This is the fretboard to my new build using Madagascar Ebony. What do the wood experts think about the quality of this piece?
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Help me identify what Fretboard wood this is?
- Thread starter Bassworship1
- Start date
- Dec 20, 2004
- 4,267
- 2,466
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- Disclosures
- Player-Builder-Founder: Honey Badger Pickups & Regenerate Guitar Works
That sure as heck looks like ebony. Maybe Macassar Ebony? The fact that the builder is using black epoxy makes it ebony of some kind. Most of the ebony available these days is streaked to some extent, or grayish like the one in the photos. LMI sells Macassar, African, and Indian ebony:
Macassar Ebony Fingerboards
Macassar Ebony Fingerboards
That's what it looks like then, most ebony is not jet black but can be dyed if you want it. Stewmac sells this stuff, but supposedly its the same as black leather dye:
http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_an...Tints_and_Stains/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html
http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_an...Tints_and_Stains/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html
Have only heard of "Madagascar Ebony" as an errant interpretation of "Macassar Ebony", which is an actual variety of ebony - this is much more likely to have been what was selected/ordered. Macassar is rarely all black and has lots of grey, taupe, brown, bluish coloration in it. The piece above is a beauty in my view, as it has straight grain in line with the shape of the fretboard, and the streaking even matches some of the colouration of the inlays. Nice neck there in them pics...
Can we see pics of the whole bass? Neck looks great to my eyes. When they are really jet black they just look like ebanol, that one has some character.
Have only heard of "Madagascar Ebony" as an errant interpretation of "Macassar Ebony", which is an actual variety of ebony - this is much more likely to have been what was selected/ordered. Macassar is rarely all black and has lots of grey, taupe, brown, bluish coloration in it. The piece above is a beauty in my view, as it has straight grain in line with the shape of the fretboard, and the streaking even matches some of the colouration of the inlays. Nice neck there in them pics...
Some years back, LMII used to sell Madagascar ebony as well as Macassar ebony. The Madagascar ebony was almost pure black, very hard and dense, and expensive. Beautiful wood; I used to buy it from them 15 years ago. There are many individual sub-species of ebony and, these days, most of the pure black ebonies that are still available are more generally referred to as West African ebony, which comes from Cameroon. LMII explains on their site that their supply of Madagascar ebony is gone, and they won't be able to get any more until some certifiable supplier is established in Madagascar.
Meanwhile Macassar ebony is a bit softer, and has a lot of color and striping. The supply of it is much more stable, and the pricing is reasonable. I like it, and have been using it for about 12 years on almost all of the basses I build.
Looks good to me! There are so many related species it's hard to tell sometimes, to me it doesn't look like typical macassar though (which reminds me of chocolate ). I like the colour and wouldn't dye it unless it was very uneven across the whole board.
What is that inlay you are using?
). I like the colour and wouldn't dye it unless it was very uneven across the whole board.What is that inlay you are using?
bass40hz
Cigar smoker, scotch drinker, American Patriot
Whatever it is it is gorgeous, especially with the abalone blocks, that combo is my absolute fave and I ordered it as such on my custom Kiesel that is arriving tomorrow!!!
So we should look for it in the classifieds in about 3 months?
So we should look for it in the classifieds in about 3 months?
Appreciate your adding to the topic.
I received the first pass through pic of my build body after he sculpted it. The Spalt Maple is very pretty on this bass.
