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All-ebony guitar?


asdfjkl semi

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I'm guessing it would cost at least $1200 just for the body and neck if Warmoth could make one.

Ha. Ha. You are funny! It would cost a LOT more than $1200. Holy buckets ...I can't even estimate the cost. A super poop-load of money.

 

Going onto Google and looking for an all-ebony guitar has gotta be pretty similar to looking for an egg carton made of titanium. Whoa! That example just came out of my head.

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I just checked out www.internetlumber.com

 

They have ebony.

 

http://www.internetlumber.com/lumber-products/GABON-EBONY

 

It ranges from $30 (B-grade) to $80 (hand selected) per board foot, with a minimum purchase of 5 bft. The widest pieces they have seem to be 7" so you're looking at having at least 1 seam in the body.

 

And good luck getting it cut and routed. ;)

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You'd get the same birghtness with a maple body as you would with an ebony one. Of course, the right pickups can totally negate any ill effects the body wood can introduce. Or, you get a EQ pedal to cut the brightness and boost the lows and mids.. Anything can be made to sound like anything else, if you just stop and think about it logically. But the biggest drawback to an all ebony or all maple guitar has nothing to do with the tone.. It's the massive weight of such a thing. Ebony boards are great for sustain because they're so dense. That density means they weigh a lot compared to a more open wood, such as rosewood. Maple has a similar density, so it'd be a back breaker too. An all ebony acoustic would be interesting though.

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Anything can be made to sound like anything else, if you just stop and think about it logically.

 

 

I have to disagree here.

 

You can't add frequencies that aren't there by using an EQ. You can only cut or boost what you start with.

 

Yes, for practical purposes, you could EQ a lot of the brightness out of an ebony guitar, but you're never going to EQ it to sound exactly like a mahogany guitar.

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Yeah.... An ebony neck, maybe, but an ebony body is a bit
:freak:

BTW that's not the same as an ebony top on a mahogany or swamp ash body.

 

Yeah I figured the weight would be pretty high. Have you ever seen an axe with an ebony top? That would be pretty badass, too.

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Here's a solid ebony bass:

 

roninbody.jpg

 

From another website:

"There are over 400 varieties of ebony in the world, including our own American ebony, persimmon. Most species are shrubs rather than trees, and although there is plenty of ebony in the world, there are not plentiful supplies of fingerboard yielding trees. Those trees that are available are getting smaller, and the quality is lower yet expectations are as they have been since about 1988 when Madagascar ebony became available."

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Dont think it would sound good. Picking guitar woods simply on asthetics is bad idea imo. Must also factor in tone conciderations/desires. One might make a nice sounding guitar that uses more ebony then most via ebony fretboard and up to 1/4 inch ebony top on mahogany body.

 

Have you really looked close at several qaulity ebony fretboards? Allmost no discenable wood grain. Overall you might as well just paint a guitar with semigloss (not satin nor matte) black. For the same look as all ebony guitar.

 

Want natural finish that also feels more like bare wood then most any guitar out there? Use 2-3 light coats of easy apply fast drying wipe on, all in one, wood sealer/tint/finish. Minwax and Thompson as 2 great examples. Better protected body and neck then Warwicks bare wood basses with virtually same bare wood feel.

 

Ebony if not properly cured will crack. Even then it, like even bubinga and ovankol can crack if dries out too much. Is important to occassionally treat ebony fretboards. Myself prefers Dunlop 02 deep conditioner. Once or up to twice a year. However a ebony top on for example mahogany body, would be better served with couple light coats of wood sealer/finish. Get the fast drying type (dry in 6 hrs or less) that you can just wipe on in light coat with soft clean cloth. Then lightly sand with ultra fine sandpaper for nice uniform smooth slick feel that still feels like bare wood.

 

Doc: Nice looking bass. You sure thats not just just a unusual ebony top on maple or other wood body? That certainly dont look like other then layered body to me. Perhaps ebony top and back with other wood middle.

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