Ebony vs. Rosewood for bridge and fretboard

I hadn't heard that ebony might next on the CITES list. Glad that I'm not a builder who has to keep those things in mind.

In that case, whatever will violin family luthiers use? I can't imagine having anything but ebony for fingerboards. :confused:

bratsche
 
Try a Martin D-21 and a D-28. The only difference is ebony F&B vs rosewood.

Better yet, try two Martin D-21s .. even with consecutive serial numbers. Chances are good they will have perceivable tonal differences.

Now do the same thing with two D-28s with consecutive serial numbers...again chances are good that they, too, will have perceivable tonal differences.
 
Better yet, try two Martin D-21s .. even with consecutive serial numbers. Chances are good they will have perceivable tonal differences.

Now do the same thing with two D-28s with consecutive serial numbers...again chances are good that they, too, will have perceivable tonal differences.

You are correct. What I feel is being ignored is the fact that fretboard and bridge material make a sonic difference which is different from two guitars with consecutive specs and serial numbers sounding different. Hell, the type of wood that an instrument is braced with will change the tone when all else is similar. Every instrument has its own voice, which is an amalgamation of all the parts. Again, when it comes to a small instrument like a uke, those differences in woods may not even be perceptible due to the small spectrum of frequencies that a uke produces. Regardless, it sounds as though you have no intention to hear another's opinion without a rebuttal, so I will step aside and go back to the guitar world. It might behoove you to read up the ideas behind wood by John Arnold, Howard Klepper, Jeffrey Elliot, Dana Boureqouis, Ervin Somogyi, Bruce Sexauer, Dick Boak, Ren Ferguson and countless other luthiers who have been building guitars and other stringed instruments.
 
Try a Martin D-21 and a D-28. The only difference is ebony F&B vs rosewood.

The problem with this experiment is that even though you say "the only difference", unless you perfectly cloned the guitar atom for atom and only changed the fingerboard, there are too many other factors at play.

Even two guitars, a D-21 and another D-21, for example, would exhibit different tones due to the same tonewood samples being different to one another.

Also the specific setup of the individual instrument plays a bigger factor. The string action and angle at every little part of the instrument will vary from one to another, despite being built and setup by the same luthier.

And speaking of the physics, where exactly does fingerboard material play a role in the tone production? The strings vibrate atop the saddle and transfers this vibration to the top and sides. Some vibration is transferred to other parts too of course, like the neck and tuners - but not in any way that generates an audible difference to soundwaves that the overall instrument produces.

Even if it did (at some miniscule, quantum level), it wouldn't be the decisive factor in changing a guitar's overall tone that one fingerboard material gets associated with "bright" while another with "mellow" tones. It's a misconception that plays a big role in marketing.
 
The problem with this experiment is that even though you say "the only difference", unless you perfectly cloned the guitar atom for atom and only changed the fingerboard, there are too many other factors at play.

Even given the atom-by-atom cloning, there could still be marked differences if, for example, a fly flew into the cloning apparatus. Then, every time you played a Bb, you'd hear a buzzing noise followed by a tiny voice screaming, "Help me!!"
 
Even given the atom-by-atom cloning, there could still be marked differences if, for example, a fly flew into the cloning apparatus. Then, every time you played a Bb, you'd hear a buzzing noise followed by a tiny voice screaming, "Help me!!"

I think I hear my ukulele screaming "help me!" every time I play it. :)
 
I'm surprised that more high end ukes don't come with Richlite fingerboards and bridges. They can be almost indistinguishable from ebony, look great, and last forever. Gibson even uses them on $6000 guitars (though I do have to admit that not everyone is happy about that).
 
I'm surprised that more high end ukes don't come with Richlite fingerboards and bridges. They can be almost indistinguishable from ebony, look great, and last forever. Gibson even uses them on $6000 guitars (though I do have to admit that not everyone is happy about that).

Cordoba is using a composite of some kind on some of their ukes. My 24T, for example, has this composite for bridge and fretboard. It quite dark and very much like wood in appearance....on close inspection, it appears to be made from thin strips of wood in a laminate. So far so good... it feels good under the fingers although it's not highly polished and I'm not sure it would even take a polish..
 
In that case, whatever will violin family luthiers use? I can't imagine having anything but ebony for fingerboards. :confused:

bratsche

Being on the CITES list doesn't necessarily mean that wood is absolutely forbidden. Stockpiles of "pre-convention" wood can still be used as long as it is documented and other CITES wood can be used if it is from an approved and documented source. There are some exceptions to this, but in general that is how it works.
 
When you have to worry is when they attempt CPR.

Naw, they probably wouldn't. They might try to put me on the CITES list though. ;)

Seriously speaking, I believe our traditional tone woods, including neck, fret board and bridge woods, were easily available when they were first used. I'm sure other woods are out there now that regulations are forcing us to use different woods. And I'm also sure the debate over which is best for any particular purpose will continue.

B# or Bb
 
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