Guitar Fretboard Wood Discussion | Which Guitar Fretboard Material is Right for You?

[@raphaeloliveira89]

Great video. Very informative, as always 🐈‍⬛

[@HighZ]

Thank you! 😺

[@Consolous]

I've always been curious about the differences and what are the pros and cons of different fretboard materials. Great and throughout review

[@HighZ]

Thanks man, glad I could give some info

[@hardstones17]

I like maple the most for typical fretboard material and its nice that I can just clean it off and not really have to worry about oiling it. I opted for a richlite board on my Kiesel, that is now my preference if possible but its a rarity still. Richlite is so nice.

[@HighZ]

It certainly is nice! Always glad I can wipe the richlite off to clean it and it's stable as a rock! Definitely would like to see it on more guitars

[@ChangoGuitarras]

Great review, I revealed several doubts, big like friend.

[@HighZ]

Thank you! I'm glad this was useful

[@a5hen]

My Ibanez RGA has a Jatoba fretboard and it's really smooth

[@HighZ]

Nice! Sounds fun to play

[@crmsx]

I've never personally felt a difference in playability between fingerboard woods, at least a noticeable difference that bugged me or gave pause. Fret wire type, fret size, neck shape and neck finish are all very obvious differences which take all of my attention. I don't really care what fingerboard wood a guitar has so long as it looks cool to the design of the instrument :D. From a non-playing perspective, I prefer unfinished fretboards as they're way easier to work on as a casual noob luthier who likes to fix up guitars and do setups for fun lol.

[@HighZ]

I'd have to agree. There are many other things about a guitar that affects the playability of it, including all the things you said. I made a video discussing fret wire material and figured people might want a quick summary of the fretboard stuff. Might be splitting hairs but it's pretty fun to talk about! And yes looking cool is definitely important 😎 did a video on that too! I hear you on the unfinished boards thing as well

[@iduncanw]

I don't really have a favourite and tend to just go for what I like the look of, but not just the fretboard - in the context of the whole guitar look. I think I've ended up with mostly darker fretboards (ebony or rosewood), but also mostly on darker bodies. I've got an Elite Strat in Sky Burst Metallic - they were offered with maple or rosewood fretboard and I much preferred the colour combo of the maple. Had I ended up with the olive green Pro version, I probably would have really struggled to pick as both looked good to me. I love the birdseye maple on my RG. I also love my macassar ebony boards. Something about the sleek dark look screams METAL 🤘 I'm not sure I could own a guitar with Pau Ferro. So many have massive colour variations across the board which isn't really for me.

[@HighZ]

I was waiting for your comment! Was thinking of the maple on your RG for the whole video. Definitely love both maple and darker boards on darker guitars. And plus one to the ebony looking metal 🤘 I have the same thoughts on Pau ferro. In theory I like it's characteristics but in practice I haven't liked how it's looked at all except on one guitar, there was this ibanez single cut that had a Pau ferro board and it looked pretty decent

[@iduncanw]

@@HighZ he he, it's a thing of beauty that guitar. I still remember when I bought it and the guy in the shop didn't realise how good it looked until he got it out for me. He said it probably would have sold quicker if it was on display. The lighting in the shop definitely caught the metallic bits in the paint and it looked exquisite - so much so that I couldn't leave the shop without it, especially after how well it played as well 🤘

[@HighZ]

Basically love at first sight!

[@HarryBall-fw7pv]

I thought ebony was the best. Looks, feel and sound. Then I got a maple fretboard on a high-end guitar. Feels and sounds the best to me. Ebony still looks the best to me though

[@HighZ]

Ebony fretboards will always look amazing, I agree! But man some nice maple is a real treat! Really makes you think what you'd put on your own signature guitar if you were to have one

[@HarryBall-fw7pv]

@@HighZ your right about some maple. I'm not a fender or even country music. But at the guitar store this weekend. A American telecaster with maple neck was talking to me. So I played it and OMG. Amazing, had me playing like and things I woulda never play. The feel and tones. So inspiring. Put it on layaway. Might be a year or two cuz 2400 bucks. But I can't stop thinking about it. You could tell whoever built it, loved her

[@HighZ]

Nice, congrats! I love teles even if they're not currently in my stable. My first good guitar was a Mexican tele, wine red, and I put a black pickguard on it. I bet you'll love yours for many years to come! Always great when you can tell a lot of love was put into a guitar

[@nicholastotoro7721]

I hear more difference in the attack of the note than the tone itself, depending on the fretboard material. Feel is the biggest difference, which you keyed in on. I've gotten to like ziricote by accident LOL! Bought a Suhr that had it and it had the attack of rosewood, but the feel of ebony and looks awesome! I've had a few guitars with it built since then. I don't like a ton of resistance, which is why I also dig SS frets.

[@HighZ]

Nice! Ziricote is one of the woods I'd like to try and your comment only cements that further. Accident or luck, that's awesome!

[@nicholastotoro7721]

@@HighZ As Emperor Palpatine says... DEWIT!!! 🤣

[@HighZ]

😂 oh man I love prequel memes! Sand not so much

[@nicholastotoro7721]

@@HighZ It does tend to be coarse and get in everything... 🤣

[@AlexandersGuitarplay]

Amazing 🙂👍🎶

[@HighZ]

Thanks!

[@allanwilsonberg9558]

I like ebony with SS frets because it’s smooth and looks metal af. But the best feeling to me is SS frets with maple. My ibanez has that and it’s such a smooth experience. But even if ebony doesn’t feel as smooth to me, it still wins because the look of it bumps it up. I would love to try richlite. I once almosy traded an american ultra strat for a gibson HP les paul which has a richlite board. But the guy was offered a custom shop strat so he went with that

[@HighZ]

It sure is had to beat the looks of ebony! Richlite has a completely different feel than any wood so even if you're just touching the frets and strings most of the time, when you do feel the richlite it can be quite a shock! Not bad by any means, I love my solar with richlite and it's stable as a rock! But the material definitely feels artificial which does seem to put off some people

[@genghisghost]

i don’t get your comments on fretboard resistance. your fingers or the strings are not supposed to touch the actual fretboard.

[@HighZ]

Techniques such as string bending will require you to get your fingers under the strings. You'll feel the fretboard then.

[@adammotter7430]

9-42 strings on medium frets… you definitely will. Many others you won’t!