Possible EBay Dupe: Can anyone identify body material based on grain pattern?

[limit6]

Hello TB, recently I purchased a bass body from JV Guitars on EBay that was a custom order. I ordered and paid a premium for a roasted swamp ash p bass body with a clear coat with light amber tint nitro finish, that took months to be completed.

During the process the seller, despite being asked multiple times, did not offer any progress photos of the body. I really wanted this to ensure that it was indeed roasted swamp ash and that the very straightforward process for thin nitro clear coat was being followed.

Long story short, after not receiving any correspondence during the process, I receive the bass body and it appears that the material is alder and not roasted at all, the finish is (akin to an orange sparkle.) When I reached out to the seller I got a really half assed “It’s Mother Nature” response.

Not to get too far into it but wanted TB opinion on whether you think it’s roasted swamp ash or not.

I’ll include the reference photo first and the finished product second.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

on first glance yes, the stock photos look like RSA and the rcv'd looks like Alder. Were the finishes supposed to be the same as well?

 

[Turnaround]

Roasted? Maybe. Swamp Ash? I doubt it.

 

[limit6]

on first glance yes, the stock photos look like RSA and the rcv'd looks like Alder. Were the finishes supposed to be the same as well?

The finish was supposed to just be pore filler and clear coat nitro with a touch of Amber. It came to me orange sparkle.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I usually try to avoid wood species identification through pictures on the internet but the second set of pictures definitely does not look like ash.

 

[Metal Sombreros]

Alder

 

[hbarcat]

There is zero percent chance that is ash. You got screwed.

 

[gln1955]

Not ash. Maybe alder or some mystery wood.

I'm not seeing how you're calling that orange sparkle though.

 

[sissy kathy]

It's been several months; how did this play out with ebay. Did you open a case with them? Did you include the pictures and this thread? Did you get satisfaction, a partial refund, or a return and full refund? What did JV Guitars have to say when you opened the case?

 

[limit6]

It's been several months; how did this play out with ebay. Did you open a case with them? Did you include the pictures and this thread? Did you get satisfaction, a partial refund, or a return and full refund? What did JV Guitars have to say when you opened the case?

This was resolved, I offered to pay a restocking fee and eBay refunded the rest. I didn’t trust JV guitars to handle it outside of eBay even though he said he wanted to do it that way. The communication was too scattered an odd for me to feel confident in anything they said.

 

[limit6]

Not ash. Maybe alder or some mystery wood.

I'm not seeing how you're calling that orange sparkle though.

Not great pics on my part but if I took better pics you would have been able to see the sparkle in the finish.

 

[staccatogrowl]

This was resolved, I offered to pay a restocking fee and eBay refunded the rest. I didn’t trust JV guitars to handle it outside of eBay even though he said he wanted to do it that way. The communication was too scattered an odd for me to feel confident in anything they said.

Good move. I would have gladly paid the restocking fee to be rid of that bait-and-switch body. JV Guitars lived up to it's well-deserved name, likely never having chance to make the varsity squad.

 

[limit6]

https://ebay.io/m/j50N8A

Here’s the link to the same body he tried to pass off to me as roasted swamp ash that he’s now trying to sell.

 

[limit6]

Good move. I would have gladly paid the restocking fee to be rid of that bait-and-switch body. JV Guitars lived up to its well-deserved name, likely never having chance to make the varsity squad.

Or for any Soprano fans out there “they never had the makings of a varsity athlete.”

 

[Metal Sombreros]

Looks like Alder to me