Poll - 50s Classic Lacquer pickguards

[Burwabit]

Switched pickguards today on my Fender 50s Classic Lacquer bass from mint to black. Which color do you like better?

These basses come with a gold anodized 10 hole guard. I wasn’t a huge fan for this bass, so I had WD Pickguards build me these two. I love having 2 pickguards per bass so I can switch and help tame the GAS for something new.

 

[Burwabit]

The bass also has a few other upgrades, as you can see. Hipshot high mass A bridge and EMG Geezer Butler pickups. TI flats. I love this thing.

 

[Yahboy]

Due to the yellowish fretboard tint, i suggest Anodized Gold pickguard .

Black guard look cool on bright maple fretboard. Never like Mint guard on black body ,except she has shinny flakes on black paint.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

When I had a black and maple P, it came with a pearloid pg, and I could not have been happier. But here I voted black.

 

[Bix]

I always thought the gold looked superb on those.

 

[Burwabit]

I have the gold pickguard but I don’t like it as much for this bass. Maybe it’s because I have a 59 style P with gold anodized and like that look better.

 

[Warpeg]

Should be gold anodized if you're trying to be period-correct. If you don't care about period correctness....well, it's a black P-bass....it'll look fine regardless of what kind of standard pickguard you put on it.

 

[stevensivak]

dumb question but I always wondered why people call the white-ish guard "mint"?
I don't see any blue or green overtones, do you?

 

[JRA]

i like 'em both, but i voted "black." black always works.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

dumb question but I always wondered why people call the white-ish guard "mint"?
I don't see any blue or green overtones, do you?

Hard to tell from phone pics in this example but yes, there is such a thing as a mint pickguard. My Fender Custom Shop 3 tone sunburst Esquire came from the shop with a greenish overtone white guard. Obviously mint in person.

Another mention you often see are parchment guards, which are another shade of off white . I’ve seen folks refer to these two color guards interchangeably but I see a difference.

By the way just about everything works on black but I prefer the gold anodized on this model as well. I have the original poly/non lacquer version. I have several other black basses with white, black or tort guards so I understand the need for diversity.

 

[Burwabit]

dumb question but I always wondered why people call the white-ish guard "mint"?
I don't see any blue or green overtones, do you?

This is WD's version of mint. Lighting makes it hard to see.

I will say I have other mint colored pickguards that are more flo green than this. Seems to vary a lot.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

Another reason I like the anodized guard is how sturdy the output Jack is mounted. I hate plastic guards breaking there as the older ones tend to do.