Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Full Version)

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britguy -> Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 13:16:32)

I have a very nice BRW negra guitar, custom built by a well-respected builder.

There are a few small brownish streaks in the ebony fingerboard, near the 12th fret.

I have alwys wondered if the builder might have chosen this piece of wood deliberately, or was it just accidental. And are these brown streaks indicative of an inferior quality peice?

Should all ebony fingerboards be totally black?



tele -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 13:22:37)

quote:


Should all ebony fingerboards be totally black?



No, and many ebony fretboards are colored so the brown areas are eliminated. Also you can look at many ebony fretboards in sunlight and spot some brown areas that arent usually visible



Sr. Martins -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 13:36:13)

Ive seen electric guitars with a crazy ebony fingerboard that is almost all cream and the 'streaks' are black... looks like a black tree growing on the fretboard.



Wayne Brown -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 13:50:32)

It is typical to see ebony with brown or cream streaks. Normally, I would dye the fingerboard black. Once I had a peghead with gray/brown streaks and I just left it natural. Seemed to give some character! As our supply of ebony diminishes, we may see more and more ebony with streaks.



Sr. Martins -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 14:08:39)

Linseed oil darkens it. Ive "home-boiled" mine twice but it seems that its not enough, takes many days to dry.. but it darkens and smoothens the wood.



etta -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 14:11:56)

Not to worry about brown. Sometimes that brown is not visible until the ebony is planed. It is getting more difficult, so I am told, to find the really 100% black fingerboard ebony. I have a l970 Madrid guitar by a highly esteemed builder with a small brown spot around the 12th fret....not a problem.



C. Vega -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 14:17:07)

Better to have a few brown streaks on your fingerboard than in your knickers.



jshelton5040 -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 14:26:56)

quote:

ORIGINAL: britguy
Should all ebony fingerboards be totally black?


Britguy,
There are several species of ebony which vary in color and grain. The best ebony comes from Madagascar and is pretty much totally black...almost blue-black. Ebony from central Africa (Gabon) has more open grain and occasional streaks of lighter color or spots of white. It's still an excellent ebony.

The Asian varieties of ebony are much less desirable in my opinion. I had access to pretty much unlimited Macassar ebony from the Philippines (they call it Camagong) and imported a pretty large quantity back in the 70's. It varies from cream colored to completely black. I still have most of it and it's still so unstable that I wouldn't consider using it on guitars. Perhaps ebony from other parts of Asia is just fine but my experience with Camagong pretty much soured me on using anything but the African varieties.



NAB -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 16:38:37)

I thought I saw the video from a link here but in case it was just my lost hours in following YouTube links and such, here is a link that explains a lot about ebony.

http://www.taylorguitars.com/media/taylor-guitars-future-ebony

It was a very eye-opening video.



jshelton5040 -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 18:13:42)

I don't see why a synthetic material wouldn't work fine for fingerboards. I suspect when ebony gets so expensive and scarce that's exactly what will happen. Ebony isn't what I would call a tonewood and imparts little or nothing to the sound of the guitar in my opinion. Might as well be made of plastic at least it could be made stable and without the problem of checking and shrinking.



Leñador -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 18:29:23)

Carbon Graphite/Fibre, electric manufacturers have been doing it for years, Parker, Carvin etc...
If it didn't effect the sound negatively on a flamenco I'd be all for it.



Arash -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 18:59:23)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jshelton5040

Might as well be made of plastic


ughh....are you serious?[&:]
can't imagine moving my fingers over a piece of plastic on a flamenco guitar



Ruphus -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 19:05:28)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jshelton5040

I don't see why a synthetic material wouldn't work fine for fingerboards. I suspect when ebony gets so expensive and scarce that's exactly what will happen. Ebony isn't what I would call a tonewood and imparts little or nothing to the sound of the guitar in my opinion. Might as well be made of plastic at least it could be made stable and without the problem of checking and shrinking.


What alternative hard wood is concerned I remember some players preferring rosewood over ebony. They claimed it would be feeling softer to the fingertips and in a way benefit fretting the string.
Don´t know whether I was just imagining because of what I had heard, but when I got me a bass with rosewood fingerboard I digged how it felt.

I love wood, but am not reserved against new materials either.
I would love to try out a carbon axe, hoping for decent properties so that it would be a nice workhorse immune against climate conditions.

quote:

ORIGINAL: NAB

I thought I saw the video from a link here but in case it was just my lost hours in following YouTube links and such, here is a link that explains a lot about ebony.

http://www.taylorguitars.com/media/taylor-guitars-future-ebony

It was a very eye-opening video.


Been waiting all the time for a video link on the foro that would NOT be from the popular media plattforms that are all blocked over here.
With this link I now finally realized that the censors have engaged something to block any video whatsoever.

