What is left is in drastically short supply. The issue lies in the fact that black ebony has been harvested so heavily, predominantly to appease the demand of the Western world, that nearly all the black ebony in the world is gone. The hard fact is that we have come to a point where the supply of jet black ebony that the Western world is so familiar with is in jeopardy. So it should come as no surprise to anyone in our industry that the organic materials that we use are not in infinite supply and ebony is no exception. Just look at the plethora of violins, violas and cellos in a typical orchestra pit, all of which will most likely feature an ebony fingerboard, tuners, string pegs, tailpiece or any combination of these items. However, as functional as ebony is in the stringed instrument world, it is equally famous for its glassy, jet black appearance that makes any instrument simply ooze with class. While other traditional fingerboard materials like rosewood will offer a much warmer tone, ebony, in contrast, offers a bright, snappy tone with a smooth and clear sustain. It also yields favorable tonal properties. It is a very heavy, dense wood making it ideal for withstanding string wear, while its tight grain, when processed offers a very smooth playing surface on fingerboards in particular. Ebony has long been used in the stringed instruments world and with good reason. Next in line in the ever-growing scarcity of natural materials looks as though it could be ebony, more specifically Gabon Ebony ( Diospyrus Crassiflora), which is identified by its distinctive jet black appearance. Indeed, Deering is no stranger to adapting to these ever changing circumstances - in 2010 Deering introduced a synthetic alternative to mother of pearl into its Boston, Sierra, Eagle and Deluxe model fingerboard inlays in order to offer newly enhanced engraved inlay patterns to customers at no price increase because of dwindling availability (and subsequent inflated price) of the popular shell. Brazilian rosewood, once considered one of the finest musical instrument woods, is near impossible to obtain and mother of pearl and abalone are becoming harder and harder to source as the species becomes scarcer.
Over the years, we have seen natural materials become much harder to acquire. Woods such as walnut, maple and mahogany, while often aesthetically pleasing are vital to the construction and tone of the instrument, whereas abalone and mother of pearl are regularly used to enhance the look of the instrument. Like many musical instrument manufacturers, Deering regularly turns to nature for much of its material.
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