eSGEe
Ferengi Ambassador of Trade
No I can still bash them........regardless.......of anything you say or do --- I can still bash them
Richlite Fingerboards.....
- Thread starter guitarweasel
- Start date
No I can still bash them........regardless.......of anything you say or do --- I can still bash them
It was a little less actually, with a REALLY nice hard shell Martin case thrown in.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Good illustration of what I was talking about - that wood is black and very dense and it is not dyed. Sure there is grain (it is wood after all) but from 2 feet away you'd never know it. The stuff I see nowadays just doesn't look like that.
My Gibson rep told me they started using it on some guitars after some raid of a wood supplier in Nashville....
“Granadillo” is the common name most frequently applied to the quality hardwood that comes from several species within the Platymiscium genus. While there are 19 different types of Platymiscium, the 3 most prominent ones on the market are Platymiscium yacatanum, Platymiscium pinnatum and Platymiscium pleiostchyum. Each of these have overlapping growing regions and offer a slightly different experience. All are quality hardwood providing exceptional character, color and tonality.
Granadillo is prized for its reddish brown coloring that routinely includes blacks, violets and oranges mixed in; it has proven itself time and again as a premiere choice for both musical instruments and furniture alike. Granadillo responds very well to turning and emits a caramel like scent when worked. It is also an excellent alternative to cocobolo for those who do not wish to deal with the excessive oil and potential allergic reactions that true rosewoods sometimes induce. Typical straight grain patterns with some irregularity, it is also known to have frequent figuring. As with all Platymiscium species, the heartwood is also extremely resistant to fungi and termite attack, which is due to its content of secondary metabolites.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Just another species of hardwood commonly used for instruments in some parts of the World (So. America mainly). As you can see from the pic it often has really pronounced patterns in the wood but sometimes can be quite beautiful.
There is more to Gibson using Richlite than they want you to know...In August of 2012, Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, forfeit claims to about $262,000 worth of wood seized by federal agents and contribute $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the conservation of protected tree species.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
The white Les Paul Studios have had Grenadillo for a while now, not sure for how long exactly. Only the white ones.
They don't have a white one in the 2017 lineup but in the group shot from 2016 you can see how much lighter in color it is than the rosewood on the other colors.
They don't have a white one in the 2017 lineup but in the group shot from 2016 you can see how much lighter in color it is than the rosewood on the other colors.
Yeah. We were talking about that a few years back over on ETSG. That raid seized a lot of rosewood, among other woods. It is commonly believed that that raid is part of what fueled their foray into using baked maple at the time.
But, the usage of Richlite today likely has more to do with the fact that ebony resources are extremely stressed.
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ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
The grading of ebony must have slipped quite a bit, that's definitely not AAA ebony shown there. AAA is the real jet black stuff from the center of old growth, think an old ebony clarinet, that was AAA grade. CheersEbony is still readily available...These are £16.95 each from Ebony guitar fingerboard blank AAA Grade and bulk pricing is even better...
View attachment 5731
ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
Hang on, I linked the wrong post. This is the one I was after. CheersEbony is still readily available...These are £16.95 each from Ebony guitar fingerboard blank AAA Grade and bulk pricing is even better...
View attachment 5731
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
It was done under a settlement agreement and Gibson never admitted to any wrongdoing. It was far less expensive for them to settle for this amount than it would have been to litigate the matter, even if they had been vindicated.
Nonetheless, they could be using ebony now if they chose to but they have a solution that works without the hassle since the federal government seems to have it out for them. If you recall, the original 2011 raid smelled of BS from the first moment and was obviously politically motivated. Recall too that they were eventually vindicated in that matter and went on to produce that wonderful middle finger pointed at the man, the Government Series.
RVA
Ambassador
It's only ugly in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. I actually like to see a wooden fretboard show some of what wood actually is: a highly unique, natural material with individual patterns and variations.
The relatively featureless, solid black ebony prized by instrument manufacturers is actually not that common. In the quest for such specimens, many trees are wasted in the process.
This video has been posted before. I post it again, as it describes what I consider to be almost obscene waste in the search for the ideal, perfectly black ebony desired by musicians.
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