Olympic White

[Tony Ounsworth]

I know this has probably come up before, but to be honest I haven't really found a totally satisfactory answer.

So what the heck kind of Olympic White is that on the Warmoth site?

Because to me it looks really...green!

Now ordinarily you would put a mint green pickguard agaisnt it, and then it would look white. But that's not the case on the photos on the Warmoth site. I might be wrong, but I think this is a mint green pickguard on a Warmoth body:

And this is a Fender 62 Hot Rod with mint green pickguard:

And why not, here is a Squier Classic Vibe FSR in Oly White with Mint Green 'Guard:

Now I know that these are all different photos taken in different lighting etc, but in both the Fender made examples, there is a clear distinction between the white of the body, and the mint green of the pickguard (maybe too much so in the case of the Squier). Unless my eyes deceive me and they aren't showing a mint green 'guard in the Warmoth photo, that distinction doesn't seem to exist with the Warmoth Oly White.

So....

Does anyone have a real life photo of an Olympic White Warmoth body with a mint green guard, or even better a Warmoth Olympic white body next to a Fender one?

 

[Cagey]

I don't have an Olympic White finish to show - best I can do is an Arctic White, which is pretty stark. But, I've noticed you have to watch the Warmoth shots close sometimes - they're not always color correct. I mean, I don't have the best pre-process monitor in the world, but it's pretty good and I've seen some serious variations from them. For instance, go look at the "unique choice" Ipe fretboards. They all look green and there's no way they look like that in real life.

If it was me and I seriously wanted a particular part and color was important, I'd call them and ask to have another shot or two taken. For what they charge, they ought to be willing to spend the 10 minutes it would take to do that.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Well, I'm not at the stage yet where I want to get my wallet out, so I won't trouble them just yet. Basically I have always fancied the '62 Hot Rod, but I fear the neck may be too chunky for my miniscule paws, so I was thinking of building one with a neck of my choice. I'm eyeballing a Squier CV body on eBay, which are perfect Fender spec dimensions, but I've just realised it's quite heavy (over 5lbs) so I wondered about a chambered Warmoth instead. But I don't feel confident in their colour reproduction, not least because the one and only body I bought from them, whilst lovely, was nothing like the photo on which I based my order.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

At NAMM last week I had this problem with whites in the Fender room - you could literally find three or four different whites all called "Olympic White" within 10 feet of each other.

So basically, you're screwed unless you can get a photo that you know has been properly white balanced.

 

[Neo Fender]

FWIW, I have a '98 Strat Plus - Olympic White.  It has a slight pearl shade to it whereas Artic White is like a kitchen appliance white.  I agree the Warmoth photos make OW appear greenish but mine is not.  It's a great color under a pearloid pickguard.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

At NAMM last week I had this problem with whites in the Fender room - you could literally find three or four different whites all called "Olympic White" within 10 feet of each other.

So basically, you're screwed unless you can get a photo that you know has been properly white balanced.

I can well believe that. I think it's vague enough to put me off buying one for now. I mean, that Squier one above looks more like arctic white to me, but who can tell from a stock photo?

 

[Cederick]

Vintage white and cream varies a lot too... I guess the only color that you can really trust is the real deal is black, maybe snow/alpine/arctic white as well, but I think not even that is to trust on sometimes

 

[AutoBat]

My Squier Classic Vibe Jazz is Olympic White.  It looks very white but more pearly and not as flat as Arctic White.  The tortoise 'guard probably makes the white pop more than a white one would.

 

[mrpinter]

My Warmoth Olympic White Tele is NOT greenish, but a very nice kind of off white - just "off" enough to not be glaring refrigerator white like Alpine looks to me. Here is a pic with my other Warmoth builds for comparison (hopefully with good color balance):

and here is a closeup:

 

[photoguy]

The pickguard on the Olympic White body in the OP is white.

See the photos below. Alpine White - Olympic White - Vintage White; all with white pickguards.  The reason I show a white PG as the main shot on all the solid colors is so that you can see the paint color with a constant. This gives you reference to judge that color against white.

The second photo is of the same bodies with a Mint Green guard.

If anyone wants or needs a special photo taken, please message me here. I will do my best to accommodate. 

