Ebanol?

[cocco]

Just seen a post on talk bass about ebanol fretboards not sounding as good as wooden ones. Is this true? I can't see it having a huge effect. Obviously it's cheaper, but to a fretless newb surely it will be fine.

[dannybuoy]

I hated the ebanol board on the fretless Squier VM Jazz. Instead of the soft mwah as the note decays with vibrato you get from rosewood, it was a cold harsh rattling sound. Plenty of people seem to like this bass however. I did have the action really low though and not all ebanol boards may be equal, so YMMV!

If it was the Squier you were looking at, Vintage do a similar Jaco jazz with a rosewood board that might be worth a look.

Edited April 30, 2013 by dannybuoy

[BigRedX]

It's all a matter of individual preference.

For me the ebanol fingerboard was the only good thing about the Squier VMJ fretless.

Edited April 30, 2013 by BigRedX

[chris_b]

This where the "wood makes no difference to your sound" argument comes home to roost.

If your ears can't hear a difference then there is no difference, to you.

But, if you're just starting out on fretless then I'd suggest you've got more important things to worry about than differences in the sound of one component.

Put your theory to the test. Get a bass with an ebanol fretboard and let us know.

[NJE]

I have Ebanol on my Squier Deluxe V, i love it, its got a lot of 'snap' to it and makes the bass sound very bright and modern but as BigRedX says, its preference. Some people like that some don't. I have played the fretless squier and really liked the feel and sound.

[mentalextra]

I dont think its better or worse, just different

[cocco]

I am just starting out with fretless, it's not a whole bass though. Just a mighty mite neck that I'm going to put on a bitsa P.

[xilddx]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1367315452' post='2063981']
Just seen a post on talk bass about ebanol fretboards not sounding as good as wooden ones. Is this true? I can't see it having a huge effect. Obviously it's cheaper, but to a fretless newb surely it will be fine.
[/quote]
I had a Mighty Mite fretless neck with ebanol fretboard which I fitted to the body of a Precision Special. It was a superb neck, sounded ace. I doubt the ebanol had any real effect on the sound.

[Dingus]

An ebanol fingerboard on a fretless might give the sound a touch more brightness , but that is not a bad thing on a fretless . The epoxy - coated fingerboards you find on some high - end fretless basses , for example , ( and like Jaco had on his famous fretless Jazz Bass ) impart some extra brilliance to the tone and help to project the tone of the bass in positive way , to my tastes at least . Bear in mind that because the strings are in contact with wood rather than metal frets , the basic tone of a fretless is far more muted than a fretted bass to begin with .

[Fat Rich]

Dunno what they sound like on a wooden neck, but phenolic on a graphite neck is too bright and clacky for me. I've got rosewood on mine.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1367323022' post='2064118']
Dunno what they sound like on a wooden neck, but phenolic on a graphite neck is too bright and clacky for me. I've got rosewood on mine.
[/quote]

And the converse is also true...
They sound great on my Yamaha and Vigier, both of which have mainly Maple necks. Not so good on the Status.
My only fretless is a NS CR5, and that's Macassar Ebony. That's really nice...

[ezbass]

The ebanol on my Ibby has more king and buzz than the rosewood on my SUB. Not one is better, just different. Horses for courses and all that.

[TheGreek]

I hated the sound from my old Hohner B2A but this was probably down to the EMG Select p/ups - love the sound from my Status KB...

[Mr. Foxen]

Sound is subjective is pretty much all of the answer. I'm still fighting with an ebanol board from a tech point of view, it won't come off and I'm not sure it will plane off safely.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Mr. Foxen