Ebony versus Rosewood?

[sw686blue]

Title says it all...

Thanks!

[SirDouglas]

I prefer ebony because its harder and i have thick nails that tend to cut into rosewood more... and rose wood feels like im playing a 2x4.... but thats just me...

Randy

[pesocaster]

Ebony..... Looks cooler

Oh and it's a little "snappier" tone wise...

[KH Guitar Freak]

Rosewood just ahead, nice warm tones... not to mention smooth sounding...

[Jeff R]

As long as it has frets and sounds good, I'm cool. Both of my current electrics have rosewood.

[kurtsstuff]

Rosewood here....seems to sound warmer and rounder to my ears??

[killerteddybear]

Maple on guitars.

Rosewood on basses.

Ebony on chess pieces.

[BLuesBuster]

Rosewood - always nice and smooth sounding

[Guest Meshuggah]

Rosebud.

'cuz it just looks cooler. And it is all about the look.

[atquinn]

Ebony for me. Feels much better under my fingers and looks cool. Although I'm also a big fan of Pau Ferro (feels like ebony, but looks like rosewood).

-Austin

[BadJaxx]

i like the feel of ebony but prefer the tonal warmth of rosewood...

in a brief try of an SRV strat, i liked the Pao Ferro as well...

[cmatthes]

A prefer the feel of ebony, but there is a rosewood board or two that I like almost as much. Tonally, not much of a difference (we're talking about a 1/4" of wood here, usually), although I agree that ebony tends toward the brighter side (not as much as maple), and rosewood is a bit warmer/absorbing.

Hands down, I prefer ebony on basses. To me, it makes a difference on all fronts.

[silentman]

Ebony. I like the look. I use jumbo frets, so the feel doesn't really come into play.

[Steve Haynie]

I like both, but I would prefer rosewood on a set-neck guitar.

I prefer maple fretboards on bolt-on neck basses. Ebony would be my choice for a set-neck bass. The harder feel or spank is what I like.

[jerseydrew]

I like both. I don't really prefer one over the other. If I had to choose, I'd choose ebony. So in order:

1)ebony

2) rosewood

3) maple

IMO

[Zipper Neck]

I like the feel, look and sound of ebony. Nothing against rosewood.

[jwhitcomb3]

I don't care much either way. I like the look of ebony on a black or white guitar, otherwise I think rosewood looks better (the Brazilian rosewood on my 30th LTD is insane).

-Jonathan

[sw686blue]

Thanks for the replies. I think I need to give Gus a call and "borrow" his custom Phantom...

[Willie G. Moseley]

I'm primarily a maple proponent but of the two choices, for me it's ebony on accounta it's harder and slicker. Would need large block markers + binding, though (a la a Les Paul Custom) on any neck of a guitar or bass w/ an ebony board...or rosewood board, for that matter

[Armitage]

I like the classy look of ebony, but I can't say I've noticed a difference in tone between the two.

[Disturber]

I like the classy look of ebony, but I can't say I've noticed a difference in tone between the two.

Ebony looks really cool. But if not taken care of properly it has a tendency to crack, which is less fun. Tonewise I don't really hear much difference either, especially on overdriven tones. I guess ebony is a rarer wood also (?) so for sake of the enviroment I prefer rosewood or maple.

[belgian]

I like the classy look of ebony, but I can't say I've noticed a difference in tone between the two.

Ebony looks really cool. But if not taken care of properly it has a tendency to crack, which is less fun. Tonewise I don't really hear much difference either, especially on overdriven tones. I guess ebony is a rarer wood also (?) so for sake of the enviroment I prefer rosewood or maple.

I alway tought that Ebony needed less care, due to the bigger density of the wood.

[KH Guitar Freak]

I like the classy look of ebony, but I can't say I've noticed a difference in tone between the two.

Ebony looks really cool. But if not taken care of properly it has a tendency to crack, which is less fun. Tonewise I don't really hear much difference either, especially on overdriven tones. I guess ebony is a rarer wood also (?) so for sake of the enviroment I prefer rosewood or maple.

I alway tought that Ebony needed less care, due to the bigger density of the wood.

Doubt it, ebony tends to be more prone to cracking than rosewood it seems...

[Steve Haynie]

I have seen cracked ebony, but never cracked rosewood.

There are times that I have noticed ebony not feeling as smooth as it should, causing my fingers to drag a little. I think that may have something to do with my playing, but it could have something to do with caring for the ebony board.

Has anyone here heard of using bore oil to treat a fretboard? It is the stuff that woodwinds players use on their clarinets and such.

[shredmeister]

Between just these 2 woods I prefer Rosewood. Ebony sounds more sterile to me. Have had ebony on a number of guitars.

Ebony sounds tight when overdriven for rhythm but sounds crappy for leads.

I like both the feel and sound of Rosewood. Rosewood feels a little bumpier and for some reason I like the feel of texture on the fingerboard. Does not slow me down a bit.

Overall I prefer Maple above everything else. I get better harmonics, more growl and it seems more articulate when doing fast runs.

Why don't you go over to the Suhr or Warmoth sites and check out their wood descriptions. They both have great advice. And they have forums that contain this very topic.