Ebony vs Pau Ferro

[musicispeace]

Those of you who would know, for an alder body and maple neck would you say there is a significant difference between Pau Ferro and Ebony for the fingerboard? Both should have a similar "fast" feel but is Ebony as bright as a maple fingerboard? Is it much more so than Pau Ferro or primarily an added bit of attack or edge? Thank you.

 

[Kostas]

I haven't cut wood but ebony seems like the strongest/hardest wood on hand. It also seems a little brighter in sound but my comparison is not accurate since I have these fretboards on completely different guitars. I've never understood the fast feel on fretboards. I can understand the neck feel but my fingers rarely touch the fretboard wood, just the frets. Do you play with very low frets?

No wood can mess your guitar so consider looks too. Ebony is black and pau ferro is brown. Unless you specify (and pay an upcharge) for jet black, ebony can have a few non black spots but it will be black more or less. On the other hand pau ferro can be light or darker brown.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

The pads of your fingers rub across the fretboard when you bend.