Mahogany Charvel/ Fingerboard wood?

[Predator1]

I have spec'd out a CS Charvel with a Mahogany body but I can't decide on a fingerboard wood. I have a MZ Mah Natural with a maple board and it sounds good with alot of pop I belive comes form the Mah body. Which wood would add some smoothness to the top end. Rosewood or Ebony?

[diablomozart]

rosewood...ebony tends to be very sharp as it is a very hard wood...rosewood tends to soften the treble very slightly...if you listen that close...d.m.

[jhale667]

Ebony. No contest. Especially on a Mahogany body, which can be dark-sounding anyway.

[shreddermon]

Go with what you prefer for feel or appearance. IMHO, the "tone" difference is a much smaller part of the preference equation than those other factors.

[LastInLine]

Go with what you prefer for feel or appearance. IMHO, the "tone" difference is a much smaller part of the preference equation than those other factors.

Be careful.....you might get your head bit off for making a statement like that!!

[toejam]

rosewood...ebony tends to be very sharp as it is a very hard wood...rosewood tends to soften the treble very slightly...if you listen that close...d.m.

+1

[TinTin8]

ide say ebony.
rosewood is brighter toned
ebony is darker toned

from the MAH. body, i would assume you want heavier tones. but if not ... rosewood

[toejam]

ide say ebony.
rosewood is brighter toned
ebony is darker toned

You've got it the opposite way. Ebony is brighter than rosewood.

[Hossman]

your really need to decide what tone your after -- What tone are you after bright, smooth, hard, etc... Woods make the guitar

I would go with Rosewood myself

[Top Jimmy B]

I'll add another vote for rosewood; pau ferro is another option worth exploring.

[P.O. Box 245]

Add another vote for rosewood or pau ferro as well.

[Jeff Albertson]

Here we go.....It's not that cut and dry. It depends on a lot of things. I guess the above is good for a rule of thumbnail and all. In addition, there are many factors affecting: fret height, fret profile, fret material, neck thinkness, truss style, in addition to neck wood. The throw this in there, some batches of the same wood are just different, wetter, dryer, thicker, less dense, more dense. Look at ebony sometimes you get a grain so tight you could skate on it and sometimes it's rough and loose...dense as foam.
I've always been able to get an idea of a sound simply by taping the wood with my knuckle. Tall frets bite hard, rounder frets back it off, Jumbo's seem to loose some definition. Thick neck adds some depth and sustain. Persoanlly, the wood, I've always found to be the most well rouded for a board isn't a wood at all. It's graphite...Hello Ned!

Your best bet is to try a bunch of necks with different configuration, with the amp you intend to use and hammerit out form there..if you can?

[Mike]

Ebony, IMO, would look the best with Mahogany.

[Toby]

Some luthiers say, Brazilian rosewood is the ultimate wood for fretboards. My custom shop Charvel has a Brazilian rosewood fretboard, and it's fantastic in sound and feel. The mid 1990s reissues with mahagony body also had pao ferro fretboards, it's also a great wood for fretboards.

[~K~]

+++ 10000 on the pao ferro .. it gives a nice warm tone combined with the mahog