Had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison of my F512 with a friends F50R. Mine is a '84, his is a '78. The F50R has been played heavily over the years, and does show some wear. I still think the original owner of my F512 only took it out of the case once in a while to wipe it down, then quickly put it back up again. But I was a little suprised how different they looked being only 6 years apart. My top is significantly lighter than his, and the ebony is quite different as well. The ebony on the F50R is jet black, while it's a bit lighter on the F512. I've read some comments on here about striped ebony. Maybe that's what I have. Or it may just need a little oil, which I plan to remedy at the next string change.
Anyway, take a look and see what you think.
F512
F50R
Anyway, take a look and see what you think.
F512
F50R