** DUMB QUESTION ALERT ** .... Stealth f/b, are they ebony?

[Psychicpet]

Hello all, are the boards on the Stealth models Ebony? i see the specs on the site say stealth ebony for "neck" but does that mean f/b material or finish?

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

That's a valid question, and yes - fretless in Stealth has an ebony fingerboard.

Here is the last Stealth SR4 2eq SLO Special unlined fretless

 

[Psychicpet]

gorgeous! awesome! thank you Pete!!! .....is that fretless still available btw?

 

[A.J.]

The original Stealth models had rosewood. We switched to ebony in 2009.

 

[MaxKlein40]

Another question, the models on guitar center's website have a way lighter fingerboard than the ones ive seen elsewhere. They look more rosewood colored. Any reason for this? Heres the link:

Ernie Ball Music Man Bongo 5 HH Electric Bass Guitar Stealth Black | Guitar Center

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

gorgeous! awesome! thank you Pete!!! .....is that fretless still available btw?

No, that was a special order for someone. You can still get the Stealth package, fretted/lined fretless/unlined fretless on the Sterling bass in H or HH

Another question, the models on guitar center's website have a way lighter fingerboard than the ones ive seen elsewhere. They look more rosewood colored. Any reason for this? Heres the link:

My guess is a combination of a dry board and how the photography was done.

 

[A.J.]

Pete is right.

Also, it is getting more and more difficult to get that pure jet black ebony these days. Most folks don't realize it is just the center of the tree that yields this dark wood and we aren't the only industry vying for it. Lighter and streakier ebony is starting to become the norm based on supply.

 

[DrKev]

Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars talked about this some years back. Most ebony is not jet black. As it's an threatened species we can't cut down ten trees to keep just one tree that gives a lot of black ebony. So were gonna start seeing more and more of the ebony that Mother Nature actually makes, which is often lighter colored and even streaked.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Pete is right.

Also, it is getting more and more difficult to get that pure jet black ebony these days. Most folks don't realize it is just the center of the tree that yields this dark wood and we aren't the only industry vying for it. Lighter and streakier ebony is starting to become the norm based on supply.

If you look at pianos and stringed instruments from 100 years ago, the ebony had streaks. It was only more recently that people became obsessed with perfectly pure black ebony. It was chosen far more for the hardness and tight grain, as well as high sound velocity, than anything else. For years many companies have dyed their ebony to get the pure black color.

Unfortunately, what this resulted in was that ebony buyers started only looking for the pure black ebony, so the people cutting down the trees would hack into the heart wood, and if it wasn't pure black, they'd leave it to rot.

As noted by others, Taylor guitars has started managing one of the ebony farms in Africa, so they are trying to get the industry to accept that ebony will more often than not have some streaks in it.

 

[timplog]

been wondering the same thing...have the stealth Bongos always had an ebony board, standard, since the beginning?
thanks

 

[Bert]

been wondering the same thing...have the stealth Bongos always had an ebony board, standard, since the beginning?
thanks

This one looks like rosewood:
View attachment 34973

SOLD : Ernie Ball Musicman Bongo, 5HS Stealth w/ Hardcase. -

 

[timplog]

thanks Bert
reading further back in this thread AJ mentions 2009 as the year they switched to ebony, from rosewood, on the stealth model.
now if I can get the answer to my serial number lookup question about the age of my prospective purchase I'll be stoked.

 

[Bert]

thanks Bert
reading further back in this thread AJ mentions 2009 as the year they switched to ebony, from rosewood, on the stealth model.
now if I can get the answer to my serial number lookup question about the age of my prospective purchase I'll be stoked.

Is it the #F12607 ?

Because this bass should be a Bongo 4 HH from 2005 in Sapphire Black with Rosewood fretboard.

check here:
http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-b...l-production-date-guitar-803.html#post1024669

 

[timplog]

thanks again Bert
so that's news....guitar center listed it as a stealth black, hmmmmm.
could you share your source for that #F12607 lookup result?
ordered it yesterday and the listing was removed from their site.
will see it in person next week. probably wouldn't have placed the order knowing it was mislabeled.
to be continued.

 

[Bert]

thanks again Bert
so that's news....guitar center listed it as a stealth black, hmmmmm.
could you share your source for that #F12607 lookup result?
ordered it yesterday and the listing was removed from their site.
will see it in person next week. probably wouldn't have placed the order knowing it was mid-labeled.
to be continued.

link above

 

[Chuck M]

The fingerboard on one of my upright basses has a lovely light streak in it. I consider it a plus although some don't. I adore figured wood of all species.

My Bongo 6 HH has a beautiful rosewood fingerboard with moderate figure. Wood. I love the stuff.

 

[timplog]

thanks man
good ol' guitar center

 

[five7]

I have owned three stealth models, Bongo 5, stingray 4 and a sterling 5. The ray had a slo neck with ebony fb. The other two had rosewood. Funny thing the ray wasn't marked as a slo as it was made before the logo was put on the peghead. The stealth matte finish eventually gets shiny from use. Loved all three!

 

[timplog]

thanks for taking the time Bert!
have a good one

 

[Michael Murphy]

Lighter and streakier ebony is starting to become the norm based on supply.

So were gonna start seeing more and more of the ebony that Mother Nature actually makes, which is often lighter colored and even streaked.

Lucky for me, i *like* the lighter and streakier variants. (Though i must say a jet black chunk of ebony does look awesome in the right situations.) I would actually like an unlined fretless bass with a persimmon board, which is in the ebony family but *really* light (tending toward white with streaks and swirls).

Is it the #F12607 ?
Because this bass should be a Bongo 4 HH from 2005 in Sapphire Black with Rosewood fretboard.

I've seen a fair number of listings of "stealth" basses for sale which turned out to be Sapphire Black. I wonder if the phrase was used in some of their marketing. They pretty much all had chrome hardware and weren't particulary stealthy except for the dark grey color.