Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Greetings forumites, anybody out there know who to speak to to get a new fingerboard for a 4001s?, ...many thanks in advance for the help....

I got a real nice ebony fingerboard for my 4001 through exoticwoods.com. Get the phone number for the company and talk to a nice guy by the name of Gulab Guidwani. The company is in NJ. Gulab has the ability to cut accurate fret slots in whatever wood you want. Of course you'll have to add the position markers and other inlays if you want them. My 4001 turned out real nice. The prices are reasonable and are based on the type of wood you want. I always thought that purple heart would look cool for a fingerboard, but I don't know how it would hold up.

I would stick to whatever RIC is using for fretboards, in my experience the fretboard material is a major factor in the bass's overall sound, e.g. rosewood vs. maple boards on Fenders. I think RIC uses bubinga but I'm not sure.

I thought they used rosewood.

I would have a problem ordering a pre-slotted fretboard. It needs to be a specific shape and radiused first. When I've had it done, it was custom fitted to my instrument.

Rosewood is the standard, however the 4002 had an Ebony fretboard.

4004 Cii has Bubinga, mine did anyway.

Rosewood is not a species but just a "common name" for various woods. The Bubinga we use is often termed "African Rosewood".

I thought they used padauk!

Ricks all have bubinga fingerboards. The older Ricks have "African Rosewood" fingerboards, are actually a variation of bubinga. Rick never used the more common Indian or Brazilian Rosewood such as found on Fenders and Gibsons...

From alt.guitar.rickenbacker FAQ

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/guitars/rickenbacker/

<Subject: 5.30 What type of wood is used for Rickenbacker fret boards?

"We use both African Rosewood and Bubinga, which are very similar close relatives. Both are also classified as Hong Kong Rosewood sometimes, which is closer to the mark, since it is grown in Asia rather than Africa."

[John Hall, [email protected], 11/09/1999]

"We do not use nor have we used commonly available Paduak, which is Pterocarpus soyauxii. In past years we used Hong Kong Rosewood (Dalbergia family) or African Rosewood (which is true Bubinga in the Guibourtia family) which we continue to use.

I will grant you that Hong Kong Rosewood has been colorfully
referred to as Indonesian Paduak by wood suppliers.

In the end, without the species, the trade names of wood are almost useless."

[John Hall, [email protected], 04/24/2000]>

Oops, sorry John... you beat me to it!