CodePoet
Fractal Fanatic
I've had an EVH Wolfgang Special Stealth (i.e. all black) on order from Sweetwater for 9 months or so. Just got an email they shipped it. Got a nice email with detailed photos of it from Sweetwater. Looking good, then I noticed that the fretboard is overall lighter then their previous iterations and has light-brown variations throughout.
The fretboard of previous EVH Stealths, via their web site:
@bishop5150 's EVH Stealth:
The fretboard of the one shipping to me - not really black or uniform. Definitely different than every other Wolfgang Stealth photo I've seen:
Photos can differ due to exposure and color-balancing and I'll reserve judgement until I see it in person, but was wondering if this is the way ebony will be presented from here on? It's not a huge deal, other than for this specific model, the point of getting the "Stealth" configuration is that everything is uniformly black. Maybe these "not-so-ninja" models will become more desired, who knows? Or maybe just look at it as free relic-ing? It's just a cosmetic thing - again, not a big deal, just not as advertised.
The response from Sweetwater is below. Is this the case now - fully-black ebony is basically over in the guitar landscape? Anyone have any experience in darkening ebony?
The fretboard of previous EVH Stealths, via their web site:
@bishop5150 's EVH Stealth:
The fretboard of the one shipping to me - not really black or uniform. Definitely different than every other Wolfgang Stealth photo I've seen:
Photos can differ due to exposure and color-balancing and I'll reserve judgement until I see it in person, but was wondering if this is the way ebony will be presented from here on? It's not a huge deal, other than for this specific model, the point of getting the "Stealth" configuration is that everything is uniformly black. Maybe these "not-so-ninja" models will become more desired, who knows? Or maybe just look at it as free relic-ing? It's just a cosmetic thing - again, not a big deal, just not as advertised.
The response from Sweetwater is below. Is this the case now - fully-black ebony is basically over in the guitar landscape? Anyone have any experience in darkening ebony?
So because of environmental concerns and the supply of ebony in Africa lots of manufacturers have stopped using fully black ebony. What you see is the natural color of the wood. Ebony normally has stripping and different colors of black/brown in it. In fact only about 1 of 100 trees has grain that's fully black.
Most guitar brands have stopped trying to use fully black ebony because of all the waste it makes. Ebony has never naturally been black fully. You can try some fretboard treatment to try and even it out a bit but it will have variations in color regardless.