ESP ebony vs Jackson ebony

[MetalDaze]

Anyone know how ESP prepares their ebony fretboards?

I have a recent Horizon and M-II with ebony boards and they are jet black...but really shiny. In some respects, it almost looks like they put some sort of sealer or glaze over them versus Jackson where you might not have a jet black board but it's unfinished and feels natural.

[Matt_B]

What you're seeing could be the dye ESP uses. It's not uncommon for manufacturers to dye their ebony boards to blacken them up.

Stew Mac sells ebony in a bottle! Jet black ebony boards are not easy to come by nowadays though they can be had for a premium.

[DonP]

+1.

The good stuff is long gone.

[sully]

Ebony also buffs quite nicely, so the sheen could be some dye + linseed oil + buffing. Although I wouldn't really expect a major manufacturer to do that.

Sully

[Flatpicker]

I've noticed that most of the ebony boarded guitars that have to come over on container ship have a sealer of sort on them.

[Zedisdead]

ESP has been doing dyed ebony boards for years (depends on model lines). However, there's a major change @ Jackson right now. Most of the fboard they ship have a lot more brown in them than they had before. Natural jet black is harder to find and they now have a separate CS option for Jet-Black ebony ($50 IIRC).

[DonP]

Thanks. I'll add a $50 surcharge to any jet black ebony guitars I sell on ebay

[dimobag]

I don´t know about dying or painting, i had Alexi-600 a while a go and ebony fboard was pretty amazing. Really good for Korean made.

[Matt_B]

Thanks. I'll add a $50 surcharge to any jet black ebony guitars I sell on ebay

Heh, I've got four guitars with black ebony boards so I'm glad they're gone up in value.

[Matt_B]

I looked into that fingerboard dye I linked to at Stew Mac and I'm wondering what it can do for a guitar I have with a rosewood board. Folks who bought and reviewed the product claim it will blacken up rosewood very nicely. The one guitar in question would just look better to me with a black board.

[toejam]

My LTD 7-string's board is a little more on the shiny side and feels a tiny bit more slick than on my my Carvin 7 or my Jackson Dominion. The Jackson does look a little shiny, too. My Mustaine V Dean has a pretty streaky board that is even shinier and definitely sealed.

[toejam]

However, there's a major change @ Jackson right now. Most of the fboard they ship have a lot more brown in them than they had before. Natural jet black is harder to find and they now have a separate CS option for Jet-Black ebony ($50 IIRC).

Most natural ebony is usually streaky, and I've heard most manufacturers do dye their boards. Carvin has never dyed their ebony, but in their latest catalog, they have a new $60 option for EFB (ebony fingerboard, black).

[MetalDaze]

Thanks, everyone. It's interesting how the story goes from "there's no black ebony available" to "well, for an up charge..."

I have seen a recent BC Rich NJ Deluxe Warlock that had a similar shiny ebony board and I thought maybe that was just common on lower end guitars. I was surprised to find the same sort of look on a ESP Standard series. All of my ebony experience has been with Jackson over the years so I've seen the changes going on there.

I used to be a big complainer about brown ebony boards, but to be honest, I really like the unfinished look/feel of the Jacksons over the ESP.

[levantin]

A little on the long side, but worth it, if you have an interest in the subject.

[walshula]

I have a 90's USA fusion in white finish that has really shiny black ebony board. More so than my custom shop snowblind. I also have a SL2-HT that i almost swore they died a rosewood board to ebony because it seems like the older it gets the browner it becomes. These two I speak of, the Fusion and SL2-HT are my two practice guitars and are played all the time equally so I was almost convinced they cheated on my soloist until I saw the video above. Helped explain a few things to me.