How long does the beauty lasts?

[ALiP BoB]

I'm bored and curious at the same time so I figured, yea, why not start a thread

I just want to know how long before:

Maple fretboard turns very dark looking with dead skins. (Do young people leave dead skin on Maple FBs too?)
White finish turns yellowish?
Finishing starts to uh, come off?
Chips start to appear? I mean the average, a chip is gonna appear sooner or later right?
Hardware starts to rust? Colour hardware start to uh, loose it's colour?

This are the qns that I can think of.
Thanks.

[Mudfuzz]

A dirty board: Do you normally wash you hands before playing? I do, it takes me over a year.

Off-white-y-ness: Depends on what type or finish it is.

Finishing starts to come off: It's a cool feeling you get when you can look at your main bass and see where you've played the finish off in places. Took me about 3-4 years on a matte finished neck, hard finish, no idea.

Chips start to appear when you bang you bass into thing you shouldn't.

Hardware rusting and discoloration: depends on how much you sweat, how acid-y is your sweat and what climate you live in.

[Zooberwerx]

Doesn't matter...it all adds to the vibe of the instrument. I believe they refer to the deterioration as "players' wear".

Riis

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

Do you normally wash you hands before playing? I do, it takes me over a year.

When do you ever find time to play?

[ALiP BoB]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

Doesn't matter...it all adds to the vibe of the instrument. I believe they refer to the deterioration as "players' wear".

Riis

Yeaa but what if the White (Referring to EBMM White or Oly white) turns yellowish after a short period of time.
Might as well bought the bass with the Vintage white colour.

Back to my question, EBMM White/Oly white, how long before it turns yellow?

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by ALiP BoB

Yeaa but what if the White (Referring to EBMM White or Oly white) turns yellowish after a short period of time.
Might as well bought the bass with the Vintage white colour.

Back to my question, EBMM White/Oly white, how long before it turns yellow?

Apparently, it doesn't take long at all! You might want to post this question on the Ernie Ball website. They have a bass forum which is constantly monitored by their house technical staff; you should get a fairly quick response. In the meantime, enjoy the bass!

Riis

[vinny]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

When do you ever find time to play?

LOL, that's what I was thinking.

[tplyons]

Depends on the materials, the quality, the environment, how much use it gets, etc.

How long does it take a maple fretboard to discolor?
How is the fingerboard finished? Gloss? Satin? Oil? Well? Not so well? Not at all? That'll change that.

How long does it take for a white finish to yellow?
Do you play gigs in bars that allow smoking? Leave it out in the sun? Is it polyester? Polyurethane? Nitrocellulose? Clear coat? How many layers? Good finish or shoddy?

How long does a finish take to wear through?
How much do you sweat? What kind of finish? How thick is the finish? Clear coat? How often do you play?

How long does it take for chips to appear?
Do you use your bass as an instrument or a weapon? Carry it in a case? Gig often with moron guitarists? What kind of finish and how thick?

How long does it take hardware to rust?
Materials? Nickel plated? Gold plated? Annodized? Black plated? Chrome plated? Underlying materials? How well was the plating applied? How acidic is your sweat? Do you palm the bridge? Live near the ocean?

As you can see there are plenty of things that influence all these things. Don't worry about aging your bass, just get out there and play!

[ALiP BoB]

Dang... I didn't realise that they are many factors that contribute to the condition of the bass!

Thanks!!