Maple neck with red tint

[2019CTRAY]

I recently bought a Sterling Ray34 with a maple neck used. Beautiful bass. The maple fretboard and headstock have a slight red tint to them though. It almost appears as if previous owner may have tried to give it a "vintage" tint but came up short or I've read that environmental conditions can affect the maple. Anyhoo, it sounds amazing I was just looking for any insight.
Thanks, Chris

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Maybe a Torrefied neck? That usually looks more brownish than reddish though. Pictures?

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I recently bought a Sterling Ray34 with a maple neck used. Beautiful bass. The maple fretboard and headstock have a slight red tint to them though. It almost appears as if previous owner may have tried to give it a "vintage" tint but came up short or I've read that environmental conditions can affect the maple. Anyhoo, it sounds amazing I was just looking for any insight.
Thanks, Chris

Almost any maple neck made in the last 40 years is finished with tinted polyester. The color is determined by the tint formula that's mixed in, and it's permanent. It doesn't change with time or environment. The real aged amber finishes are nitro lacquer from the '60's and '70's. They get darker from sunlight. The modern tinted polyester finishes are mixed to try to copy that old look. Bare maple is very pale, almost white.

Mixing the tint is touchy. The finishing guy at the factory has to mix it in with every batch. He follows a formula to try to get a standard shade of amber, but sometimes he's off a bit. He sneezed while counting the drops. Look at a row of maple-neck basses and you'll see a wide variation in the shades of "vintage amber". It's not variances in the wood or the environment, it's just the mix of the tint. What day it was painted.

When you see a maple neck that is distinctly different in shade, that often means that it's been touched up. More coats have been sprayed on over the original coats. Tinted finishes get darker with every coat, and may shift the shade if the tint mix is different. Your Sterling may have had a rough spot at the factory and was sent back through for a few more coats. Or, someone later may have done it.