# Fretboards: Ebony vs. Ziricote



## MikeDojcsak (May 30, 2013)

Aesthetics aside, what are the benefits of either when used as a fretboard wood?

Do they differ much in price? What about durability? Tone?


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## Daf57 (May 31, 2013)

Couldn't find much info regarding a direct comparison of the 2. Both seem to favor the lower end of the tonal spectrum within bodies. Here is a tone wood chart I found - this relates to the back but _may_ be similar for fretboard  :





I would imagine that both are quite durable being the hard woods they are. Hope this helps a little.


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## Walterson (May 31, 2013)

No one will ever be able to name the woods used in an solidbody electric guitar by its sound.


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## AwDeOh (May 31, 2013)

The ebony is going to give you the classic 2007 era "djent" sound, whereas Ziricote will give you a slightly more modern "djunt" sound.

Have you considered trying a Brazilian MDF fretboard?


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## Walterson (May 31, 2013)

AwDeOh said:


> Have you considered trying a Brazilian MDF fretboard?



I thought Brazilian MDF was listed bei CITES?


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## Daf57 (May 31, 2013)

Walterson said:


> No one will ever be able to name the woods used in an solidbody electric guitar by its sound.



I really don't think so either to any significant degree as far as the fretboard. But isn't there some debate on the body? People seem to favor certain woods such as mahogany, ash, etc....


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## AwDeOh (May 31, 2013)

Daf57 said:


> But isn't there some debate on the body? People seem to favor certain woods such as mahogany, ash, etc....








Landmines past this point.


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## Daf57 (May 31, 2013)

^ Ha ha - well I don't want to hijack the OP's thread on this.


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## Navid (May 31, 2013)

Walterson said:


> I thought Brazilian MDF was listed bei CITES?



Brazilian MDF joke will never get old


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## demonx (May 31, 2013)

Zircote is much softer timber than ebony but still suitable for a board. Ebony will be much more durable though


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## foreright (May 31, 2013)

What's the stability of Ziricote as compared to Ebony? Is it as prone to cracking as Ebony can be?


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## will_shred (May 31, 2013)

Walterson said:


> No one will ever be able to name the woods used in an solidbody electric guitar by its sound.


 

This is totally true, but this chart was made my Breedlove who only makes (amazing) acoustic guitars.

also this chart I wouldn't say is totally accurate. The best acoustic guitar I ever played was a Breedlove CM with mahogany back and sides, and a bearclaw cedar top. It had MASSIVE low end (more than any rosewood guitar I've played) and was still super clear. Though the CM shape is also made to emphasize on the low end... 

/tangent

Maybe body woods do make a difference in electric guitars, but you probably need to be in a studio with an amp cranked way up mic'd with a $500 microphone and going through $1000 studio monitors for someone to actually hear the difference, and that someone would have to be a seasoned guitarist with some extremely good ears.


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## muffinbutton (May 31, 2013)

Your fretboard will not change your tone. at all. EXCEPTION: brazilian MDF will instantly make your guitar sound amazing.


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## Curt (May 31, 2013)

@WillShred: And likely not even then. You could hand someone 2 different telecasters; one ash, the other alder... And though you will likely feel a difference in the way the way the instrument resonates(as every guitar does so slightly differently), they wouldn't likely be able to state which is which. So I give the chance of hearing a difference over a recording 0%


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## Danukenator (May 31, 2013)

The difference in tone of a fret board will be so small (if anything) it shouldn't be a factor in your decision.


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## MF_Kitten (May 31, 2013)

That back wood chart is a different matter, since the differences in back wood are more about flexibility and reflectivity than resonance and density.


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## MikeDojcsak (May 31, 2013)

I've got plenty of time to decide. It'll be for a fretboard of course, but I've narrowed it down to those two and plan to get a gnarly inlay.


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## Breakdown (May 31, 2013)

Ived owned guitars with ebony and rosewood fingerboards and honestly if your guitar has medium-jumbo or jumbo frets (i.e. Dunlop 6000, 6100) your fingers are not going to be touching the fingerboard so feel doesn't matter, when you fret a string the part of the string that vibrates isn't touching the fingerboard either so I doubt it has any effect on the tone and I think all fingerboards have about the same durability. It all comes down to price and aesthetics imo.


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