Fretboard Wood?

[LenMinNJ]

Anyone know what woods Rickenbacker's used for fretboards in the late 80's and early 90's? Bubinga (aka Hong Kong rosewood)? Indian rosewood?

Did they use different woods for dot marker necks and crushed pearl triangle marker necks? How about on the Limited Edition models? Any upgrades?

How about now? Has it changed?

[Halbert]

As Far as I know, Bubinga and maple have been the only fret board woods since the late 50's. Am I right?

[ken_j]

The 4001CS used vermillion. The 4002 used ebony.

[cjj]

And, there were several bass models that had maple fretboards, the Redneck, Blackstar, and Tuxedo (I think) even though you can't tell since they are painted. Also, the 4004Ci had a maple fretboard...

[johnhall]

Len, you're having us on, aren't you? You used to be active in the old days on the newsgroup version of this site and as I recall you were one of the more knowledgeable people about this stuff.

But to answer your question . . .

Way back in the early days, there was Brazilian Rosewood, followed by Asian Rosewood, followed by African Rosewood (aka Bubinga). And something else is on it's way.

It's all Rosewood, which is a very generic common name which covers hundreds of species. Ideally, all wood should be specified by species in the interest of accuracy and you'll probably begin to see this more often now that the Lacey Act is thankfully being enforced.

[LenMinNJ]

Hiya John. Good to catch you here again! I hope all's well.

Thanks much for the answers.

You know how much I like your instruments. While there's a lot I know about them, there's probably much more that I've forgotten over the years.

It'll be interesting to see what's coming!

[weemac]

Way back in the early days, there was Brazilian Rosewood, followed by Asian Rosewood, followed by African Rosewood (aka Bubinga). And something else is on it's way.

Just don't say "Ebonol"

emac

[johnhall]

Way back in the early days, there was Brazilian Rosewood, followed by Asian Rosewood, followed by African Rosewood (aka Bubinga). And something else is on it's way.

Just don't say "Ebonol"

emac

Nope, just a real genuine Rosewood.

[Ivan3000]

[quote="johnhall"]And something else is on it's way.

quote]

Tell me, Tell me, Tell me!

[cjj]

Way back in the early days, there was Brazilian Rosewood, followed by Asian Rosewood, followed by African Rosewood (aka Bubinga). And something else is on it's way.

Just don't say "Ebonol"

emac

Nope, just a real genuine Rosewood.

I think he just did...

[Ivan3000]

I always end up skipping posts

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

Peter Buck's main 360 has a darker wood for the fretboard; sharkfin inlays too.

[deadllama]

In light of the Gibson raids, I found this thread pretty interesting. So, new Ric's use Bubinga for the fretboards? Is that a species that's in fairly good supply?

[LenMinNJ]

No, Ric is moving from using Bubinga to Carribean Rosewood.

[jps]

No, Ric is moving from using Bubinga to Carribean Rosewood.

And, the sample of CR I saw yesterday on a new 4003 looked amazing.