happens.

[mercy]

They have good customer service, albeit you pay for that service. I got a faulty saddle vice and they sent me another. Having said that, I need to send the faulty one back.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by lar

Then Taylor came along. They embraced the natural colors and we all learned that no, all ebony isn't necessarily 100% black, and that's not only ok, but it adds character and uniqueness to the guitar.

Just to be clear, yes, Taylor certainly publicized that all ebony isn't 100% black, making the buying public aware of that, regardless of the fact that many consumers still don't like/accept the grey streaks.

However, that all ebony isn't 100% black is not new information to woodworkers or instrument makers - they knew that long before Taylor publicized it.

Twenty cents worth of black dye and two minutes of your time will turn your Stewmac fingerboard to jet black, if that is what you want.

[tadol]

Or just give it a few years of playing, and you’ll hardly notice it -

[redir]

That would be very odd. I have certainly never seen anything like that. I think it was your excitement too

Good luck on the construction project.

[viento]

Just an addition:
I recently bought an ebony fretboard with lighter stripes and love it.
The yellowish inserts correspond to the color of both of the guitar (tineo wood) and the fretboard.
The frets will be slightly golden...

[MikeB1]

This thread prompted a question in my mind.

Is it the type of wood or the appearance of the color that I am taken with?

So are there properties of the wood that affect how the instrument feels and sounds that I like or is it the appearance?

I know for myself, I particularly like the look of a stark, jet black fret board with a lighter body top and head stock, as seen here for example: http://www.edwardsfineinstruments.co...edwards252.jpg

I like the contrast of alternating light and dark.

I'm sure there are those out there that are much more knowledgeable than I am and know more about the tonal qualities of the wood, and that might affect their preference.

However; for me, I don't really think I have a preference in terms of how the instrument plays or sounds. I have had guitars with ebony and rosewood fret boards that I enjoyed. So I would probably also be satisfied with some of the other fret board materials that are black.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Monts

Hey all,

I’m going to take a crack at a Stewmac 000 kit. Got it yesterday and I’m digging it.

I was going through the parts and checked out the fretboard, took it out of the packaging and set it aside. Completely solid black ebony. Picked it up again about an hour later and the grain stripe that you see in the pic just showed up! Is it possible that developed after it came out of the plastic? At first I thought I spilled something on it...but it’s definitely in the grain.

Attachment 40178Attachment 40179

I’d love a guitar with that fingerboard. The lighter streaks give it character, far more striking than bland, plain black. AFAIC, it looks great.

[Monts]

Originally Posted by viento

Just an addition:
I recently bought an ebony fretboard with lighter stripes and love it.
The yellowish inserts correspond to the color of both of the guitar (tineo wood) and the fretboard.
The frets will be slightly golden...

I'd be curious to see that fretboard on the guitar. Or does anyone have any other pics of off colored fretboards on their guitars?

[viento]

Originally Posted by Monts

I'd be curious to see that fretboard on the guitar. Or does anyone have any other pics of off colored fretboards on their guitars?

I´ll post it when the guitar is finished, but there´s still some work to be done,
as is carving the neck, gluing the fingerboard, fret job, spraying nitro color and some more...