Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Does anyone else find this disturbing?

The orange/red Bubinga is an iconic RIC look. I'm not sure I'm going to like the Caribbean rosewood. It is striking how different they look when side by side. If it's changing, why not offer an ebony fretboard too?

I am thankful for the new two part necks, although that makes me want to retro fit all of my current guitars!

I do agree that the bubinga looks a lot better the the other stuff. That slight Redness reallly pops. I'm sure its for the best though.
Will the Reissues still use bubinga?

Matt Clark wrote:If it's changing, why not offer an ebony fretboard too?

Sorry, but some folks just don't get it! No wonder this planet is in trouble.

Matt Clark wrote:Does anyone else find this disturbing?

The orange/red Bubinga is an iconic RIC look. I'm not sure I'm going to like the Caribbean rosewood. It is striking how different they look when side by side. If it's changing, why not offer an ebony fretboard too?

I am thankful for the new two part necks, although that makes me want to retro fit all of my current guitars!

As my American friends say...nope I'm fortunate enough to have owned Rickenbackers made over 5 different decades and the variation in fretboard colour and grain is as substantial as it is interesting.

The '68 4000 I purchased new had a much lighter species of Rosewood. I know it has changed through the years.

From seeing the wood in that factory tour video PG did, I thought the new wood looked great, with some very nice figuring in it.

johnhall wrote:

Matt Clark wrote:If it's changing, why not offer an ebony fretboard too?

Sorry, but some folks just don't get it! No wonder this planet is in trouble.

I figured that had a lot to do with the change in fingerboard wood. Looks great, to me, John.

We see firsthand the depletion of many kinds of trees/woods here in the Indo-Pacific region. Almost all woods are taken with little regard for conservation or replanting/replacement. And the result often takes it toll in the form of heavy runoffs, flooding, siltation and destruction of both forest and coral reef. Kudos to RIC for seeking a sustainable wood source.

manta wrote:Kudos to RIC for seeking a sustainable wood source.

That's one of the reasons, but as we all know there are many others, that a lot of us play Rickenbackers. While some other guitar companies are paying lip service to timber conservation, RIC has been using farm grown wood for decades.

Also, you have to realize those fretboards are unfinished. After they're clear coated and buffed, those boards'll be sweet.

Me too. The West Indian Rosewood looks real nice in my opinion. I like the specimens with the pronounced dark figuring. I do like the old bubinga finger boards as well but the the new wood is an excellent choice. I woould have been very sad and disappointed to see a darker wood take it's place.

manta wrote:We see firsthand the depletion of many kinds of trees/woods here in the Indo-Pacific region. Almost all woods are taken with little regard for conservation or replanting/replacement. And the result often takes it toll in the form of heavy runoffs, flooding, siltation and destruction of both forest and coral reef. Kudos to RIC for seeking a sustainable wood source.

Amen.

Until there's a means of sustainably producing farm producing bubinga at a reasonable price, aesthetic concerns are secondary.

I think the darker wood looks great; the contrast will likely be more dramatic, and make both the dot and triangle inlays "pop" out more.

johnhall wrote:

Matt Clark wrote:If it's changing, why not offer an ebony fretboard too?

Sorry, but some folks just don't get it! No wonder this planet is in trouble.

It's the never-ending Euro-colonial belief that there will always be another uncut virgin forest across the next horizon ...

As far as tone, I looked it up, and the chechen, or Caribbean rosewood, is slightly harder than bubinga, so there is no loss of jangle. It will be a good fingerboard wood going forward, with no Laney Act issues. But I do agree, the look of a bubinga fingerboard, either as a compliment to FG or as a contrast to JG, is iconic. I do think the contrast is a bit much for AZ or MB. I think those colors, along with BurG & the 4004 models, will look better with the chechen, and anything will go with MG or White.

doctorwho wrote:It's the never-ending Euro-colonial belief that there will always be another uncut virgin forest across the next horizon ...

Pardon me? Do you need to offend Europeans like me in such a way? I don't agree just Europe's the source of the problem!

I rather like the new wood in the video - my 360 has a very dark rosewood on it, btw.

You could always switch to Gibson with their new fingerboards made from plastic and recycled paper.