brudford - Posted - 11/30/2025:  17:01:40

Tomorrow is the last day at Pisgah banjos for the 20% off and I like their Roscoe model has everything I want including the 12" pot and a wood tone ring . However has a Richlite fingerboard which I guess is a paper / carbon mix and I have no experience with it . The Roscoe is $1695
so I know that with my higher end Martin OM-21 that I purchased twelve years ago a Richlite fretboard would be unacceptable at that price I paid at least for me . I want actual wood .
Any experience with this product , concerns , affect on sound ect... Thanks

geemott - Posted - 11/30/2025:  19:42:41

I used a Richlite board on my home built banjo. It is durable, smooth and comfortable to play, easy to wipe down and doesn't need oiling or other maintenance. Apart from aesthetics, the only problem is that it doesn't accept spikes very well - it doesn't grip like wood does, so I had to epoxy the spikes in.

Mickhammer - Posted - 11/30/2025:  23:28:10

I have a Steinberger guitar with a phenolic fingerboard, similar concept - much smoother feel to it than wood. But it fits in with the space-age concept of this particular model.

This is Pisgah's entry-level (price) banjo, so they had to cut corners somewhere to make it work.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 11/30/2025:  23:36:41

Pisgah’s $2,500+ tubaphone also has a Richlight fretboard, so the price cut seems brand-wide.

Ziradog - Posted - 12/01/2025:  05:19:16

Ten or so years ago, the pitch for Richlight was that it was more sustainable than ebony, and that Martin guitars used it. Pisgah of course stresses that their banjos are made suswtainably. Most Pisgah's come with the option of Richlight or persimmon fretboards, but as noted the Roscoe is the entry level model. I have a custom banjo from another maker with Richlight & IK like it very much, although it lacks the visual appeal of real ebony.

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 12/01/2025:  06:15:01

Makers are using materials that hold up well and are environmentally friendly. Some things to consider. Your dog may be able to hear the differences between fingerboard materials, but you probably can't. The railroad spike thing is a bit of an issue. We will be seeing more of this in the future. I have a guitar that has a micarta fingerboard although it was advertised to be ebony but the specs subject to change clause was a gotcha on it 20+ years ago. It has traveled well and neck never moves. The old timers I knew played banjos that were not as well made as ones we might pass up on today. Find something that fits you, with a sound that pleases you and you something that you find easy to play. Then learn to be content. I'm still working on that last one.

banjoboyd - Posted - 12/01/2025:  07:31:28

FYI: banjohangout.org/archive/305830

Richlite is similar in cost to woods commonly used for fingerboards -- not higher grade ebony or rosewood, but certainly maple, cherry, padauk, etc. But in any case, if banjos were priced based solely on the materials that went into them, the market would look pretty different than it does. 

Jon Borcherding - Posted - 12/01/2025:  08:22:47

Persimmons is a member of the ebony family. I don't find it particularly attractive so I went with Richlite. No regrets so far.

Edit:  It might be irrelevant to the topic at hand, but I feel like this is a good place to mention that Fred Cockerham played a fretless banjo made by Kyle Creed, with a gold-speckled, white, formica fingerboard.

Edited by - Jon Borcherding on 12/01/2025 08:26:56