Abalone inlays question

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iSoft

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Hello guys,

I have just received a PRS SE A60E acoustic guitar which is a dream to play and with a really awesome finish, glad i picked this one :)

I just have a question, i always loved mother of pearl birds PRS inlays and this one has Abalone but mine is very very dark, we barely can see the birds.
I wanted to know if you know a trick or something that could "discolor" a bit the inlays on the fretboard ? I don't know if abalone is subject to get clearer or not :/

Thanks and cheers :)
 

Dacious

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Abalone inlays can vary greatly in colour. The white perloid ones might stand out more, but the abalone sparkles much more in light.

My PRS Custom 24 inlays were very visible onstage in pics.
 

Bluey

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Depends where the Abalone comes from. May be a poached rare & endangered species ?
 

toomuchfun

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Sorry, no help but with time there is a chance they will lighten up. I have a couple Martins where one dot is that way, I understand a little how you feel.

Have you asked PRS? If anyone would know they should.
 

iSoft

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Need a pic, it actually sounds pretty cool and subtle...

Here it is :)
It actually looks pretty cool on pictures like that in close-up, but when you're at 30cm you don't even see that those are birds.
I had the thing yesterday, i was sitting in a coach with the drummer in front of me (like 60cm away), been playing for an hour with the guitar and then he told me "What are these inlays on your fretboard ?", that's frustrating, it's what i like most esthetically in PRS and stands the guitar out !

For now, and more than 30cm away, just looks like someone shat abalone on the fretboard XD XD


image removed

image removed
 

Dacious

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Here it is :)
It actually looks pretty cool on pictures like that in close-up, but when you're at 30cm you don't even see that those are birds.
I had the thing yesterday, i was sitting in a coach with the drummer in front of me (like 60cm away), been playing for an hour with the guitar and then he told me "What are these inlays on your fretboard ?", that's frustrating, it's what i like most esthetically in PRS and stands the guitar out !

For now, and more than 30cm away, just looks like someone shat abalone on the fretboard XD XD


image removed

image removed

That's what real abalone looks like.
 

schmee

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Looks great to me. People a couple meters away dont pay any attention anyway. Get a hot pink PRS and order day glo inlays! haha
 

toomuchfun

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Looks like blue pau abalone.

I have some on a custom shop 00 Martin.

2011_Martin_00-18V_cs-3.jpg
 
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