Different neck finish on StingRays?

[Meypelnek]

Hi and sorry for this question, I've been searching the forum and google but did not find a satisfying anser and perhaps I am lost a bit in translation, too.

I have (currently) two StingRays:
One has a maple fretboard the other a rosewood fretboard.
The one with the maple fretboard has a (back of the neck) finish I would describe as unfinished (open pores, feels dry, "natural")
The rosewood board Ray has a neck finish I would describe as "satin finish" (closed pores, very smooth, feels "waxed").
However, where ever I have looked I have read that EB uses oil and wax finish (and that's it!). But how come the results be so different? Are rosewood-board necks treated different in general (e.g. more wax)?

Thanks for a little lesson and cheers from Munich!

 

[tbonesullivan]

how long have you had both stingrays? are you the original owner, or were they used?

I have three stingrays, and a steve morse, and all have the hand rubbed gunstock oil wax blend, but the feel of them is somewhat different, mainly based on age. The oldest stingray I have definitely needs to be cleaned and re-oiled and waxed, after which it will probably feel the same as the newer ones I have.

You will also notice that the entire headstock is satin finished with polyurethane back and front. You should be able to notice a finish line on the back of the neck right around the nut.

 

[Meypelnek]

Hi tbonesullivan,

they are both fairly new. The RW fretboarder has a lacquered headstock (back and front) with a cut below the nut and the very slick back of the neck. The Maple fretboard Ray has a headstock that resembles the back of the neck of the Rosewood Ray (can you still follow, haha?) and the back of the neck feels ... unfinished.

 

[diptixon]

I'll chime in on this one; just bought a brand spankin' new SR 5 w/ a maple board; compared to my old 2000 rosewood-board SR 5 (which I no longer own), the lacquer on the headstock front and back is not nearly as thick, and the oil finish on the back of the neck seems a little different - hard to explain but possibly thinner and definitely less coloration to the neck, as the maple is much lighter. That could be partly the age difference, though.. but the headstock lacquer is very different between the 2... not an issue to me, though and could be due in part to the fact the the old SR5 had a finished headstock (see avatar..)