African Obeche wood for fingerboards?

[ginsambo]

.....and phenolic resin.....FFS....


I don't know about this Obeche stuff. But, assuming worse case scenario, it gives up in say five years, after warranty has expired or whatever etc, surely you'd still hold the cards with your consumer rights as its not suitable for purpose.

Indian rosewood is taken from the heartwood, the Obeche stuff I don't know. Dying the fretboard to that extreme kind of puts me off anyhow, as Obeche is a white/yellow colour wood. Although maybe there is another strain of Obeche that is a completely different genus.

Obeche fact:
Latin name: Triplochiton scleroxylon

Density 390kg/cubic metre, a bit lightweight perhaps?...but maybe its denser as heartwood.... all this means is it is more porous, it is not a reflection of its grain strength, durability or hardness....but hey....who knows?

'Obeche' is a Nigerian Name for it. the Ghanians call it Wa Wa... and in Ivory Coast its the 'Samba'

Also from wikipedia..

'A specialized use of obeche wood is the construction of sauna interior parts that touch skin, where the wood is prized for its lack of splinters or resin, and most importantly its low heat retention' ......Sounds reasonable

Dalbergia Sassoo (Sheesham) Rosewood is around 750 - 800 kg/cubic metre
East Indian Rosewood is around 900kg/cubic metre
Ebony 1100 - 1300 kg/ cubic metre
Maple 0.6-0.75kg/cubic metre
Basswood 300-600 kg / cubic metre

So who knows...maybe go with the phenolic resin?

[ginsambo]

Without wanting to derail the thread, you know that a guitar company is behind the times when they call a Floyd Rose "the most advanced vibrato tailpiece available".

Where do they say that?

I always knew I was a Gibson man at heart!

[ginsambo]

OK....maybe the dark obeche fingerboard is made from heartwood which is a lot denser, who knows? Either way, if its good enough for your ass in a steamroom it sounds like it is fit for purpose. I think it is hard to tool as well, which rosewood is also due to its grain pattern and hardness. Its sounds just like rosewood, except with more pores, but no way its naturally its that dark colour from what I can tell.

http://www.firstbtob.com/products/1131814/Ayous-Triplochiton-Scleroxylon-Logs.html

http://www.josoratsawmill.com/Obeche.htm

Sully would know!

[Hellbat]

I don't think the dark heartwood would be it according to the sawmill website you posted.... "Timber whitish to pale straw with no difference between heartwood and sapwood."

So either they are cooking it like coffee beans or dyeing the shit out of it. Either way I'm sure they are using it because a) it's cheap and b) it doesn't cost a lot of money. I don't think mojo or tone qualities entered in to the decision to use it.

[Devotee]

Where do they say that?

I always knew I was a Gibson man at heart!

Second paragraph: http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Elec...V-Tremolo.aspx

So essentially you're into tremendously overpriced guitars built with dubiously sourced woods. Well hey, as long as you get that blues-rock chatter!

[VitaminG]

It looks like a white version of African Albizia, probably Albizia falcata (Not the foxglove tree Albizia julibrissin, the Silk Tree) which, incidentally adds a great exotic touch to the garden in colder zones where an Acacia would freeze to death, as it is a deciduous tree with Acacia like foliage.

They probably stain it to look like ebony. Don't be fooled by the 'Not durable' status - that is only given to indicate its weathering charactoristics when used externally or in a marine environment, not its resistance to Jimi Hendrix. Take Sapele - Sapele is a pretty hard tropical hard wood, but it melts outdoors, actually its a pretty crap wood.

It is one of the legumes, of which Albizia, Acacia and Rosewood are included. They are essentially weed trees. These trees are the first trees to colonise and fix their own nitrogen in relatively nutrient poor open sites before succession gives way to larger, 'Proper job' forest trees, after the leaf litter and nutrient levels have built up. By design they are very fast growing, seed freely and can grow on impoverished soils, hence the sustainable tag I guess.

If you have ever had any experience of Acacia dealbata you'll know what I'm talking about - from 4' whip to 20' tree with 40cm girth of trunk at 1m in under three years on landscaped fertile soils in the humid and rainy British climate, before the cold winters started coming in the last few years and killed the things off, apart from around the coast.

I'd say it would be OK, just don't play underwater in the sea. I made some gates form Albizia a few years back for a client and they hold up as well as Iroko or Teak.

So who is the 'Certain company' then?

Edit: It should be as hard as rosewood with a similar pore structure and will not wear out from string wear and won't chip out or splinter it it takes a refret if that is what you are worried about. Wouldn't be as smooth and regular as ebony though. Its a far cry from Cedro (Cedar - which is coniferous and is softwood) as its a very hard hardwood, but it is very fast growing, easy to grow and seeds prolifically. Hazard a guess, I'd say it would be similar to rosewood.

interesting read, man. Does this mean the fringed wattles around our yard could become fretboards one day?

[ginsambo]

Well.....you know how Woolleybutt makes the best digeridoos...well Acacias.... Might make a nice coffee table. I think the main criteria are how big the thing gets to make it a viable in production, how fast and easily it is grown for sustainability and cost and how hard, non-resinous and stable the seasoned wood is.

Honestly, I have no idea mate.

Landscaping ad carpentry is my thing, I am no tone wood expert or luthier. But I think it doesn't help when a certain company steeped in rich, glorious rock history starts spouting out Spinal Tap like paraphrasing and treating its customer for mid priced guitars, which are not cheap, like morons.

I would guess that most Rosewood used these days is in fact Sheesham (Dalbergia Sassoo), the sort of stuff they make cheap, imported Indian furniture out of, not the favoured carpentry wood East Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia Latifolia). Rosewood is almost a generic term in the industry that describes a multitude of woods, which include many different species and even genus. Brazilian rosewood is Dalbergia nigra.

In Australia I know that Tipuana tipu, a South American introduction is rapidly becoming an invasive weed illegal immigrant problem tree. That is called rosewood and all. Maybe try that one.

What I do know is that ebony is a completely different thing. Its a non legumous, slow growing tree with edible fruit of the Diospyros genus or a commonly used term used in the porn industry.

[charvel750]

I have the Gibson Flying V Floyd Rose, awesome guitar. Overpriced? No. With the common 15% discount it was $1180 shipped with case from the dealer. Try to get a Jackson round horn V with Floyd for anywhere near that! Great guitar. The wood of the fingerboard looks black like what you would expect from ebony, but it is more porous, not quite like the "holes" in rosewood, but it's not as tight as real ebony. Still, it is a great sounding guitar. Gibson knows what they're doing.

As for the Floyd being the most advanced tremolo on the market, what is better? Steinberger's Trans Trem? I don't think there's a better unit available than a Floyd Rose.

[Devotee]

Not tremolo, vibrato tailpiece.

[toejam]

The wood of the fingerboard looks black like what you would expect from ebony.

I wouldn't expect real ebony to be totally black. Most manufacturers dye their wood to look uniformly black. Ebony usually has quite a bit of streaking.

[ginsambo]

The wood of the fingerboard looks black like what you would expect from ebony, but it is more porous, not quite like the "holes" in rosewood, but it's not as tight as real ebony. Still, it is a great sounding guitar. Gibson knows what they're doing.

EXACTLY what I said!

The most advanced vibrato tailpiece available sounds quite good as well.

So is it porous to the extent that you catch strings on it? Or is this a non-issue?

[horns666]

A) What is a ..a locking Bigsby..??

[Scooter]

A) What is a ..a locking Bigsby..??

I just spit coffee on my monitor,