Martin Guitar kits.

[pugwash]

I've just been looking at Martin guitar kits and noticed the are supplied with "Richlite" fingerboard and bridge.
Does anyone know what "Richlite" is please?

[Cliff Rogers]

A quick look around some of the other instrument forums says it is an "artificial ebony like material".


Richlite is actually a proprietary brand name for a type of micarta.

It gets a bad rap for being "plastic". It is really phenolic.... It makes a great fretboard which is much more impervious to humidity than most woods. The only difficult thing is that it is hard to glue, and epoxy is the only way to affix the fretboard. Most of the bad reviews of Richlite (or Micarta, or phenolic) are due to a certain guitar company not disclosing that they were using it in place of ebony, resulting in customers being angered, thinking they had paid for ebony. The cost is actually comparable, as phenolic is not an inexpensive material.

[pugwash]

Thanks Cliff, I guess I could just get the kit and replace the fretboard with rosewood.

[kiwigeo]

Thanks Cliff, I guess I could just get the kit and replace the fretboard with rosewood.

The argument against Richlite is poorly founded. I use epoxy glue to fix on my ebony and rosewood fretboards.....it's a sensible option where you don't want a water based glue causing any movement in the wood. In the case of say a body/neck joint it would make sense to use a glue that is reversible such as hide glue but how many times in the lifetime of a guitar will a fretboard need to be lifted off?

Richlite also makes sense in the light of the scarcity and cost of good quality ebony fretboard material.

Before you splash out on a Martin kit checkout kits available from some of the Australian suppliers..with the Aussie dollar plumetting and the exorbitant f\US freight rates it may work out cheaper in the long run