Most serious players take reasonably good care of their instruments. I wouldn't touch that abused bass with a ten foot pole.
That pale pau ferro fretboard is a bit of a turnoff. Can't they at least "ebonize" it?
Is the fact that pao ferro is lighter in color something most people care about? It's not something I even notice, other than if it's a bit dry.
I never heard or saw a negative comment about its lighter color
As soon as Fender started using pau ferro on MIM models (reserving rosewood for MIA), suddenly people started complaining about the look. Go figure.
That's what I do best. Find the minutiae and then bicker. For example most Ric aficionados didn't even notice the double hump guard. I couldn't look at them. I'm the guy paying good money for real 60s tort, even Spitfire tort isn't good enough for me. I've replaced necks for darker rosewood. Now imagine living with me. I hated it when they used it on the Stu Hamm Urge bass almost 30 years ago.
^^^I'm sure you can find more than those two examples, especially from thin nitro pre-CBS Fenders, but I'll stand by what I said: most serious players take reasonably good care.