Black or Cream?

[bagman67]

Hey-oh:


So Bete Noire is underway (black with cream colored binding front and back), and I have two pickguards from which to choose (well, three, but I've already ruled the W/B/W one out).  I'm interested in opinions about which to install.


I have a solid black gloss pickguard (film still on, so it doesn't look that shiny here):

And a cream/black/cream sandwich:

So which is it to be?  Or can you make a solid argument for some third option?

 

[bagman67]

And here's the unadorned body, to prove it's just out of the box.


Warmoth finished, gloss black, double bound Ash standard Telecaster bod.  Yum!

 

[Cagey]

I would do the cream plate. It's a nice contrast, plus it complements the binding.

 

[bagman67]

THanks, Cagey.  I'm really on the fence here.  I'll get it out in daylight tomorrow and find out whether the cream scratchplate is really a close match with the binding - if it ain't, bammo, I'll have to cancel the poll and go with black by default.  But if it's a good match, I'm definitely going to look for more input from the peanut gallery to consider before committing.


And in any case, it's a pickguard, so I could swap it out with 10 minutes of work if it ever comes to that.

 

[Updown]

:blob7: Very Nice Bagman  :icon_thumright:

Ummm .... I'd go Full Cream pickguard ..... No black edging with the cream.
:icon_scratch: Or a may-be Black or Vintage Pearl would look cool

 

[Cagey]

And in any case, it's a pickguard, so I could swap it out with 10 minutes of work if it ever comes to that.

That's a good point.

 

[anorakDan]

I like the cream/black/cream.

 

[Cagey]

Indeed. Makes it look like the pickguard is an inversion of the body - cream trimmed in black on black trimmed in cream.

 

[pabloman]

Tortoise FTW!!!!!! :headbang1:

 

[duosonic]

I like the cream one and that it goes with the binding.  The black one just doesn't do it for me.  I'd try something else that pops more.

 

[DangerousR6]

I would do the cream plate. It's a nice contrast, plus it complements the binding.

Ditto... :icon_thumright:

 

[AutoBat]

They both look great. I prefer the cream only slightly more.

 

[Jcurl02]

I d say none at all

 

[JaySwear]

Black pickup ring! If you decided against it you could always remove it and put a pickguard over it.

With a guard? I'd say cream out of those two choices, but a black/white/black would look awesome too.

Tortoise FTW!!!!!! :headbang1:

Nevermind, I change my vote to tortoise!

 

[swarfrat]

+1 on the tortie.

 

[thebutcher85]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBQ0_9IFzU0&feature=related
black!  :headbang: (of course, I love all black guitars anyway, so...)

 

[Nando Vallart]

Black!

 

[m4rk0]

Usually I would have said 1 ply black, but the cream looks great with the binding!
Cream pearl would be a great option too!!

BIG NO to tortoise!

 

[leo12.]

CREAM...
Is the neck pu a PDX90? Whats the bridge pu?

 

[bagman67]

Well, gang, cream was the runaway winner... and the aesthetic consultant I live with, aka Mrs. Bagman, likes it better, too.  So that's what I'm going with -- for now, anyway. Thank you all for your votes and thoughts.


For you tortoise-shell voters:  If I'd had one on hand, I might have gone with that, and I salute your taste.  I agree that it would look mighty nice also.




leo12, the pickups are a GFS Dream 90 in the neck position, and a tappable Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound in the bridge.


The diagram I had for the wiring was a little hard to read (i kept having to figure out how to reverse what I was doing, since the switch lugs in the diagram were the reverse of the unit I actually had in front of me) so of course I screwed it up and will have to rewire it.  And of course I soldered stuff in place instead of doing a dry run before applying solder, so you know how that goes - it's easier to start with a new switch than to get all the lugs cleaned up enough to start fresh.  Lesson learned.


Here is what I'm going for, as far as the blade switch options:


1 - bridge-only
2 - bridge-and-neck in series
3 - neck only
4 - bridge-and-neck in parallel


With the bridge pickup coil tapped on a separate mini-toggle, that gives me seven possible combos, I think:


1 - bridge-only, full strength
2 - bridge-only, tapped
3 - bridge-and-neck in series, bridge full strength
4 - bridge-and-neck in series, bridge tapped
5 - neck only
6 - bridge and neck in parallel, bridge tapped
7 - bridge-and-neck in parallel, bridge full strength

Did I miss anything?


Peace


Bagman