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#1
02-21-2019, 12:51 PM
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Question about celluloid (mother of toilet seat) fretboards
Howdy,
some old parlor guitars have a celluloid (a.k.a. mother of toilet seat) fretboard. How does it feel under your fretting hand? Is it just like wood? Does the material have any influence on the guitar tone? I ask because a guitar that I'm thinking to buy (that I cannot see or check personally) has got such a fretboard. TIA, Carlo 
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#2
02-21-2019, 01:15 PM
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post a pic of it. let's see what it is.
play music!
__________________
2014 Martin 00015M 2009 Martin 0015M 2008 Martin HD28 2007 Martin 000-18GE 2006 Taylor 712 2006 Fender Parlor GDP100 1978 Fender F65 1968 Gibson B25-12N Various Electrics
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#3
02-21-2019, 03:35 PM
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I have an old plectrum (not tenor) guitar around somewhere that has a pearloid (a/k/a MOTS) fretboard.. Plays just fine, as I recall, & no particular effect on tone.
__________________
stai scherzando?
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#4
02-21-2019, 06:35 PM
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Carlo, some guitars and many banjos built in the 1920’s and 30’s were made with pearloid fingerboards. Pearloid is a type of celluloid that is often called “mother of toilet seat,” since up until the 1960’s there were a lot of decorative toilet seats made of it. In years to come I suspect fewer and fewer players will get the joke, since it was mainly old ladies who had those toilet seats back when I was a kid in the 1960’s - my baby boomer generation certainly hasn’t been a fan of pearloid bathroom accessories...
Sorry for the digression. You asked whether those fretboards remain serviceable. So far as I have seen, yes, they seem to be more durable than you might expect. I’ve never owned any vintage guitars or banjos with pearloid fretboards, but have played a number of them. They worked just fine, and none that I played seemed to be crumbling or cracking. From what I can tell, a pearloid fingerboard has no discernible impact on the tone. As for playing feel, it is a bit different from a wooden fretboard, but it’s nothing major and I’ve always adjusted to it very quickly. Hope this helps. Wade Hampton Miller
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#5
02-21-2019, 06:50 PM
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Great stuff
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7649776959267/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7649776959267/ And I built one with it and see no real difference in feel or sound https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7649776959267/ Sorry - can't figure out pictures on this site Ed
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#6
02-21-2019, 09:39 PM
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I have owned a couple of instruments with MOTS boards. While I initially did not think I would like the feel I found them fine. One piece of advice I would render. Do not slap them in a case and then forget about them for any length of time. The celluloid does off gas and will, for lack of a better description. rot. I own one guitar which has acquired the name Bloody Mary. It had sat in a case for years when I ran across it during which time the celluloid pickguard had disintegrated leaving streaks on the guitar that look all the world like dried blood.
Here is a MOTS headstock on my early 1930s Kay Kraft-built Oahu "Nick Lucas"  Here my 1920s Supertone mandolin with an MOTS board 
__________________
"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard Last edited by zombywoof; 02-21-2019 at 09:45 PM.
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#7
02-22-2019, 01:51 AM
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Thank you very much guys for the advice and info.
Aesthetically wise MOTS looks very nice.
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#8
02-22-2019, 06:53 AM
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Quote:
Particularly the pearloid in different colors.... whm
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#9
02-22-2019, 07:19 AM
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One of my favorites - even the bridge and neck are covered
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7705480262071/ Click left and right, text below Ed Last edited by ruby50; 02-22-2019 at 01:38 PM.
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#10
02-22-2019, 07:57 AM
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Quote:
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#11
02-22-2019, 07:59 AM
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Not a very clear pic...sorry.
 Study of a Stromberg-Voisinet Hawaiian on a well worn man-cave couch.  As for how it feels and how is affects the sound, I think my best answer would be "it is what it is." Like switching between my steel string to my flamenco to my fan-fret to my electric to the parlor in the pic: The construction, scale, and width are what mostly affect the feel, not the materials. As to how it affects the sound, I don't know that either since I can't remove it and do an on/off comparison. If you like playing the guitar and it sounds good...There ya go. 
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#12
02-22-2019, 08:21 AM
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Just keep cigarettes away, WOOF!
Bob
__________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website)
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| celluloid fretboard, mother of toilet seat |
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