# Any Fingerboard wood substitutes for fretless bass?



## SatanicToaster (Nov 19, 2016)

Hey guys, me and a couple of buddies are planning to build an electric fretless bass and I am wondering if their is any other woods that can be used for the fingerboard besides ebony? I know ebony is used for it's hardness and sustain, but these days its become costly for known reasons and we are looking into other woods. I know that rosewood isn't strong enough and we don't want to use wenge because of the dangers involved. The only wood I can think of is bubinga, what do you guys think?


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## LordCashew (Nov 20, 2016)

Have you considered coating the fingerboard? You can probably use any wood you want if it's covered by epoxy.


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## endmysuffering (Nov 20, 2016)

LordIronSpatula said:


> Have you considered coating the fingerboard? You can probably use any wood you want if it's covered by epoxy.



I second this, was gonna mention it. Just reinforce the neck if you think the wood isn't strong enough also.


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## A-Branger (Nov 20, 2016)

Richlite 

http://balsambanjoworks.com/product/richlite-fingerboards/

looks and feels like Ebony. I know its been used for fretless because of the no grain.

and didnt even knew it was that cheap. So there you go


also I think you would be better asking this question in the Luthiers sub-forum. Maybe the mods would move the tread over there


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## Winspear (Nov 20, 2016)

Ebony is perfectly fine as far as wear goes. Even with roundwound strings they only leave a little marks (fairly quickly, but it takes forever for them to get worse and you could sand it down 0.5mm or less every few years without trouble). I've had two fretless basses with roundwound strings and uncoated ebony boards now and wont bother trying anything else  
If you're looking into other woods with similar strength, bloodwood is fantastic or richlite substitute as mentioned. 

That said epoxy works great as a coat for any wood and gives a brighter, less woody tone.


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## MikeNeal (Nov 20, 2016)

SatanicToaster said:


> Hey guys, me and a couple of buddies are planning to build an electric fretless bass and I am wondering if their is any other woods that can be used for the fingerboard besides ebony? I know ebony is used for it's hardness and sustain, but these days its become costly for known reasons and we are looking into other woods. I know that rosewood isn't strong enough and we don't want to use wenge because of the dangers involved. The only wood I can think of is bubinga, what do you guys think?



theres no real dangers involved with wenge, as long as you are careful not to get splinters.

as far as ebony substitutes go...Purpleheart, bloodwood, ziricote, pau ferro are a few suggestions


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## thraxil (Nov 20, 2016)

Has anyone tried roasted maple?


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## pondman (Nov 20, 2016)

I've started using a timber called Balau as a strengthening neck laminate. Its incredibly strong and hard. Purple Heart is also a tough wood.


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## endmysuffering (Nov 20, 2016)

pondman said:


> I've started using a timber called Balau as a strengthening neck laminate. Its incredibly strong and hard. Purple Heart is also a tough wood.



Isn't purple heart super heavy?


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## pondman (Nov 20, 2016)

Yes, most of the heavy duty woods are heavy but its only a finger board.


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## olejason (Nov 21, 2016)

If you're just building one bass a nice ebony board really isn't expensive at all. Sourcing a bubinga board would probably be more expensive.


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## oracles (Nov 22, 2016)

A-Branger said:


> Richlite



This. Richlite is fantastic, I have it on 3 Aristides builds and it's been excellent.


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## ixlramp (Nov 22, 2016)

Richlite is also known as 'Ebonol' and is used on the Ibanez Gary Willis SR and the Cort Curbow fretless (which i used to own). Very clear, modern, bright tone. Material is very hard, very smooth and very black.
It's a 'high pressure laminate of black paper and phenolic resin' so essentially compressed laminated wood.


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## marcwormjim (Nov 22, 2016)

I'll always +1 in advocating a phenolic board - Not everyone's cup of tea, but it takes a tonewood snob to deny the benefits of its feel and stability to those who appreciate it (not that any fingerboard can compensate for a crummy neck).


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## SatanicToaster (Nov 23, 2016)

It looks that richlite is a VERY good substitute, and I think I may use it, but what is your opinion on its tonal properties, guys?


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## LordCashew (Nov 23, 2016)

SatanicToaster said:


> It looks that richlite is a VERY good substitute, and I think I may use it, but what is your opinion on its tonal properties, guys?



Well if it is indeed the same thing as ebonol, I quite like it. I've played a couple basses with ebonol boards and found them to be a little brighter in the fretless "mwah" department than ebony, but not so much as coated boards which can be really zingy. Setup (string height, neck relief) and playing technique have a big impact on fretless tone because the string's interaction with the fingerboard is such a big component, but that's my best overall impression of the differences between the fingerboard materials.


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## SatanicToaster (Nov 24, 2016)

So how does it sound when interacting with the strings, you know like sustain, brightness, etc?


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## LordCashew (Nov 25, 2016)

SatanicToaster said:


> So how does it sound when interacting with the strings, you know like sustain, brightness, etc?



That's what I was referring to by "mwah" - kind of an onomatopoeic term bassists use for the sound the string makes when it vibrates against the fingerboard immediately in front of where the left hand stops (or "frets") it. As I said, I found it to be a little brighter than ebony, possibly with a little more sustain. 

But again, the fingerboard is only one of several variables, and setup and technique are VERY important here. Low string height and fairly little neck relief facilitate the whiny "mwah" sound, as does a certain type of right-hand attack. A higher setup will have a thumpier, less singing tone more reminiscent of an upright bass.

I would say that while there is certainly a noticeable tonal difference between coated and uncoated boards in general, your pickups are more important than the fingerboard in terms of how your bass translates the sound of the string itself, and your setup and technique are more important than the fingerboard material in terms of how the fingerboard influences your sound. I can get a pretty wide spectrum of sounds from my ebony-boarded fretless just by varying the angle and location of my right hand attack.

Anyway, I hope that's not too detailed or long-winded. But I thought I covered your question in my last post and apparently didn't give you quite as much info as you wanted. TL;DR is that harder material = brighter and more sustain, which makes ebonol a good choice. But setup and overall construction is probably more important than fingerboard choice in terms of sustain.


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