electric violin ebony substitute

[Leonardo Silva]

I found this posts about the topic, but I ain't sure http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2221

I know I can ebonize almost any wood, but for an electric violin I know I need an everlasting dye and a high janka hardness wood as there are no frets and strings are in direct contact with the wood, skeptical about finished fingerboards as it would look odd to have some sort of finish on the fingerboard, anyway, I'm not well versed on how to finish a fingerboard, just know the mirror like nitrocellulose laquer.

The reasons I don't want to use ebony if possible it's for an environmental friendly perspective, I know ebony is endangered and for an electric violin it might matter less the material of the fingerboard than an acoustic, so I might get away with ebonizing a piece of purpleheart for example, but tonally wise I know ebony is kinda "reflective" by nature, since its pore is so close and hard it "reflects" higher overtones (bright in short terms) while rosewood oily content pronounce the mids and damper a bit the highs(realized this after hearing a fender 100%rosewood tele guitar), the rest of the body/neck I can probably get my hands on maple, it will all be painted black.

note: I need the wood to be able to carve the fingerboard, pegheads, chinrest and tailpiece.
note 2: I'm from Chile, if I travel to the capital of here, I can get my hands on purpleheart and maple possibly, Importing wood is another topic, which is extremely expensive.

[Michael Lewis]

Leonardo, I usually look for locally available materials that are suitable. Technical specifications for various varieties of wood can give you guidance for selecting your wood. These specifications are often available from universities that teach engineering and forestry subjects.

[Dan Hill]

Ipe ("eepay") is a plantation-grown tropical hardwood used for high end floors and decking. I purchased some offcuts a few years ago at a local lumber yard pretty cheaply. It's harder than ebony, and has the same fire rating as concrete (and tough on tools). Some folks here have reported problems with stability, but I used it for the fingerboard of a fretless acoustic bass about five years ago, and haven't had any problems yet.

[Dan Hill]

I just "found" this website in another discussion. It looks like a great resource.
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... woods/ipe/