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Custom Shop ebony fretboard quality/grain...?

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  • #1

    Custom Shop ebony fretboard quality/grain...?

    Over the years I've owned, I dunno, probably close to 50 Jackson guitars, from the early San Dimas/Ontario to the more recent JCS stuff... The majority of them I've absolutely loved; others were absolute pigs (both in terms of the build quality/attention to detail/mistakes and how they've played)...

    I'm not sure if you guys really pay attention to this kind of thing, but I'm interested in how you guys like your ebony? Super dark and with little no grain/very smooth? Or this kind of thing doesn't really bother you? What do you guys think of quality of ebony used that's been used on the custom shop stuff throughout the ages? Would you guys say it's declined, or just total pot-luck whether you wind up with a decent slab? I'm asking, as for me, anything less than, a nice dark ebony with very little visible grain just doesn't do it for me... Below is an 88' Strat body that I'd consider to have an absolutely perfect fretboard.





    Compared to this... I dunno, the fretboard just looks rougher/cheaper? Would you be pissed if you'd waited 2 years for your custom order to come through and it ended up with a very open grain? Post your ebony grain photos!

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  • #2
    All of the old growth ebony is gone and what's remaining is protected. Look at Gibson.

    I like the old graphite textured ebony... you can still get it on guitars from Japan and Korea, but the quality of the stuff in the US has been declining. Can't really blame Jackson on that one.

    I did buy a new CS Charvel a couple years ago and luckily it has really nice ebony, but it's very hit or miss. It can be nicely consistent or it can have streaks and discoloration.
    The 2nd Amendment: America's Original Homeland Defense.

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    • #3
      I'm just going to say it; I really like Rosewood fingerboards more than Ebony...

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      • #4
        If it were up to me, every guitar I own would have ebony. lol

        I do have one token maple fretboard guitar.
        The 2nd Amendment: America's Original Homeland Defense.

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        • #5
          Most of the ebony today is streaky, and a lot of the manufacturers dye their ebony to look uniformly black.
          I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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          • #6
            Yeah, I had a little search ​after I posted and found that this topic had been covered pretty extensively in quite a few decent threads a couple of year ago.

            http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/138...ighlight=ebony

            The colour/streaking I'm not so bothered about, it's the rough/pitted grain that's really a deal breaker for me :/.

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            • #7
              Here is my 87' dinky

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              • #8
                Jesus, that's what I like my ebony to look like!!

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by JonSick View Post
                  I'm just going to say it; I really like Rosewood fingerboards more than Ebony...
                  +1

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                  • #10
                    Nowadays if possible, i will choose very dark rosewood over ebony. Feel great, looks great, and add more warmness to the tone!

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                    • #11
                      For playing, I don't like the high quality ebony. It just feels --- soft, like I am sinking into it. It creates a drag on my fingers.
                      That's actually one of the ways I tell the difference between the good stuff and the cheap stuff.

                      But for looks, I prefer the really dark, with no pitted grain. ---the exact stuff I don't like playing on.

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                      • #12
                        I've also seen a lot of crappy rosewood that is more orange than brown, also with lots of pits. My Stealth HX has a beautiful rosewood fretboard. Most guitars these days, not so much. Also agree on the ebony these days. Kinda yucky.

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                        • #13
                          I know what you mean about the open grain on Ebony. I have actually closed the grain somewhat by treating the fretboard with Gerlutz Guitar Honey. Its a good treatment for dry, open grain ebony. Not a fix all but you will see an big improvment.

                          As an aside, I had a builder contact me about a fretboard he was 'so excited' to let me have. "Figured Ebony!". I told him under no circumstance to put that on my guitar.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Dog Boy View Post
                            I know what you mean about the open grain on Ebony. I have actually closed the grain somewhat by treating the fretboard with Gerlutz Guitar Honey. Its a good treatment for dry, open grain ebony. Not a fix all but you will see an big improvment.

                            As an aside, I had a builder contact me about a fretboard he was 'so excited' to let me have. "Figured Ebony!". I told him under no circumstance to put that on my guitar.
                            I probably would have cancelled my order after that. A guy trying to bullshit you on the most visible wood on the guitar isn't a guy I'd trust to give me what I paid for where I couldn't see it.

                            I love my ebony, the blacker and more closed the better. That said, some of the best looking "ebony" I've seen is on an Agile guitar I bought for my brother to bang around on. When I "tested" it for him it looked like I had been shining someone's shoes.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Venomboy View Post
                              I've also seen a lot of crappy rosewood that is more orange than brown, also with lots of pits. My Stealth HX has a beautiful rosewood fretboard. Most guitars these days, not so much. Also agree on the ebony these days. Kinda yucky.
                              Rosewood is another example where old-growth just isn't available anymore and what's left is also protected.
                              The 2nd Amendment: America's Original Homeland Defense.

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