The fingerboard has to withstand years of wear from fingers fretting strings. Therefore, dense woods make the best fingerboards. Ebony has been used for years as a premier fingerboard wood. Besides its attractive jet black appearance, it is very dense with only fine pores. Other woods that are equally dense can be used as well for some unique appearances. I like to use Cocobolo Rosewood and Ziricote for fingerboards as they provide very striking appearances. Other alternatives are East Indian Rosewood and Striped Macassar Ebony.