Banishing Fender CS tort

[facetsquared]

Nice. Yeah I was just about to ask....with the Custom Shop, won't they do any color pickguard, including various tort colors?

Don't blanket terms like "the Custom Shop's tort guards" sound a bit spurious?

Yep, but I bought my basses used! The tort came as part of the package…

 

[got_the_bug]

To me, tort is similar to sunburst finishes…there are examples of both that are aesthetically pleasing, and others that are boring or downright ugly.

My two Custom Shop Jazz basses…a 72 that just arrived and a 64:

I have to say, the Custom Shop tort looks better to me than a standard Fender tort guard that was installed on a Pro II Precision I bought…that was quickly replaced by a black Fender guard. No depth, looked like it was printed on an inkjet printer, despite being a legit Fender guard and not a cheap knockoff:

I think I’m going to go with a black relic guard on the 72 Jazz, and a Spitfire on the 64:

 

[Gervais Cote]

To me, tort is similar to sunburst finishes…there are examples of both that are aesthetically pleasing, and others that are boring or downright ugly.

My two Custom Shop Jazz basses…a 72 that just arrived and a 64:

View attachment 5413478 View attachment 5413479 View attachment 5413480 View attachment 5413482

I have to say, the Custom Shop tort looks better to me than a standard Fender tort guard that was installed on a Pro II Precision I bought…that was quickly replaced by a black Fender guard. No depth, looked like it was printed on an inkjet printer, despite being a legit Fender guard and not a cheap knockoff:

View attachment 5413491

I think I’m going to go with a black relic guard on the 72 Jazz, and a Spitfire on the 64:

View attachment 5413496

Agree 100% with your last sentence ! They will both look very nice and classy doing so.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

It's hard to make a bound and blocked Jazz with matching headstock look bad with almost any pickguard, but I gotta say.... It looks better with tort. There's Corned Beef Hash Tort, and Thinly Sliced Prosciutto Tort. The trick is finding a good one,

Tort does not look like real tortoise shell. If it did, I could better understand the disdain.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Here are some ‘before’ pics View attachment 5412180

View attachment 5412191

Great improvement. I'm firmly in the anti-tort camp.

 

[iammr2]

To me, tort is similar to sunburst finishes…there are examples of both that are aesthetically pleasing, and others that are boring or downright ugly.

...

I think I’m going to go with a black relic guard on the 72 Jazz, and a Spitfire on the 64:

View attachment 5413496

That very last pic of just a pickguard, that's a Spitfire?

 

[got_the_bug]

That very last pic of just a pickguard, that's a Spitfire?

Yes, it is…

 

[got_the_bug]

Fender Custom Shop tort has officially been “banished” from these two!

Before:

After:

For comparison purposes, and proof that not all tort is created equal…

Fender CS vs. Spitfire:

 

[Gervais Cote]

Fender Custom Shop tort has officially been “banished” from these two!

Before:

View attachment 5417721

After:

View attachment 5417722 View attachment 5417723 View attachment 5417724 View attachment 5417725

For comparison purposes, and proof that not all tort is created equal…

Fender CS vs. Spitfire:

View attachment 5417728 View attachment 5417729

That’s really a move in the right direction on both basses.

 

[jvdb]

Amazing improvement! Love it.