Ebony fretboard - Second quality African Ebony with close grain and even texture - may have some light coloured patches

Minimum Dimensions - 68mm x 7.5mm x 520mm (2 3/4" x 9/32" x 21")

Our fingerboards are African (Black) Ebony, this has been the preferred timber for high quality guitar fret boards for many years. There are many species of ebony, ebony from India is sometimes sold for fingerboards, but while substantially cheaper than African Ebony it is also of a lower quality. The African wood is dense, hard, heavy and stable. Ebony is also used for headstock veneers, bridges, tailpieces and finger rests on acoustic and arch top guitars.

Quality - Suitable African Ebony should be a uniform dark grey to black colour, and should be free from cracks and knots. Quarter sawn material is preferred by many luthiers, however not completely necessary. We only stock the best quality ebony.

Look - The most Desirable Ebony should be black in colour. A small amount of light streaking is generally considered acceptable as it becomes barely visible once the board has been treated with oil or wax. African ebony is very dense and has a fine grain.

Price - Good African ebony is reasonably expensive per weight. However, as the fret board stock is not large, an African Ebony fret board will normally not break the budget and makes a nice final touch to a handmade guitar.

Availability/Renewability - Excellent quality ebony logs are still available in the size needed to make guitar components like fingerboards and tailpieces.