Where there is not enough intellect to even guess what could be wrong with censoring this must be the perfect solution for managing internett access. [:@]
Away with any critical opinions or reports, and you get removed sinful tities as well ( where the censored´s main focus lies anyway).
Just saying.
Back to Monty Python´s stone sellers.



quote:

ORIGINAL: Arash

can't imagine moving my fingers over a piece of plastic on a flamenco guitar


Arash,

You have probably touched artificial ivory used for keyboards? I at least can´t detect a tactile difference to ivory with it. And if a fingerboard felt like that only maybe mat and weighing less ... ?

Ruphus



Richard Jernigan -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 24 2013 20:28:20)

The unorthodox Australian classical luthier Smallman makes his fingerboards from carbon fiber composite. I've never played one, but I've heard good reports.

There is a species of ebony that grows (grew?) in south Texas and northern Mexico. The new (1870) house on the ranch was built in the middle of an ebony grove.

The house is built on granite piers 5 1/2 feet (1.7 meters) high. Laid on the piers are 4"x 16" (10 x 40 cm) cypress beams, bridged by 2" x 12" (5 x 30 cm) cypress joists on one-foot (30 cm) centers. Inch-thick ( 2.5 cm) yellow pine diagonals are laid on the joists, and on top of the pine is almost 6,000 square feet (560 square meters) of one-inch (2.5 cm) ebony floor.

This ebony is fine grained, alternating dark yellow and very dark brown.

On a rotating schedule that lasts a year, the furniture is removed from one room at a time, and the floor is rubbed down with kerosene. The door is closed and the windows in that room are left open until the pungent smell dissipates somewhat. In the semitropical climate of south Texas, it keeps the bugs from eating the floor.

There used to be (maybe still is) a restaurant on the old Pan American Highway, 50 or 100 miles south of the border with a similar floor. I think the stone restaurant building was built before the ranch house.

At the spectacular Mayan site of Palenque, in the high jungle south of the southern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, we stayed at a hotel floored in some tropical hardwood that was swabbed with kerosene. I saw no signs of bugs eating the floor, but apparently the kerosene did not deter them from walking across it. Each of the bedposts stood in a can of kerosene.

At bedtime the maid appeared and peeled back the bedclothes layer by layer all the way down to the mattress, including turning the pillowcases inside out, then put them back on.

I asked her what she was looking for.

"Pues, alacranes, señor. Son muy venenosos."

I made sure to leave her a decent tip.

RNJ



Anders Eliasson -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 7:42:17)

quote:

Better to have a few brown streaks on your fingerboard than in your knickers.


Well, i dont know. A few brown streaks in the knickers is just showing me that I´ve had a nice day. Farting, if not exagerated, can be a pleasure. At least for the farter. My late wife always laughed when i farted, but she was also kind of special. She liked farting herself, so we got along very well.



Sr. Martins -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 10:20:33)

quote:

Well, i dont know. A few brown streaks in the knickers is just showing me that I´ve had a nice day. Farting, if not exagerated, can be a pleasure. At least for the farter. My late wife always laughed when i farted, but she was also kind of special. She liked farting herself, so we got along very well.


I always tell girls that farting is part of bonding. Even if you dont agree, at least its a good excuse when you have to let go of "something" before "round 2".



Arash -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 12:44:42)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Anders Eliasson

My late wife always laughed when i farted, but she was also kind of special. She liked farting herself, so we got along very well.


quote:

ORIGINAL: Rui Martins

I always tell girls that farting is part of bonding. Even if you dont agree


so you both broke the barrier



by the way, there is a solution for the knickers problem just in case you don't want anyone to find out that you are a farter: black knickers.



britguy -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:00:23)

quote:

by the way, there is a solution for the knickers problem just in case you don't want anyone to find out that you are a farter: black knickers.



Or, you can be like me; and dont wear any. . .

(And always, always, wear brown trousers. . .)


Or, you can also save your best farts for the swimming pool, and enjoy counting the bubbles. . .

(Jesus, how gross can we get in here?)



Arash -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:13:16)

quote:

ORIGINAL: britguy


(And always, always, wear brown trousers. . .)


The one in your avatar is white. no?
The day you took this picture must have been your fart-free day :)


quote:

Or, you can also save your best farts for the swimming pool, and enjoy counting the bubbles. . .


best farts are the wet farts (not in swimming pool), since they have an amazing sound too

quote:

(Jesus, how gross can we get in here?)


as long as we don't talk about shiitting in our knickers, its still ok imo.
no worries.



Sr. Martins -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:17:17)

On the other hand, farting in the bath is an augmented experience, not only soundwise (nice reverb) but also... you know.

