So. That Walnut guitar Mark’s been building on TheTube that TV wants!!!

Oh .... *that* Walnut guitar ? 

To be fair, it's not just me that quite fancies it, as david-johnson09 has already challenged me to a duel to work out who gets to take it home.

If it were mine, I'd be speccing Rosewood.  Of all the necks I've got, Rosewood wins.  It's warm in sound, beautiful in hand, and looks stunning too.  It's also a classic.

I'll post some pics tomorrow of some RW necks that I've got on some guitars as an illustration.

Would RW work aesthetically?

Well, there are various types of Satinwood (AFAIK), but they seem to be golden-isn in colour.  RW can have some lovely gold features running through it - but there are all sorts of RW too, and each piece is different (naturally!).  So, you could find something that'd work from a visual perspective.  RW is always going to work from a sound and feel perspective.

But enjoy the search - and it's about time that we saw some more pics of that body taking proper shape.  

(And what sort of case should I be getting for it?)

To be fair, it's not just me that quite fancies it, as david-johnson09 has already challenged me to a duel to work out who gets to take it home.

?

@rashdown_online  It depends if you are looking to put inlays in and then ebony would be better If your are..

This is. Walnut cap on one of my builds with ebony and MOP custom inlays..

its all a matter of personal taste as I don’t buy in to the tone of wood on electric guitars (acoustics defo) as it’s the pickups that give the tone.....IMHO.....but what do I know.

Oh yeah...when’s the raffle for the guitar anyway ? 

@tv1010101: I like the sound of RW. I wonder if Mark has a secret stash of Brazilian out back??? I don’t think I’d have enough cash for that anyway 🙂

Great idea though. Have seen some bootiful S-Types with RW necks made by Oswald Guitars...

@david-johnson09

That’s a tasty looking machine!

But I’m keeping to the SatinWood fretboard plan so need to look into an alternative to some lovely GreenHeart which isn’t suitable. Maybe in a decade I can use these blanks on something (these were taken from an old lock gate and were submerged for a very VERY many years!

I'll post some pics tomorrow of some RW necks that I've got on some guitars as an illustration.

Here you go ... some Rosewood necks.

As said above, there are plenty of variations of Rosewood, and plenty of sources too (ie not just the fabled Brazilian stuff!)

@tv1010101

That be lovely!!!

Thanks for sharing.

This one is a different type of RW, different origin

And another different one ...

This (last) one *is* Brazilian ...

@rashdown_online It's me that the has the secret stash of Rio Rosewood!! My uncle bought two entire logs of the stuff in the 1970's from a timber yard on the North Circular in London. In the 1980's he then proceeded to cut most of it up into parquet floor tiles (!!!! argghhhhhhh) and, as he decided to not put the floor down after all, I inherited it (when he passed away 10 years ago. I have four tea chests full of pieces just the right size for acoustic guitar bridges and a load of other sections and planks which are big enough for fret boards and could be laminated to make necks. I also have a couple of large 2" boards of bubinga. Commercially, the rosewood is now of absolutely no value at all as I can't legally sell it, barter it, swap it for 'favours' or anything else. Also anything that I make from it can never leave the country without a CITES passport which I would only be able to obtain if I can present the original purchase invoice from the 70's to DEFRA, something I am, not surprisingly, unable to do!

With every Dalbergia (true rosewoods) species now being on the CITES schedules it is going to become increasing tough for guitar makers and touring musicians (if they even exist anymore!) who make, or own, instruments with rosewood components. Just look at the number of timber parts listed on the big guitar making suppliers sites that can no longer be shipped to international customers, it grows all the time. This is the new reality of instrument making and we had all better start getting used to finding, using and experimenting with materials that may not have previously been in the 'Premier League' of tone woods before we run out of choices.

Don't be depressed about this situation. In many ways I actually find the prospect of using new materials and developing new constructions, processes and techniques quite liberating. Instead of feeling that the rosewood restrictions are limiting, in actual fact it has opened up the possibility of legitimately using a huge range of other species that may previously have been considered a second class choice, especially so with laminated acoustic components. And it is all the cause of saving some very vulnerable species of tree.

With ebony now also on the verge of protection what will we do for black fingerboards? We will either have to used a dyed species or, another alternative, is a man-made material called Richlite which has been successfully used for fingerboards and bridges most notably by Martin (

It's a compressed heat-fused phenolic paper construction and is very hard and black (amongst others). A company called Epicurean manufactures expensive chopping boards from this material (in different colours) and it does finish really nicely. I haven't made a fingerboard from it yet but I am going to give it a go in the near future. One of the appeals of this stuff is that I can stick a sheet on the CNC router and leave it to machine the radius onto a whole batch of fingerboards in one go and then cut them out as blanks ready for fret slotting.

Commercially, the rosewood is now of absolutely no value at all as I can't legally sell it, barter it, swap it for 'favours' or anything else.

Oh no!

That's terrible @darrenking.

I'll have a think - maybe I can come up with a solution to help you with this problem.

😉

@tv1010101 @darrenking

I envisage a pub-meet where some beers are bought (maybe Knobies Nuts, too) and @darrenking accidentally leaves some Rio behind after several drinks (and an untouched bank balance) 🙂

With ebony now also on the verge of protection what will we do for black fingerboards? We will either have to used a dyed species or, another alternative, is a man-made material called Richlite which has been successfully used for fingerboards

@darrenking This sounds fantastic! Like you, I love the prospect of using new materials, especially if it helps the planet. I’m going to look into this right now. Excellent research! 

I hope to have some of this stuff on my new website but in the meantime you can get it from a company called Surface Matter in London. Some of the multicoloured ones look pretty awesome actually! Links to the relevant pages below:

https://shop.surfacematter.co.uk/collections/richlite/products/richlite-multicolour-guitar-fretboard-blanks

https://shop.surfacematter.co.uk/collections/richlite/products/richlite-guitar-fretboard-blank

https://shop.surfacematter.co.uk/collections/richlite/products/richlite-bass-fretboard-blanks

Some of the multicoloured ones look pretty awesome actually!

I like the “grain” pattern that shows on some of the “example machined” images @darrenking.

Knowing nothing about Richlite, I’m guessing that those patterns are created as you sand through the different layers of paper that make up the material.

Also, a handy way of checking that your fretboard is level, and sanding is straight!

Still, you can have the clever, new, high-tech, modern Richlite, and I’ll use up the odd scraps of old-fashioned RW.

?

I hope to have some of this stuff on my new website but in the meantime you can get it from a company called Surface Matter in London. Some of the multicoloured ones look pretty awesome actually!

@darrenking this is really cool, thanks. 

Also, a handy way of checking that your fretboard is level, and sanding is straight!

@tv1010101 An added bonus indeed.