Mint or Tort

[EagleMoon]

Black by a mile. Don’t like either of those.

 

[mouthmw]

Not all tort is created equally. On that J5? I would lean more towards black.

This is a spitfire tort guard. This was also an instance of treating myself. But the answer for you should be what you like best.

View attachment 4888423

This is the ONLY good modern tort option. Period. Everything else is either disgusting or salami looking (which is also disgusting).

 

[vindibona1]

I'm voting for neither... I prefer BLACK

 

[fourstringburn]

No surprise Tort is getting the most votes and will likely keep doing so.

Mint looks good but I agree Tort is looks better. Mint to me looks best on solid color Basses.

I'm not really a fan of Tort but on the classic sunburst Basses, it just looks both classy and vintage classic!

 

[Mike Vee]

that tort just doesn't match that bass, also that fretboard could use some moisture!

 

[vindibona1]

No surprise Tort is getting the most votes and will likely keep doing so.
Mint looks good but I agree Tort is looks better. Mint to me looks best on solid color Basses.
I'm not really a fan of Tort but on the classic sunburst Basses, it just looks both classy and vintage classic!

IN MY OPINION, having worked over 30 years as a photographer and graphic designer, tort only works it the color combination matches and blends the tones of the burst. I've seen some pretty hideous examples posted in this thread alone. I think why people have voted for tort is because that's what they are used to seeing. After all it is a vintage look. It doesn't make it good. It just makes it familiar. If I may use a metaphor... It's a lot like people who get used to the smell of their dog in their house while a stranger walking in for the first time finds the smell a bit off-putting- until they get used to it. It doesn't make it smell any better. It's just that the people stop noticing it.

But hey... You go with what you like.

 

[fourstringburn]

tort only works it the color combination matches and blends the tones of the burst

Many tort guards have red and orange with yellow specks which are the colors seen in many traditional sunburst finishes.

Being professional doesn't make one's opinions absolute towards another.

To people who don't understand, many Picasso paintings look like stick figures and Monet's are just color splotches.

Niether is right or wrong, just different tastes and opinions.

 

[vindibona1]

Many tort guards have red and orange with yellow specks which are the colors seen in many traditional sunburst finishes.

Being professional doesn't make one's opinions absolute towards another.

To people who don't understand, many Picasso paintings look like stick figures and Monet's are just color splotches.

Niether is right or wrong, just different tastes and opinions.

Yes... But no.
People can like what they like for whatever reason and I don't challenge that. But as a professional I can clearly tell you what might work best "graphically" in a situation and why, NOT OBVIATING someone else's OPINION. I thought I was pretty clear on that as well as what I think is the reasoning why someone else might like tort. And that's ok.

 

[triviani]

Black or gold

 

[steimlem]

neither of those.. though a different mint or tort guard may look nice

i like the look of white on sunburst personally

 

[Jrussblues]

I love tb…here’s a poll with 2 options cause I like both. What do you think?

Answer: both are wrong because it’s not the right version, not the right color, not the right shade, not period correct, not the correct order of shade, not in the right order of color or not the right year.

 

[Jrussblues]

Agreed. I’m not sure about that particular tort though.

The only good tort is Spitfire tort (or actual 60s tort). Everything else looks like cheap garbage.

I would normally vote for Tort, but I voted Mint here because that Tort is so bad.

There is a law in my Kingdom that burst requires tort; however, that tort is too pink.

Tort but not THAT tort.

It depends...I typically would choose tort. But that particular tort doesn't do it for me.
Also it depends on how many basses I already have with tort.

Normally I'd say "Tort"..... but not all tort is the same. Some looks a lot better than others. See color #41 of "Pickguard Planet.com". That would look very nice on there.

This is the ONLY good modern tort option. Period. Everything else is either disgusting or salami looking (which is also disgusting).

that tort just doesn't match that bass, also that fretboard could use some moisture!

Lmao…people and particularities. All valid opinions but I can’t tell the difference.
Also, I voted mint.

 

[BioDriver]

Of the two, tort.

 

[mouthmw]

But as a professional I can clearly tell you what might work best "graphically" in a situation and why, NOT OBVIATING someone else's OPINION.