It must be that hot humidity that amplifies the thing.



Arash -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:26:18)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rui Martins

On the other hand, farting in the bath is an augmented experience, not only soundwise (nice reverb) but also... you know.

It must be that hot humidity that amplifies the thing.


yep,,,, there is definately more Aire, Soniquette and duende there ...

by the way, just wondering what you guys think about my new theory:
i think there is a significant difference in farts (both sound and smell) of flamenco guitarists and classical guitarists. i think those from classical guitarists are more polite, elegant and defined than ours... the sound is not as "noisy" as ours and the smell almost neglectable. just a theory which has to be proven. maybe aeolus can give an insight into this



britguy -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:32:50)

quote:

as long as we don't talk about shiitting in our knickers, its still ok imo.
no worries.


Well, Arash, old buddy, since we're on the subject; here's a couple of little anecdotes illustrating the more positive side of flatulence.

(Couple of verses from my teenage years - recalled from a crude old British rowing/rugby club song: " 'Twas on the good ship Venus":

'The first mate's name was Carter'
and Christ, he was a farter'

He could fart anything,
From God save the King,

to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. . .'

and further:

'The cook's name was also Carter;
and he was another big farter,

If the wind wouldn't blow,
and the ship wouldn't go,

Then Carter; the Farter; would start 'er. . .'

I can try to write out the tune if you want to learn to sing it?


(I think Simon'll probably throw me out of the Foro for this, then I'll have to re-join under another name?)



Arash -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 13:53:44)

quote:

ORIGINAL: britguy

quote:

as long as we don't talk about shiitting in our knickers, its still ok imo.
no worries.


Well, Arash, old buddy, since we're on the subject; here's a couple of little anecdotes illustrating the more positive side of flatulence.

(Couple of verses from my teenage years - recalled from a crude old British rowing/rugby club song: " 'Twas on the good ship Venus":

'The first mate's name was Carter'
and Christ, he was a farter'

He could fart anything,
From God save the King,

to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. . .'

and further:

'The cook's name was also Carter;
and he was another big farter,

If the wind wouldn't blow,
and the ship wouldn't go,

Then Carter; the Farter; would start 'er. . .'

I can try to write out the tune if you want to learn to sing it?


(I think Simon'll probably throw me out of the Foro for this, then I'll have to re-join under another name?)


nice letra, would make a nice fart de bulerias.

by the way, i think after this discussion is finished, we should rejoin under another name anyway ;)



Sr. Martins -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 15:25:51)

Classical farts are more round and bassy. Flamenco's are brighter, shorter and with a pronounced edge.

Flamingo ones are moist for sure.



FredGuitarraOle -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 15:40:55)

I found the perfect woman for you guys:



Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px



tijeretamiel -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 17:08:58)

red streaks are even worse.

for girls it's the obvious.

for guys, it's probably a sign you need to see the doctor...

***
back to fretboards.

fretboards are often dyed, which often explains why some guitarists have black fingertips when playing a brand new guitar. every new guitar i've bought has had a fretboard that has been coloured.

for fretboards any tonewood with a high Janka rating can be used, eg Ziricote, Ebony, etc. for ebony I think i read that it was a popular choice as it dampens vibrations. a hard choice of a wood is a good choice as due to play, the fretboard wears down - every single EIR fretboard guitar I've owned has grooves from play.

the 'king' of tonewoods for steel string guitars anyway is now African Blackwood, which i've not seen in a fretboard but would make sense in some ways, as it's one of the heaviest/durable tonewoods.



jshelton5040 -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 25 2013 18:11:46)

quote:

ORIGINAL: tijeretamiel


every new guitar i've bought has had a fretboard that has been coloured.


I've never used dye on a fingerboard and don't see why anyone would except to make some other wood look like ebony.



Anders Eliasson -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 26 2013 7:15:54)

I´ve never died finger either. And i Dont mind if there´s an bit of brown streaking on an ebony fingerboard. It often makes them look prettyer and more natural. Just like a few brown streaks in my knickers make me feel more natural.

I´m glad to see so many happy farters here in the luthiery section. [:D]



krichards -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 26 2013 7:44:28)

Cheaper fingerboards can have a lot of lighter colour. That's why they are cheap, its a cosmetic thing. I think maybe the factories use a lot of this wood and dye them black.
For a hand builder its not worth it. Good quality ebony is not expensive, compared with the overall cost of whole guitar, so I've never dyed a f/board either.



Anders Eliasson -> RE: Few brown streaks in fingerboard? (Apr. 26 2013 10:09:39)

quote:

For a hand builder its not worth it. Good quality ebony is not expensive, compared with the overall cost of whole guitar, so I've never dyed a f/board either.


Exactly.



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