The Macassar Ebony is a beautiful wood with similar properties to the African Ebony. However, aesthetically it is different, since the Macassar Ebony straight grains, create a beautiful contrast between a brown and black, which is highly appreciated by luthiers and guitarists.
Subsequently, are ebony fretboards more expensive?
Ebony is more costly than rosewood and so an ebony fretboard is typically going to be found on more expensive acoustic guitars while rosewood fretboards are going to be typically found on entry level acoustic guitars.
People also ask, can I clean ebony fretboard with water? 2 Answers. Show activity on this post. It is generally safe to use a lightly dampened rag on your fingerboard. Getting the fingerboard wet can cause problems, specifically in your fret slots where any swelling or softening of the wood may cause loose or popped frets.
Hereof, can I use steel wool on ebony fretboard?
Fingerboard Cleaning Instructions
Over the years a fingerboard can become covered with dirt and sweat, and may need cleaning. You will need a polishing cloth, lemon oil, a tooth brush and 0000 steel wool (it is important to only use this 0000 or very fine steel wool, and only on a rosewood or ebony fingerboard).
Do you need to oil ebony fretboard?
There are two primary finishes that a guitar fretboard will usually come in; varnished and unvarnished. Most maple fretboards will be varnished, whereas rosewood and ebony are typically raw, or unvarnished, wood. If your fretboard is varnished, then good news – you never need to worry about oiling your fretboard.
How can you tell the difference between a ebony and a rosewood fretboard?
Natural ebony is usually much more varied and colorful, a single fretboard often has streaks of different shades of black and brown through it. Rosewood also has these streaks, but usually don’t have any black, just varying shades of brown.
How do I maintain my ebony fretboard?
How do you maintain ebony wood?
How to Clean Ebony
- Apply lemon oil to a rag.
- Wipe the ebony wood with lemon oil. Apply more lemon oil to your rag as needed.
- Allow the lemon oil to soak into the ebony for 5 minutes. …
- Wipe off excess lemon oil from the surface of the ebony with a clean rag.
How often should you condition your fretboard?
You should use fretboard conditioner about every 6 months. If you live in a harsher / dryer climate, consider conditioning your fretboard more often as the fretboard can dry out more quickly. You will not harm the fretboard by over conditioning – as long as you wipe off the excess.
Is Wenge a good fretboard?
Wenge is a great tonewood for back & sides, and fretboard / bridge, I’ve used it quite a bit. It makes a great sounding guitar.
Should you use lemon oil on an ebony fretboard?
Instead, they’re just mineral oil or some other other fretboard-safe oils, with lemon scent and yellow coloring added. For this reason, most of the guitar lemon oils on the market are 100% safe when used in moderation on your guitar’s rosewood or ebony fretboard (don’t use lemon oil on maple–more on that below).
What is Gabon ebony?
Gabon Ebony is the benchmark for black in lumber. It has been treasured through the ages from statues found in Egyptian tombs to the fret boards on violins. A very dense wood with specific gravity of 1.2, it is usually only available in widths less than 6” and lengths less than 48”. Extremely dense, tight grained wood.
Why is ebony used for fingerboards?
A wood species that does not float
It is heavy, dense and has superior bend strength as compared to any other wood species. Ebony finishes extremely smooth and it is very durable. It is the only fingerboard wood that can take decades of wear and tear in violins and other fretless instruments.