Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

What you got in mind Tony???

PM will be sent in a few....

cheyenne wrote:Bummer......

Not a bummer at all! Numbers don't affect how it feels in my hands. Not to mention this bass is the king of sustain and I may have the neck to thank for that.

ajish4 wrote: SO, my new FANTASY RIC will be a 4004 FL with an Ebony fingerboard. I was recently informed by a VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE fellow that Ebony will probably become unavailable for purchase in the near future. Seems Cites has it in its sights for preservation....so I'm keeping an eye out on Ebay for a viable piece of wood for future use.

Doesn't Janey have any Tinkerbells made of ebony that you can use?

If ebony becomes unavailable, maybe a phenolic resin would be a good alternative for a fretless fingerboard. A phenolic fingerboard produces a tight, bright, and articulate sound, not much warmth though. A phenolic fingerboard is very low maintenance. You just have to like that type of material. I just thought you might since you like Alembic basses.

rickenbrother wrote:

ajish4 wrote: SO, my new FANTASY RIC will be a 4004 FL with an Ebony fingerboard. I was recently informed by a VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE fellow that Ebony will probably become unavailable for purchase in the near future. Seems Cites has it in its sights for preservation....so I'm keeping an eye out on Ebay for a viable piece of wood for future use.

Doesn't Janey have any Tinkerbells made of ebony that you can use?

If ebony becomes unavailable, maybe a phenolic resin would be a good alternative for a fretless fingerboard. A phenolic fingerboard produces a tight, bright, and articulate sound, not much warmth though. A phenolic fingerboard is very low maintenance. You just have to like that type of material. I just thought you might since you like Alembic basses.

LoL,

Good luck getting a Tinkerbell out of THIS house!

I like the warm sound my Alembics gave me Joey, I just don't know enough about the construction of guitars to know how much of it came from the body woods or if the Ebony fingerboard had some contribution to that warm, sustained sound. I've never heard of "phenolic" fingerboards.....is that a man made material?

You were so right about my liking the 4004 Joey, I still can't believe it. EVERYONE loved the tone and the fact that they are DEAD QUIET is a huge help. I must have had 10 people come up to me after service and tell me how great the new "BLUE GUITAR" sounded.

rickenbrother wrote:If ebony becomes unavailable, maybe a phenolic resin would be a good alternative for a fretless fingerboard.

Ugh. Shoot me. I have played 5 fretless basses with phenolic fingerboards and a few more that were fretted. I despise the way those things sound. I thought I was playing a toy. Power to those who like them but I don't think it's anything like ebony.

ajish4 wrote: I was recently informed by a VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE fellow that Ebony will probably become unavailable for purchase in the near future. Seems Cites has it in its sights for preservation....

Make me glad I have this:

Ebony and titanium!

cassius987 wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:If ebony becomes unavailable, maybe a phenolic resin would be a good alternative for a fretless fingerboard.

Ugh. Shoot me. I have played 5 fretless basses with phenolic fingerboards and a few more that were fretted. I despise the way those things sound. I thought I was playing a toy. Power to those who like them but I don't think it's anything like ebony.

I hear ya, Joshua, I prefer the sound of wood as well!

cassius987 wrote:

cheyenne wrote:Bummer......

Not a bummer at all! Numbers don't affect how it feels in my hands. Not to mention this bass is the king of sustain and I may have the neck to thank for that.

Josh, that is slightly bigger than my 2004 and though I've called it my baseball bat neck, I love it and can play it as easy as any. It is STABLE too.

Well if ebony is out they could use Gidgee which is an Australian timber that is a bit harder than Ebony but behaves itself a bit better.
It looks a bit like a dark Paduk....
Eden.

johnallg wrote:

cassius987 wrote:

cheyenne wrote:Bummer......

Not a bummer at all! Numbers don't affect how it feels in my hands. Not to mention this bass is the king of sustain and I may have the neck to thank for that.

Josh, that is slightly bigger than my 2004 and though I've called it my baseball bat neck, I love it and can play it as easy as any. It is STABLE too.

Good to know! I gave it a jazz setup last night so I could take it to my gig Thursday night and I was shocked at how appropriate it can sound for style, even with frets and all.