What has this bass been trough?

[strummer]

Hi everyone
Today I bought this Stingray 4 HH (2007 i think), and it plays like a dream, real resonant and very comfortable. Meeting up with the seller I expected a bass in dire need of a deep clensing, a lot of belt buckle rash and generally poor shape.
What I got instead was a mystery.
The neck might look dirty, but it's not dirty at all, instead it is discolored in a uniform way (see the light part by the neck pocket), and it feels clean and well maintained.
What I thought was belt buckle rash is instead some kind of paint lift, as if there was something evaporationg from under the paint...
And the pole pieces? Almost stealth black.
All hardware is tarnished, as are the locks on the (original) case.
I have no eda what this bass has been through, and I am not sure I want to change it at all as it looks awesome, but if anyone has any theories on what might have caused the bass to look like it does today I am very interested.

 

[bovinehost]

Some guesses:

1. The back of the neck was simply never cleaned, so the oil and wax wore off and the wood began to absord all of the pizza and bacon and cheese oils left on the owner's grubby hands.

2. The fretboard looks like it had some fret sprout and someone attempted to fix it without taping off or otherwise protecting the board itself. Like they went at the frets with (the wrong kind of) a file and if the fretboard itself got scraped up, so what?

3. Finish: no telling what happened there. Maybe it was kept in a case (this seems doubtful, all other factors considered) where the finish reacted badly to the adhesive holding the fuzzy stuff in the case?

 

[strummer]

Yeah, except the neck feels fantastic, or maybe I just love gunk.

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[bovinehost]

Yeah, except the neck feels fantastic, or maybe I just love gunk.

If it feels good, then it IS good. I've had a neck or two like that myself.

Also, I think the damage to the edge of the fretboard could have been beavers.

 

[danny-79]

Neck. It could be a attempt of some description to stain the neck with wood stain with it being so uniform, play ware wouldn’t be so consistent.

Back of bass, quite possibly is buckle rash or again some kind of bad attempt to (I hate the term and word) but “relic” it.
It looks bashed to me, the standard polyurethane finish does lift and shatter like that when knocked hard enough (possibly thrashed with a set of keys?)

Just my guess

 

[danny-79]

Actually I retract the “thrashed with keys”
That’s definitely been exposed to heat.
It’s heat that’s done that to the back

 

[strummer]

Beavers and heat, now we're getting somewhere.
I just spent some time playing the bass (loud) and while it may look slightly like **** it plays and sounds amazing.



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[tbonesullivan]

I would guess someone re-oiled the neck, and used something other than Tru-Oil. A lot of gun stock waxes have some pigment in them, especially if they are designed to be used on new unstained wood.

The fretboard looks like maybe from heavy picking, or maybe even fingernail wear from slap playing. It doesn't look nearly neat enough to be any kind of filing.

 

[danny-79]

I would guess someone re-oiled the neck, and used something other than Tru-Oil. A lot of gun stock waxes have some pigment in them, especially if they are designed to be used on new unstained wood.

The fretboard looks like maybe from heavy picking, or maybe even fingernail wear from slap playing. It doesn't look nearly neat enough to be any kind of filing.

Agree, that’s kind of what I was getting at although I don’t know much about gunstock oil and wax, you can see in photo it’s been applied with the neck still attached.

After a bit more thought heat is still my best guess for the damage to the back.

Finger board, beavers. Didn’t think of that. Makes sense now

 

[mouth]

That's a dirty neck. Believe it or not, they do get that "uniform" look after years of use. The wood just soaks up the hand oils, sweat and dirt and gets discolored like that. That's why I added 8 layers of Tru Oil on my Stingray necks (before they got dirty). It protects the wood from dirt like lacquer would (and adds to neck stability).

You can clean it up, but it will require some sanding. Take the neck off, sand it (don't overdo) and then treat it with Tru Oil & Gunstock Wax.

 

[strummer]

That's a dirty neck. Believe it or not, they do get that "uniform" look after years of use. The wood just soaks up the hand oils, sweat and dirt and gets discolored like that. That's why I added 8 layers of Tru Oil on my Stingray necks (before they got dirty). It protects the wood from dirt like lacquer would (and adds to neck stability).

You can clean it up, but it will require some sanding. Take the neck off, sand it (don't overdo) and then treat it with Tru Oil & Gunstock Wax.

I really doubt this is dirt, at least not form dirty hands, because it feels just the way it should, I mean like all other olied neck SR:s I've ever played. But I guess the oil could soak up dirt from the environment...

 

[mouth]

I really doubt this is dirt, at least not form dirty hands, because it feels just the way it should, I mean like all other olied neck SR:s I've ever played. But I guess the oil could soak up dirt from the environment...

Why do you think it should "feel" different? They get discolored, it's a known fact. They especially get discolored if the owner doesn't clean the neck, or give it extra protection. Doesn't mean the neck would automatically feel bad. It's played in, the wood is barely protected from the factory (wipe oil/wax on, wipe off technique, no cure time at all) so of course it's more prone to discoloration and getting dirty. It's almost (not quite) bare wood. You don't have to play the bass with visibly dirty hands, it will still react, unless you play it at home only, and wipe it off after every use. If you gig it, you bet it will react.

 

[bovinehost]

Maybe it was treated with snake oil. We have a lot of that going around lately.

 

[tbonesullivan]

You can probably get some oil soap and go nuts to see if you can get some of the gunk off. Might be a good idea to take the neck off, as it looks like it hasn't been off in a while, and that really helps clean it off more thoroughly.

or, just get some EBMM wonder wipes, and wipe it down a few times to get it nice and clean. If the color doesn't bother you, leave it.

 

[strummer]

Why do you think it should "feel" different? They get discolored, it's a known fact. They especially get discolored if the owner doesn't clean the neck, or give it extra protection. Doesn't mean the neck would automatically feel bad. It's played in, the wood is barely protected from the factory (wipe oil/wax on, wipe off technique, no cure time at all) so of course it's more prone to discoloration and getting dirty. It's almost (not quite) bare wood. You don't have to play the bass with visibly dirty hands, it will still react, unless you play it at home only, and wipe it off after every use. If you gig it, you bet it will react.

I think it should feel different because in my experience with musicman instruments, I have never had a neck look this bad and feel this good. I have had a few, and I assure you I do not play my basses exclusively at home.
Does not mean you are wrong, but I would hope that you maybe could at least take into consideration that the neck got discolored in some other way.
One reason I was looking to discuss this issue is that early tests with wonderwipes did not give me the expected effect, in fact nothing much happenend to the neck. With all the dirty necks I have come across before, wonderwipes have at least lessend the discoloration, but not so in this case.
Also, and I realize now that this does not come across well in the image, the discoloration has a greenish tint to it.
So yes, it still might be dirt, but I am not convinced.

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[danny-79]

So it’s previous owner was a beaver with personal hygiene issues. Makes sense now

 

[strummer]

So it’s previous owner was a beaver with personal hygiene issues. Makes sense now

Don't forget it's probably a tropical beaver, because heat.

 

[danny-79]

Don't forget it's probably a tropical beaver, because heat.

Now we are getting to the truth

 

[strummer]

Now we are getting to the truth

I'm trying hard not to go the Bass Central Felton route...

 

[danny-79]

I'm trying hard not to go the Bass Central Felton route...

Haha haha

Have you got a full photo of new bass?
From what I can see it looks the same as mine, Sapphire black, matching headstock ?