Fretless fingerboards

[chubs]

Is there any particular timbers that dont take kindly to being used on a fretless neck? As in excessiive wear etc.

I'm thinking about getting a canary neck with wenge fingerboard for my Jazz bass

 

[line6man]

I definitely would not want a Wenge fingerboard! It's too open grained!
A good fingerboard should be closed-grained, and very hard. Ebony, Bloodwood, Pau Ferro, etc.

 

[chubs]

Pau ferro is what i was thinking intially, the wenge one was a showcase neck with fret slots cut, i need the lines anyway as it would be my 1st fretless and i have enough trouble getting my fingers in the right spot with frets. i'll keep looking.

 

[Tipperman]

I find Wenge makes a great fretboard. Not sure about for fretless, but it feels very smooth on my thumb, doesn't FEEL super open-grained like it is.

I'd imagine it would work fine, and you would definitely come to love the feel of it.

 

[Cagey]

If your thumb is feeling the fingerboard, you're doing something wrong. But, I will say that by the time Warmoth gets done surfacing the thing, a Wenge fingerboard is a fine thing. I've only played one, and was surprised at how comfortable it is. It's a very hard wood so it works well there, given some substantial frets that keep the strings off it. Its hardness is almost like a machined surface, so it doesn't get in your way at all.

That said, I don't think I'd use one for a fretless anything because it does have some seriously coarse grain to it. That's liable to make it somewhat noisy and/or inconsistent in intonation. Also, that grain is a grunge trap that's nearly impossible to clean, if that matters to you.

 

[tubby.twins]

That said, I don't think I'd use one for a fretless anything because it does have some seriously coarse grain to it. That's liable to make it somewhat noisy and/or inconsistent in intonation. Also, that grain is a grunge trap that's nearly impossible to clean, if that matters to you.

That's about my only concern with my one Gecko neck that has a fretless fingerboard.  I was initially worried about inconsistent tone from the coarse open grain, but it ended up not being an issue at all.  Then again, this fingerboard does have inlaid maple lines, so it's possible that the maple (as well as the epoxy) have substantially hardened the surface at the spots where I play the most. 

In summary, Wenge makes a very good fretless fingerboard, as do Ebony, Bloodwood, Pau Ferro, Purpleheart and other woods.

 

[AprioriMark]

Ebony is by far your best choice for a fingerboard.  Bloodwood, Pau Ferro, Purpleheart... also great.  I learned to dislike Rosewood very early on.  It's a tone-killer.  I can see how Wenge might work out, but for me, it would require too much cleaning, and the openness of the grain would eventually break it down or soften the touch.  Jet black ebony > all.

-Mark

 

[Doughboy]

Ebony is the best suited wood for a fretless. I have one & it feels really good & fast with no drag.

http://soundcloud.com/dough-boy-4/doughboy-fretless-improv-1

 

[greywolf]

I'd agree with Ebony , although purpleheart has a very tight grain is is very hard .

Think about it , what do Uprights. as well as violin ., viola and cello use ....Ebony

I loaded my rosewood fingerboard( '89 Jazz Bass)  with tung oil till it wouldn't hold any more and polished it . This has held up very well , and the tone is rich and full .
my next project is another fretless and it will be ebony this time around .

 

[swarfrat]

Nice woods but... why a floyd on a fretless? Figure noone can critique your intonation if they can't hit a moving target?

 

[line6man]

Nice woods but... why a floyd on a fretless? Figure noone can critique your intonation if they can't hit a moving target?

Floyd tricks, pitch bending chords, open strings and harmonics.

 

[Doughboy]

Nice woods but... why a floyd on a fretless? Figure noone can critique your intonation if they can't hit a moving target?

This guitar used to have frets. I took the frets off, stuck on a brand new jet black ebony fingerboard & shazaaaam, fretless guitar.

Also the floyd help with cool tricks as line6man mentioned.

 

[Pelagaard]

I'm assuming Ziricote would be another "solid" option?  My next project will be a fretless 4stringer, and I've narrowed it down to 3 options for the fb: Ziricote, Macassar Ebony, or Bloodwood.  This based mostly on aesthetics, so my question is, does any one of those 3 completely surpass the others in terms of longevity/durability?

I know they all make excellent fretboards, so I'm hoping someone who has a fretless using any of these can weigh in.

 

[Pelagaard]

Sorry for the bump, I forgot that editing my previous post doesn't count as a new reply.  :doh:

 

[Cagey]

In terms of hardness, the Ebony leads, followed by Bloodwood, then Ziricote.

There's a pretty complete chart here, for future reference.

 

[bgavin]

I always get an ebony board when available as an option.
Traditional instruments (violins, etc) have used ebony forever. 
I like the brightness, no finish, and hard surface for fretless use.