Banishing Fender CS tort

[___]

the black looks much better!
my sx, which was a super cheap bass to begin with, had the worse faux tort guard i've ever seen. i ended up taking a palm sander to it to make it white (had a mishap near the lower bout but i'm alright with it)

 

[facetsquared]

That's dreadful. No self-respecting tortoise would have ever worn that.

Hahahaha!

 

[facetsquared]

If it isn't vintage tort then it has to be Spitfire or Lava.

Otherwise, it has to be gold or black anodized aluminum, single-ply chamfered black vinyl (e.g. FCS Duotone '57 P), or black single-ply Bakelite, IMO.

For the P, I looked all over for a 13-hole gold anodised guard with tug bar holes, but no joy. The one I did find (as a used guard) would not line up with the holes on mine. Black it is, then.

No Nate Mendel references, please.

 

[Grinderman]

For the P, I looked all over for a 13-hole gold anodised guard with tug bar holes, but no joy. The one I did find (as a used guard) would not line up with the holes on mine. Black it is, then.

No Nate Mendel references, please.

I understand some would hesitate or refuse to make even a very minor and discrete screw hole change to fit a 10-hole instead. If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to fit a 10-hole guard.

 

[ad9000]

Agree that the CS tort guards are shockingly bad Your black guard looks great on the red P-bass.
Allparts Vintage Red Tortoise (if they still make it) is a step up for sure - a little 2-dimensional but not bad, especially for the price. Funny how these tort conversations always seem to get around to Spitfire, though..

 

[facetsquared]

I understand some would hesitate or refuse to make even a very minor and discrete screw hole change to fit a 10-hole instead. If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to fit a 10-hole guard.

I considered this, but… can’t… bring myself to… nng!

A shame for me, because I think a gold guard would look great next to the gold tones of the layer underneath the Candy Apple Red.

 

[facetsquared]

Agree that the CS tort guards are shockingly bad Your black guard looks great on the red P-bass.
Allparts Vintage Red Tortoise (if they still make it) is a step up for sure - a little 2-dimensional but not bad, especially for the price. Funny how these tort conversations always seem to get around to Spitfire, though..

I love the look of Spitfire tort but it’s so much money to lay out for something that may not fit.

 

[ToddB1963]

I finally, finally got round to swapping out the 'corned beef' tort on my CS Precision. Knocked the gloss off a black WD Music pickguard - and I think it looks a whole lot better. I did the same on my CS Jazz. I love the basses themselves, but oof, Fender's relic tort is grim to my eyes. What do you reckon?

View attachment 5412171 View attachment 5412170

Agree with removing tort from the Precision. Red and tort doesn't work that well. Black is better.

Black pickguards don't work well on jazz basses IMO, least of all with the rosewood board and blocks. Go tuxedo with a white or parchment guard. Other than that, the tort is next best thing.

 

[facetsquared]

Agree with removing tort from the Precision. Red and tort doesn't work that well. Black is better.

Black pickguards don't work well on jazz basses IMO, least of all with the rosewood board and blocks. Go tuxedo with a white or parchment guard. Other than that, the tort is next best thing.

I did put the parchment guard from my Candy Apple Red Jazz on the black Jazz, and liked it. Maybe I will go for a swap soon.

 

[ad9000]

I love the look of Spitfire tort but it’s so much money to lay out for something that may not fit.

I have a few Spitfire guards, including ones they had to make from templates, and they all fit perfectly. I understand how that would be a concern, but it has never been a problem for me.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Here are some ‘before’ pics View attachment 5412180

View attachment 5412191

You usually only see marbling like that at Katz's Deli.

 

[HardNHeavy]

I love the look of Spitfire tort but it’s so much money to lay out for something that may not fit.

they do custom fit specifically for your basses year and model either by phone or email and a long form to fill out of the specs, and there's alot. They look great but yeh pricey, i kind regret buying one for a piece of plastic but it looks good on my J, much cheaper alternatives, the blk looks good on yours to.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

Yeah, for me it’s spitfire, lavaguards, or actual vintage ONLY. You can call me a snob, because I am. For a $4000 and change bass you’d think they would do better. I mean, all boutique tort is nowadays is closeups of the sun’s surface that you can easily find on google images.
See for yourself
View attachment 5412192

View attachment 5412193

I'd add Avantguard to that mix.

But yes, "modern" (non-celluloid) tort is pretty awful.
I can't believe with all the technology, someone can't come up with something better...

 

[Snibborwocky]

I fine with tort usually but, yes the black looks WAY better now. Good swap.

 

[muggsy]

Not all Fender CS tort

 

[retslock]

I finally, finally got round to swapping out the 'corned beef' tort on my CS Precision. Knocked the gloss off a black WD Music pickguard - and I think it looks a whole lot better. I did the same on my CS Jazz. I love the basses themselves, but oof, Fender's relic tort is grim to my eyes. What do you reckon?

View attachment 5412171 View attachment 5412170

For the red bass black looks great. For the black I still say black and tort is a classy look.

 

[retslock]

Here are some ‘before’ pics View attachment 5412180

View attachment 5412191

Red and tort is bad. Black and tort is very good.

 

[Ostie]

Yep, I gotta say, tort on black = classy, but tort on red = big nope.

 

[2thAche]

%100 better on both, I agree. No tort on black or red.

 

[BAG]

As someone who doesn't like the look of any tort pickguards, I think you've made them look much better.