Fretboard colour

Lesgrandepotato

I’ve been dirty and bad and reading TGP, there is a whole 5 pages on fretboard colour. I’ve never understood it as a concern. 

What’s the benefit of a darker wood? Is it to make it look old? Like a relic? 

Or does black have better tone.

it seemed so established as a requirement I never dared ask on there as to why! 

Not trolling. Just naive and curious 

Danielsguitars

Just preference nothing more, some people prefer different rosewoods, I really like Madagascan for tone and looks, I also really liked zirocote on a recent build

I'll use Indian rosewood but tend to prefer the darker type for looks

tony99

yes believe it or not, the darker the wood will indeed produce a darker tone, ebony is well known for it, comparative to rosewood where the sound can be much lighter and "zingy", before you move towards pau ferro which is almost xylophone like in its tonal properties

Iamnobody

tony99 said:

yes believe it or not, the darker the wood will indeed produce a darker tone, ebony is well known for it, comparative to rosewood where the sound can be much lighter and "zingy", before you move towards pau ferro which is almost xylophone like in its tonal properties

I’ve always read that those with a better ear than me tend to conclude that ebony has a brighter tone than rosewood?

LastMantra

I just prefer a plain board. Ideally either ebony or dark rw. Suppose these woods are getting rarer which usually means more desirable. I don't think it effects tone enough to worry about it, all things considered.

stonevibe

Mine are usually covered in finger gip/gunk anyway

Jackobean

It's their fault so many companies are staining boards now.
Unless you're keen on wearing chinos and loafers I wouldn't pay TGP any mind.

Roland

The colour of a fretboard is largely irrelevant because you can use stain. To my ears and finger tips fretboard materials affect the sound and the feel. I know that you’re not supposed to press onto the fretboard, but You can’t help touching it when bending. Maple and ebony feel smoother than mahogany, presumably because they’re closer grained. Varnish just feels sticky. The sound difference is more in the attack than the sustain. Ebony has a plink similar to stainless steel frets when tapping.

axisus

The darker the better for me. I just prefer the look.

YourArsenal87

axisus said:

The darker the better for me. I just prefer the look.

Same.

Roland

I’d go lighter because it’s more visible on a dark stage.

bobbatone

tony99 said:

yes believe it or not, the darker the wood will indeed produce a darker tone, ebony is well known for it, comparative to rosewood where the sound can be much lighter and zingy

I agree. I love an ebony board as I find them really punchy and percussive which suits my style. I also prefer the sound of Brazilian rosewood boards compared to Indian. 

In terms of looks, I prefer them on the ‘dark side’.

tony99 said:

....before you move towards pau ferro which is almost xylophone like in its tonal properties

I don’t like the look of Pau Ferro but I definitely don’t fancy one now!

RaymondLin

Nothing, if its the same wood, its cosmetic. 

tony99

I like my fretboards like I like my coffee

WezV

Jackobean said:

It's their fault so many companies are staining boards now.
Unless you're keen on wearing chinos and loafers I wouldn't pay TGP any mind.

Staining boards has been going on since long before the internet existed.

Unstained ebony boards are actually a lot more common now than there were in pre-internet days

RaymondLin

Watch this video about ebony.

Philly_Q

I don't mind the colour of the fretboard so long as it looks good on that particular guitar - for example a relatively pale rosewood board looks rubbish on a black guitar.  I'm more bothered if the wood is dry-looking and very open-grained.  As often found on guitars from a manufacturer beginning with G.

RaymondLin

WezV said:

Jackobean said:

It's their fault so many companies are staining boards now.
Unless you're keen on wearing chinos and loafers I wouldn't pay TGP any mind.

Staining boards has been going on since long before the internet existed.

Unstained ebony boards are actually a lot more common now than there were in pre-internet days

It's probably more pre-Bob Taylor bought a company days. 

lysander

I tend to prefer middle range colours, from caramelised maple to Pau Ferro and light coloured rosewood.
I’m not too keen on very white maple or completely black ebony.
Tone wise I don’t think it changes much.
Neck construction, headstock shape (!) and fret type change the sound much more IMO.

Stainless steel frets sound much better than standard nickel alloy ones on baked maple I find, 
as baked maple sounds a fair bit darker than standard maple - at least that’s my experience from owning and trying quite a few guitars of each type.

WezV

RaymondLin said:

WezV said:

Jackobean said:

It's their fault so many companies are staining boards now.
Unless you're keen on wearing chinos and loafers I wouldn't pay TGP any mind.

Staining boards has been going on since long before the internet existed.

Unstained ebony boards are actually a lot more common now than there were in pre-internet days

It's probably more pre-Bob Taylor bought a company days. 

Bob's done a lot for streaky ebony... But even the stuff that wasn't left on the forest floor often had discolouration Once cut.   

 The standard process for almost every factory using ebony was to dye it.   Just to even out the colour

Adey

tony99 said:

I like my fretboards like I like my coffee

With chocolate sprinkle?