oddjob
Well-known member
jubjub721 said:
No idea where to get it.
Ebony has a much warmer tonen then Rosewood... a Maple isn't in the ballpark. I noticed that Ebony doesn't make as much a difference on fretted basses compared to Rosewood, but it is HUGE on fretless!!!!. Warm, round, and dark... also it is durable (as much as any wood can be) as a fretless finger board - the big drawback - $$$$$$. When I had my custom basses made 10 years ago, a fretboard piece of AAA Ebony was 3/4 of a whole Bongo.
Just weigh the options... but on a fretted bass, I don't think it is that big a deal (on a fretless it is killer though).
bovinehost
Administrator
Defret what?
Plain? Where the rain in Spain falls, mainly?
Jubs - take a minute. Think before typing. Read twice, edit if you need to. You okay?
Plain? Where the rain in Spain falls, mainly?
Jubs - take a minute. Think before typing. Read twice, edit if you need to. You okay?
bovinehost
Administrator
Also, I've heard that ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony.
oddjob
Well-known member
Jubs, if you are sporting rosewood, the only way you are going to get an ebony board is to a) get a new neck b) have a luthier remove your old board and slap a new one on. Both are epensive propositions. If you don't like what sounds you are getting or have ebony-lust, trade in what you've got and get a new bass with an ebony board.
As far as de-fretting a fretboard to make a fretless. I've had that done to my old Aria ProII ZZB Deluxe (explorer). Had the frets professionally removed and filled. It had a rosewood board and sounded quite nice - but it would not have warranted the expense of putting an ebony board on it (not only that, but I don't play fretless enough to warrant it). Where ebony does make a tonal difference so many other things do as well - electronics, amplification, strings, how you play and even where on the neck you play all matter and can easily overcome "ebony" tone.
As far as de-fretting a fretboard to make a fretless. I've had that done to my old Aria ProII ZZB Deluxe (explorer). Had the frets professionally removed and filled. It had a rosewood board and sounded quite nice - but it would not have warranted the expense of putting an ebony board on it (not only that, but I don't play fretless enough to warrant it). Where ebony does make a tonal difference so many other things do as well - electronics, amplification, strings, how you play and even where on the neck you play all matter and can easily overcome "ebony" tone.
