Natural fretboard inlays?

[ghotiphry]

A question that I've been pondering.  Why don't we see more natural fretboard inlays, like maybe a contrasting wood or maybe bone?  Maybe a pau ferro fretboard with roasted maple inlays?  Or roasted maple with Madagascar ebony or Indian rosewood?  Some nice burl or purpleheart inlays?  I'm not targeting Warmoth specifically, it just seems there are very few examples of this out there, like it's pretty rare.  I can't figure out why that would be.

This guy did a pretty elaborate custom walnut inlay and then sanded smooth, but even the simple 3mm walnut dots on that ebony fretboard say yes to me.

 

[hchoe741]

i'd guess tradition. they didn't do it back then so we don't do it now. this idea seems to dictate many choices by guitar manufacturers as well as consumers.

also i don't think it would make sense to use wood for small inlays like dots since it'll be so small that you won't really be able to see any grains or patterns, it'll just look like a solid color, but for large intricate inlays it would look cool, but you don't really see intricate inlays other than limited models, with the exception of ibanez jems maybe.

 

[ghotiphry]

I'm not sure I agree with you on the size argument.  Yes, the smaller wood piece would not have much, if any, pattern or grain.  But you could still tell that it's wood, and the natural wood variation from one to the next would still apply.  Besides, there's always block inlays...

 

[Logrinn]

That is absolutely stunning.
I hope Cagey sees this and gets some ideas ...

 

[hchoe741]

i guess you could tell up close, but even mother of pearl dot inlays i really can't tell unless i see up close and realize that its not a solid white inlay. i'm sure there's some reason that big companies don't use wood, maybe because no one manufactures wood inlay materials and they'd have to make it themselves? that's my biggest bet. i'm sure plenty of independent luthiers use wood inlays.

 

[ghotiphry]

Cagey?  You game?

[youtube]xRHgxcuxueE[/youtube]

 

[AirCap]

The answer is obvious.... it's more work, thus more money.

 

[Cagey]

I think the example shown is gorgeous, and it does give me ideas. I've not seen that before, and I wonder the same thing: why not? You could certainly get hardwood to do it with, so it's not a wear issue. Also, the example shown is not artistically complex, so no special skill needed there. As for getting wood inlays, that'd be easy as pie. It's called "veneer". Cut it with a razor knife. And glues that work well with wood are among the oldest fasteners in existence outside of gravity.

Aircap's right in that it would cost real money as it's certainly not a trivial task, but block and trapezoid inlays are as common as dirt. And with today's x/y laser cutters being cheap enough that even Joe Sixpack could own one if he took a mind to, you could inlay just about anything you wanted if you could draw it on a computer. Surely nobody thinks people are cutting those vines, trees of life, seagulls, etc. into fretboards by hand.

 

[ghotiphry]

I do suppose one reasoning might be that different woods react to their environments differently, swelling and contracting.  That might be an issue, possibly causing buckling or gaps.

Another issue is hardness?  I mean, you wouldn't want to do a pine inlay to begin with, but that would be a bad choice as a softer wood.  I wonder if burl walnut would be a good choice?

 

[Cagey]

Burls of any type have a tendency to break apart easily, so you don't often see veneers or thin pieces. I imagine if you had a hunk you could work in your own shop, you could keep slicing pieces until you had enough whole pieces of what you need.

 

[rgand]

I like the idea of contrasting woods. Perhaps similar densenesses would not warp too differently. Roasted maple dots/trapezoids/etc. on an ebony fretboard on a roasted maple neck would certainly look clean. Especially if the grains were oriented similarly (on larger pieces).

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

BURNISH THAT!!! :headbang1:

 

[stratamania]

Simply a matter of cost and time why you wont see it that often. Also whilst aesthetically pleasing it doesnt add anything to the playability of the instrument so you are back to a limited audience.

Ive seen Ben Crowe's work up close at a woodwork show and spent time chatting to him. His work is very good and he will build what his customers want.

 

[ghotiphry]

Simply a matter of cost and time why you wont see it that often. Also whilst aesthetically pleasing it doesnt add anything to the playability of the instrument so you are back to a limited audience.

Ive seen Ben Crowe's work up close at a woodwork show and spent time chatting to him. His work is very good and he will build what his customers want.

Know what?  I just kinda stumbled on that image from Crimson Guitars.  I went to the web site and looked around.  That's some of the finest work I've ever seen.

 

[ghotiphry]

I like the idea of contrasting woods. Perhaps similar densenesses would not warp too differently. Roasted maple dots/trapezoids/etc. on an ebony fretboard on a roasted maple neck would certainly look clean. Especially if the grains were oriented similarly (on larger pieces).

I could see that for just about anything.  A bubinga neck, ebony fretboard, bubinga blocks?  I like the idea of the inlays matching the headstock.  I also like the idea of roasted maple/roasted maple with zircote blocks.

The way I see it, the possibilities are endless.  I mean, here's a quick and dirty mockup look at maple with indian rosewood.

 

[rgand]

Ghotiphry, that mockup says it all... :icon_thumright:

 

[mayfly]

Simply a matter of cost and time why you wont see it that often. Also whilst aesthetically pleasing it doesnt add anything to the playability of the instrument so you are back to a limited audience.

Ive seen Ben Crowe's work up close at a woodwork show and spent time chatting to him. His work is very good and he will build what his customers want.

Know what?  I just kinda stumbled on that image from Crimson Guitars.  I went to the web site and looked around.  That's some of the finest work I've ever seen.

talk to Orpheo about Crimson guitars 

 

[bagman67]

But before you talk to Orpheo about Crimson Guitars, you might want to hide behind a blast shield.

 

[bbl4ck]

But before you talk to Orpheo about Crimson Guitars, you might want to hide behind a blast shield.

Good advise...  :toothy12:

 

[stratamania]

Hopefully, and it seems to be that Crimson are doing far better now than the times involving Orpheo. I wish both builders, as Orpheo is now doing so, well.