The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi folks,
can anyone tell me what variety of Emmons fret boards these are? I have an Emmons guitar with these on it, but I've never seen these boards on any other Emmons. The thing that seems so different is the blue is much darker. My other Emmons has a lighter, almost turquoise blue, and that's what I'm used to seeing. These boards have a glossy finish, they look to be made of metal and have chrome fret markers, and (you can't see this in the photo) upon close inspection the atoms look like they are applied decals or stickers that have been laquered over---at least they appear to be layered onto the boards, as opposed to painted or printed onto the boards. I like the way these boards look, but the problem is that the blue is so dark it's hard to see in low-lighting, so one day I'll probably replace them with the lighter blue, but the dark blue and chrome looks pretty cool. Just curious what they are, what years, etc.

Thanks,
Cliff

Cliff, those are the same fret boards I have on my Emmons P/P. I ordered them from Jerry Roller and he got them from the Emmons guitar company. I think that they are standard chrome fret boards maybe produced by another vender for Emmons. Hope that helps.---Henry

Thanks, Henry. I guess I just haven't seen a lot of chrome boards. Does the dark blue work for you in low-light?

The fretboards that were on 1960s Emmons guitars have the lighter blue -- see the fretboards on ebay right now. That is the old blue.

The replacement fretboards have the darker blue -- both the reissue chrome line and the white line fretboards have the wrong blue. I don't know when Emmons switched to the new darker blue.

Thanks, Chris. Good info.

I bought chrome replacement fretboards from Emmons a little over a year ago. The blue atoms on those are much lighter/more towards cyan in color, and the red atoms are more towards magenta; just like on the 70's originals they replaced.

They also made fret boards with narrow and wide fret lines. I really prefer the narrow lines myself.

Cliff, the dark blue really hasn't bothered me except one place I played had blue stage lights and then that marker just almost disappeared. I just changed out a light blub on my side of the stage.---Henry

Those look like newer ones to me as well. As was said before,the 60's and very early 70's guitars had turquoise instead of blue. Additionally,the mid 70's chrome boards were more of a brushed chrome than bright,neither of which looks like the ones Cliff showed us.

Are good reproductions of the 60's style boards with the turquoise markers available anywhere, or must one look for good used examples?

I am almost positive mine are reproductions.

Did Emmons ever use a board with all white atoms.I have a `69 D10,both fretboards are the same,no trace of faded color on any of the atoms.Both show wear in keeping with the rest of the guitar,but could be unoriginal,since no one`s mentioned this type.
Thanks,
Tom

Tom
Emmons did in fact have a fretboard without color, just white lines and atom symbols, in the very late 60's to early 70's. I sold a rosewood D-10 to a forumite a few years ago with that style of fretboard. They're kinda rare, actually. I've only owned two like that; the other was a white tidewood S-10 from the same era.

Maybe these will shed a little light on the subject:

Top: Current Fretboard used on the LeGrande Series guitars. note the black is not quiet so black as the previous models and the "Frets" are WHITE. This board is much easier to see in dim light than the earlier models, and does not reflect stage spot lights into the players eyes.


The next example is an original fretboard removed from a 1978 model D10. Note how black the black is compared to the newer version. The blue colored atoms do appear a bit brighter, but not lighter in color.
The turquoise colored atoms were prior to the seventies, I believe.

The last examples are official Emmons replacements for the 1978 model Push Pull sent to me by Ron, Jr about nine months ago. The Blue Atoms do appear to be one or two sades darker on these replacements, but other than that, they are pretty much identical to the original fretboard above - minus the scratches of course.
The atoms appear to to be stickers that are applied to the fretboard and then painted over on all three examples.



Hope this helps.
Cheers!!

Benton

I think the fretboards with all white markers and lines were from the "student model" guitars.
JE:-)>

Wrong Jim, they were for the hard pro players that had to work under colored lights. And these are better seen under low light conditions. These all white boards first appeard in early '69, I remember Ron Lashly telling me that several players wanted them since Sho-Bud was doing this option also.
Now Jim, some were used on student guitars as you assumed, but not for the reasons listed above. The white boards were just plain cheaper to produce, by a few cents. They were all made by "McGee Designs" screening in Nashville TN. Now out of business.
Bobbe

I have a 67 PP D-10 S/N 1153-D with all white markings. I bought it in 1969 from Garland Nash in Atlanta.
It's a keeper too.
I'll post a pic if someone will help me.
Larry

I have a D-10 Black Rock with the white fret boards.

I don,t know if it is just my eyes,but on the metalic frett board the second string seems to disapear when you look for it.Kinda just camoflages
itself.I have the metalic boards on my emmons,but
it came with the white ones and they were alot more visual friendly.

I have had the chrome and the white fret boards and the white ones stand right out in bad light .

I'm looking for a set of emmons fret boards...I tried the emmons company, but the phone has been disconnected If anyone has a set to sale I would be intrested,I have a 1975 pp.

Charlie, I needed fretboards for my D12, and contacted Billy Knowles. He got me a set directly from the factory. Drop him a line. I believe he is a forum member

In the past, in two seperate orders from a Nashville supplier, I received Emmons fret boards, the ones with silver fret markers and borders and glossy finish. I found these very unsatisfactory and of very poor quality. Very shortly after placing on the guitar and dusting a few times with a soft cloth the black paint flaked off leaving the boards a sad mess.
A few months ago I purchased a set with white borders and fret markers and of super quality from Billy Knoles. Prompt service here to Canada I might add. This is not intended to be a commercial plug, just stating my experiences. H. P.