Well, if you're a professional, then you should know that mainstream modern tort looks nothing like the original 60s tort in terms of color, color depth, speckling (and the smoothness of it), excluding the details like bevel and center ply thickness. Most modern tort (if it's actual celluloid) comes from the same supplier - Delmar plastics. That's for your WD Music, Pickguardian and all the others. That includes the "custom made aged" stuff you see on Reverb/Ebay. It's all the same, flat, brownish, salami looking stuff. Printed PVC (like the one OP posted) is not even worth commenting on. It's like purposely trying to make your instrument look worse or cheapen it. TB is known as "P with flats and tort" crowd, but 99% of those people consider this inferior dross as "tort". Tort connoisseurs they are certainly not!

 

[vindibona1]

Well, if you're a professional, then you should know that mainstream modern tort looks nothing like the original 60s tort in terms of color, color depth, speckling (and the smoothness of it), excluding the details like bevel and center ply thickness. Most modern tort (if it's actual celluloid) comes from the same supplier - Delmar plastics.

Being an imaging professional doesn't require being a bass historian. As I said, the pickguard must blend with the tones of the instrument. If that means getting an original Delmar Plastics pickguard so be it. Otherwise it becomes what we call in our line of work "a competing center of interest".

I do get part of the historical value to the aethestics of some pickguards. And people are psychologically impacted differently by the harmony or dissonance of color or shapes (or sounds). But like music, when one creates a dissonance it MUST sound intentionally dissonant, otherwise it sounds like a mistake. Same thing with visual stuff. JMO

 

[MobileHolmes]

My general rule of thumb is tort for white, black, natural and bursts, white/parchment/mint for “custom colors”

 

[fourstringburn]

As I said, the pickguard must blend with the tones of the instrument.

"Must"..?

Just who determines why and what "must" is to be? The "must" is still an opinion that somebody once determined what a norm or standard should be.

I can hire an highly regarded and experienced interior decorator to redo the interior of my house but does that mean I have to like it just because I'm told these are the perfect color combinations because this persons says so? No, if I do? then fine.

Mouthmw in post#54 said it best and some of what I've been saying about the newer tort guards not being made in the same colors as the vintage ones. These newer ones are brown and I don't care for those either.

For that matter, even the modern sunburst finish colors aren't the same as the original, they are more orange than the original vintage finish that was burst peaked to yellow.

Here is my custom 1961 style Jazz Bass with genuine Fender body from a Professional series but with an aftermarket tort guard. While it still doesn't truly resemble the originals, it does have an orange/dark red and and some black appearances with specks of yellow which are the colors seen in this burst finish.

This pickguard is a perfect fit too. Notice where the control plate meets the guard, tight!

I tried genuine Fender guards and they didn't fit like that.

Look at the voting polls, it's obvious peoples opinions will come to a consensus and determine tort looks best.

To me, burst finishes which are multi colored look best with tort guards because they are multicolored while solid color finishes look best with solid color guards. Post #56 Mobileholmes believes just the opposite. That's just are opinions and neither is right or wrong, get it?

That's just an opinion, not what it must or should be.

 

[godofthunder59]

Tort

 

[facetsquared]

"Must"..?

Just who determines why and what "must" is to be? The "must" is still an opinion that somebody once determined what a norm or standard should be.

I can hire an highly regarded and experienced interior decorator to redo the interior of my house but does that mean I have to like it just because I'm told these are the perfect color combinations because this persons says so? No, if I do? then fine.

Mouthmw in post#54 said it best and some of what I've been saying about the newer tort guards not being made in the same colors as the vintage ones. These newer ones are brown and I don't care for those either.

For that matter, even the modern sunburst finish colors aren't the same as the original, they are more orange than the original vintage finish that was burst peaked to yellow.

Here is my custom 1961 style Jazz Bass with genuine Fender body from a Professional series but with an aftermarket tort guard. While it still doesn't truly resemble the originals, it does have an orange/dark red and and some black appearances with specks of yellow which are the colors seen in this burst finish.

This pickguard is a perfect fit too. Notice where the control plate meets the guard, tight!

I tried genuine Fender guards and they didn't fit like that.

Look at the voting polls, it's obvious peoples opinions will come to a consensus and determine tort looks best.

To me, burst finishes which are multi colored look best with tort guards because they are multicolored while solid color finishes look best with solid color guards. Post #56 Mobileholmes believes just the opposite. That's just are opinions and neither is right or wrong, get it?

That's just an opinion, not what it must or should be.

View attachment 4890874

If you don’t mind me asking, where did you find this guard? That would ideal for my red Jazz.