 

[Cederick]

Where does the word olympic white come from anyway?
Is it inspired by the white greek ancient buildings?

 

[Neo Fender]

It was a Cadillac color from 1957 and into the '60s.

Where does the word olympic white come from anyway?
Is it inspired by the white greek ancient buildings?

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, ol' Leo was nothing if not frugal, and he liked buying surplus automotive paint by the barrel for pennies on the dollar. That, and cheap WWII appliance wire. That's where the much-loved cloth insulated wire all his guitars were wired with came from. Nobody in their right mind would use that crap on purpose, but since he used it everybody thinks that's what you gotta have to sound like Jimi Hendrix.

 

[line6man]

I've noticed you have to watch the Warmoth shots close sometimes - they're not always color correct. I mean, I don't have the best pre-process monitor in the world, but it's pretty good and I've seen some serious variations from them. For instance, go look at the "unique choice" Ipe fretboards. They all look green and there's no way they look like that in real life.

On my monitor, I see nothing wrong with Warmoth's Ipe pictures. I've worked with Ipe before, and it can get pretty green. Though lesser cuts tend toward brown, with less vibrancy.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Photoguy, thank you for the very helpful post. My bad regarding the pickguard in the image I posted.

Unfortunately the only conclusion I draw from this is that Warmoth's Olympic White isn't enough like Fender's for me to take a chance. In the shot with the mint green pickguard the body still looks very green when I would expect it to look white in contrast. It just looks like two shades of green to me.

The Squier body is too far the other way, looking more like Warmoth's Alpine White.

That leaves only the 62 Hot Rod looking as I would expect - so I guess I'd need to hold out for one of those, or a body at least.

 

[aarontunes]

Color is so tough to nail on computer screens. Every single monitor looks different, sometimes drastically so.

Color aside, I gave the 62 Hot Rod a real spin a few years back and the neck on it was just way too big for me. Also, the fingerboard was dyed with something to make it uniformly dark (I guess), and every time I played my fingers ended up brown and black. In researching it I found many with a similar experience.

 

[Cagey]

On my monitor, I see nothing wrong with Warmoth's Ipe pictures. I've worked with Ipe before, and it can get pretty green. Though lesser cuts tend toward brown, with less vibrancy.

When I was spec'ing out the neck for the L5S in my sig, I really wanted one of the Unique Choice Ipe fretboards to match the green body, but I'd never worked with that wood. So, I did a ton of research on the stuff, and couldn't find anything that was even close to what they were showing. Then, somebody here bought a neck with an Ipe fretboard, and it looked like much of what I'd found - pretty brown. Nice wood, don't get me wrong, but not what I was looking for. From what I learned about that wood, I'd still like to get a piece. Supposed to be very dense and rock hard, but I'd like to see more/different pictures before I do.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Color is so tough to nail on computer screens. Every single monitor looks different, sometimes drastically so.

Color aside, I gave the 62 Hot Rod a real spin a few years back and the neck on it was just way too big for me. Also, the fingerboard was dyed with something to make it uniformly dark (I guess), and every time I played my fingers ended up brown and black. In researching it I found many with a similar experience.

Yeah, every report I've read is that it has one of the chunkiest Strat necks that Fender do. Great for guys with normal to large hands, a bit of a struggle for me. There are other options though, a Classic Player neck for example which is the correct style for the period but has a 12" radius and a normal C profile, or a Warmoth neck of course.

Not heard about the fingerboard dye before though!

 

[Cagey]

Not heard about the fingerboard dye before though!

Premium grade woods are expensive, so some OEMs will dye lower grades to make them look like higher grades. The oils in your hands will dissolve them and stain your hands.

 

[line6man]

Not heard about the fingerboard dye before though!

Most major manufacturers dye their Ebony, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to find solid black wood, due to overharvesting. Most of the Ebony used for fretboards has grey or tan streaking in it. You can see it in Warmoth's standard-grade Ebony.

Stew Mac sells Fiebing's leather dye and markets it as a fretboard dye for ebonizing anything. The dye works rather well, but I've never done a fretboard, so I don't know whether or not it comes off on your fingers.