How do we feel about surf green with tortoise shell?

[Embenny]

I think the guitar looks amazing, the tort looks amazing, but the two together still look way worse than if the paint or pickguard was a more appropriate colour for the other one.

If I stare at the Spitfire, I can almost forget the guitar it's attached to. But I'd still rip it off immediately if I bought that guitar looking like that.

White or parchment with proper Jaguar plates would look 100x better in my opinion. Deleting the Jaguar's glorious chrome is a second fashion crime on top of the tort, in my eyes.

[MattK]

nobody tell Pat

[Embenny]

nobody tell Pat

I don't think conventional beauty is the CW's appeal.

It's like Steve Buscemi. He's great, and his looks are part of his appeal. You just don't cast him in roles where you want the George Clooney type of appeal.

[shigginpit]

George Clooney?

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I think the guitar looks amazing, the tort looks amazing, but the two together still look way worse than if the paint or pickguard was a more appropriate colour for the other one.

If I stare at the Spitfire, I can almost forget the guitar it's attached to. But I'd still rip it off immediately if I bought that guitar looking like that.

White or parchment with proper Jaguar plates would look 100x better in my opinion. Deleting the Jaguar's glorious chrome is a second fashion crime on top of the tort, in my eyes.

Okay. While I agree on the „would look (way) better on another colour/with another pickguard“ part it still doesn‘t bug me as much as generic tort would have.

(This might be considered off topic and I apologize for it):I don‘t think so drastically about Jags losing some of their plates. Sure they make a big part of their appeal. But if it was a parts build (maybe even without Jaguar on the headstock) that would be after a 24“ Jazzmaster look? I‘d be down for that… with either Jazzmaster (I always wondered what they would sound like with the shorter scale) or Jaguar pickups (or even Humbuckers) as an option. I always miss the Strangle switch on JMs so the 3 way sliders would be the easiest/aesthetically most pleasing way for that.
Why should full scale Jag builds be a thing if not the other way around?

And I agree that you don‘t always need all the plates… If you have a reduced circuitry imo it’s better to have a fitting pickguard (thinking of the Player and Squier Jaguar Basses and Blacktop models) than empty plates or plates without function (also a lot of extra weight). But I understand that that is not for everyone - and already tried to change that on my VM Jag Bass… but the body is too small to accommodate all three plates.

Also my BMM build started with the idea of being a Danelectro Hornet/Dead on 67 style tribute Jag… this would call for a bigger (swirly drumfoil under a clear) pickguard and best with a black „framing“ around the screw holes… which would be probably have to be white in my case (to match the body binding) - and theoretically a way bigger lower control plate - which I don‘t know how to make/mount without the need of additional routings/or at least leaving screw holes where they shouldn‘t be…

But the Lipsticks I had ordered never arrived… so it‘s my go to Jag to try new things…traditional things like a mute… or Firebird pickups…with and without a Blacktop guard (too white for me and it won‘t age).

[Emil]

I personally can't stand tort on anything in the cool colour spectrum.

I'm normally with this 100% but I'm having a hard time being mad at, for example, this mustang.



This color, however, may have mutated a fair degree from what is permissible as surf green.
I also don't contest that the same guitar with mint would look arguably better.

This jag is also not bad, but I prefer the really acrid yellowing on the mustang. Also, once again
would probably look better with mint, but I'm not offended when I see it.



And while it's difficult to do yay/nay with something so subjective and specific,
this last version of a surf green jazzmaster with tort looks really bad to me.

like really bad, gouge out my eyes bad, although for someone who doesn't like any of them,
they probably all look equally unattractive.



In retrospect I think that something about the amber headstock on the mustang makes it work better than the
matching headstock on the jag. Not to a degree so significant that I was able to immediately identify it, but I'm just
trying to figure out what specifically I don't hate about it. Maybe I'm just going through a phase.

Or entering into senility.

That Mustang looks like a toad, but in a very good way. I really like it!

[shigginpit]

like a toad

this is by far the strangest half assed photo edit I've done this week in the name of entertainment.

[Embenny]

like a toad

this is by far the strangest half assed photo edit I've done this week in the name of entertainment.

I see the toad, now where's the wet sprocket? Only then will it fulfill the 90's Offset prophecy.

[shigginpit]

It's not surf but I am unpleasantly attracted to this christmas marauder, just red and green, silver and gold clashing everywhere but I can't stop looking at it.



I think I prefer the standard mkI headstock to the starcaster headstock on a marauder, probably not a popular choice but something about it looks traditional but like, way out of the ordinary at the same time.

[TheDominator273]

I get what you mean about the surf green and tortoise shell combo. It can be a bit tricky, but sometimes those vintage vibes with yellowing lacquer just work.

[mekhem]

I am one of the few, and proud, people that disklike tort on everything.

I just... cant...

I know other people like it though

[JVG]

I am one of the few, and proud, people that disklike tort on everything.

You’re not alone!

My philosophy with pickguards is simple: if in doubt, go with parchment. It looks great on every colour.

There are a few situations where tort can look as good as parchment (e.g. on white, woodgrain, or sunbust guitars) but to my eyes it never looks better.

[Futuron]

Meanwhile I consider it to work well some times, really well sometimes, but almost always would be better with one or more of black, white or the numerous variants. It's suboptimal in most cases, and I never choose it.

[MrFingers]

Green's + tort do also rub me in the wrong way. I know the bassplayer of Otis Redding's liveband (before he used Booker T. & the MG's) had a green+tort P-bass, and it's hideous!

[MKR]

I guess i am in the minority because i think tortoise goes with just about any colour with the exception of the cooler blue tones. That otis redding p bass looks amazing to me. Surf and sea foam green suit tort perfectly.

It's funny i recently picked up a japanese jaguar in lake placid blue and it came with a tort guard. Not an ugly one either IMO, but decided to order a white pickguard for it anyways. I like the tortoise shell to be honest and the nice thing about pickguard changes on jags is that theyre super quick and easy. I'll probably go between the two when i get bored.