Anyone have a guitar with a Pau Ferro fretboard?

[Matt_B]

I'm working out the details for my next custom build and I've decided to branch out and look at different fretboard woods. I've had guitars with maple, rosewood and ebony fretboards. Out of those 3, maple is my favorite but based upon the paint scheme I'm going with, pau ferro appears to be the best color match and from what I've read, is the closest match to maple tone-wise.

So, if you've got guitars with maple and pau ferro, I'd love to hear what you think of the 2 compared to each other. Thanks in advance.

[DocNrock]

I don't personally, but if you go to www.unofficialwarmoth.com there are a lot of members there who have built Warmoths will all kinds of crazy woods. I would bet you'd find your answer there.

Good luck and post some pics when available!

[Super_shredder]

there was that custom charvel run a while ago that had half maple half pau ferro boards

[Matt_B]

I don't personally, but if you go to www.unofficialwarmoth.com there are a lot of members there who have built Warmoths will all kinds of crazy woods. I would bet you'd find your answer there.

Good luck and post some pics when available!

Thanks for the info. After reading about this wood some more, I'm going to stick with the tried and true maple fretboard. It will still look good with the paint scheme I have in mind.

I'm probably about 4-6 months out before I have it finished but rest assured, I will post pics when it's done.

[Flatpicker]

I'm working out the details for my next custom build and I've decided to branch out and look at different fretboard woods. I've had guitars with maple, rosewood and ebony fretboards. Out of those 3, maple is my favorite but based upon the paint scheme I'm going with, pau ferro appears to be the best color match and from what I've read, is the closest match to maple tone-wise.

So, if you've got guitars with maple and pau ferro, I'd love to hear what you think of the 2 compared to each other. Thanks in advance.

I have a Hamer T62 with a Pau Ferro board.
Truthfully, I can't hear any real difference between it and Maple.
Actually, I can't hear any difference between it and Ebony either.

[Matt_B]

I have a Hamer T62 with a Pau Ferro board.
Truthfully, I can't hear any real difference between it and Maple.
Actually, I can't hear any difference between it and Ebony either.

It's been a while since I've had an ebony fingerboard on an electric guitar I definitely hear a difference between rosewood and maple. Some folks can't hear a difference between fingerboard woods and some can.

[Chad]

It's been a while since I've had an ebony fingerboard on an electric guitar I definitely hear a difference between rosewood and maple. Some folks can't hear a difference between fingerboard woods and some can.

Unless you are comparing guitars that are exactly alike aside from their fingerboard wood, how do you know the fingerboard wood is the major contributing factor to what difference you're hearing?

[Matt_B]

Unless you are comparing guitars that are exactly alike aside from their fingerboard wood, how do you know the fingerboard wood is the major contributing factor to what difference you're hearing?

I have swapped necks on guitars before to test this theory which is how I came to the conclusions I have. There are obviously other mitigating factors such the amp, the amp settings, the strings, the string gauge, the pick used, and last but not least the guitar player.

To me, the fingerboard's contribution to the overall sound is just one small part of the equation. Some people can't hear some things that others can and there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone's ears are different.

[Robert Burns]

IMO...Nothing looks better! Pau ferro is awesome as a fretboard wood
cosmetically anyway..

[quiksilver]

I have a SD1 Charvel Koa reissue, and I have heard that those have Pau Ferro boards. I can't tell if it's Pau Ferro or Rosewood.

[slash-ed]

Some did some didn't, I think. The SDI I just sold (Mahogany) had rosewood.

[tortfeaser]

[horns666]

I have a SD1 Charvel Koa reissue, and I have heard that those have Pau Ferro boards. I can't tell if it's Pau Ferro or Rosewood.

Its PF..I only know this because this is what the brochere said.

[Riscchip]

That reminds me, I owned a blue Rand with a pau ferro board myself. It was cool looking.

Right now I have a warmoth strat with a pau ferro board, and have owned a few other guitars with them.

I can't say for sure how it changes anything tone-wise, but looks wise, some pau ferro boards can have a rather pinkish / salmon colored tint to them. Some look more orange tinted. I like them when they're less pink and more orange. Food for thought if you were picking out a specific piece for a custom guitar (though I know, at this point, you're going with maple).

[Dreamland_Rebel]

from John Suhr's website.

Maple / Pau Ferro – Quarter sawn Pau Ferro has the good properties of Ebony but seems to be more reliable and stable. Pau Ferro is a tight grained hardwood with excellent clarity on the "chunk" tones when using gain, especially when teamed up with an alder body. In overdrive mode it has a fatter low end and more pronounced sparkle when compared to Maple. It adds excellent definition to the notes, especially when using overdriven tones. This combination is strong in the lower mids and bass with some scooped mids.