74-75 PRINTED tort guards

[ilan]

So nothing made today looks remotely like vintage Fender tort. Most aftermarket tort guards are wrong and pretty ugly, too brown or too red, including what Fender puts on their Custom Shop basses. Some Spitfire torts are nice - especially what they call Vintage Burgundy - but are very expensive.

Why not replicate Fender's last tort guards before switching to b/w/b - the printed guards they used in 74/75? They are easily identifiable by the symmetry line(s) somewhere in the pattern and up close you can see actual pixels, but they still looked much better than what Fender and other manufacturers offer today.

[Alanko]

I once bought a printed tort guard from a seller in Singapore. It was expensive and not very impressive. I don't think it looked like Fender '70s tort, however.

There is a new guy called 'Lavaguard' who makes tort pickguards which look a lot like vintage '60s tort. Arguably better than Spitfire and apparently cheaper.


I've been through a lot of tort guards but never wanted to pay Spitfire prices for a sheet of plastic. I've chucked in the towel and gone with a black one on my P Bass!

[ilan]

B/W/B always looks good. For white/rosewood I'd opt for black even if I had real vintage tort.

There is a new guy called 'Lavaguard' who makes tort pickguards which look a lot like vintage '60s tort. Arguably better than Spitfire and apparently cheaper.

Wow, this looks amazing.

[Dave W]

^^^

That does look good, for tort. Personally, though, I'd choose black over tort every time.

[OldManC]

This the P I lust over. I could do maple or rosewood fingerboard and be just as happy. My bass mentor in High School (I, a lowly Sophomore and he, a cool worldly Senior playing bass in both the marching and Jazz bands) had one just like the above. To this day I love that combo. I bought a Japanese 70s P like that a few months back, but it did nothing for me (sound wise), so I sold it on. One day...

[lowend1]

This the P I lust over. I could do maple or rosewood fingerboard and be just as happy.

So then, either Dee Dee or Sid.

[Dave W]

So then, either Dee Dee or Sid.

It would have to be Sid. He's been dead for 45 years yet  his bass skills haven't deteriorated at all.

[gearHed289]

I bought a Japanese 70s P like that a few months back, but it did nothing for me (sound wise), so I sold it on. One day...

That's interesting. I was looking at those for a while. They look really nice. Too bad about the sound. I ended up buying a brand new MIM Player P Bass and love everything about it.

[Alanko]

So then, either Dee Dee or Sid.

Yessum, and...



And a wee bit of...

[slinkp]

Also:



DId not know Simonon played Fretless on occasion 

[Dave W]

...

And a wee bit of...

Who's the dude on the left? 

Even though it's just a photo, I can almost hear the shitty tone. At least his mouth is closed so I don't have to imagine his voice.

[lowend1]

Who's the dude on the left? 

Even though it's just a photo, I can almost hear the shitty tone. At least his mouth is closed so I don't have to imagine his voice.

Even in a still picture, he's playing out of key.

[Alanko]

Whew! I've always felt the Emperor was a bit naked when it comes to Neil's electric playing. Boldly iconoclastic or plain lazy and scruffy for the sake of it? I've never liked the tone of smaller Fender amps getting railed, either.


I used to like Neil a lot more, then I read Waging Heavy Peace. What a tedious and self-absorbed book that was. Neil might have written tender songs that suggest he was keenly observational and empathic, but you sense none of that in the book. It's a parlour trick, from somebody who learned the process of writing touching songs, but coming from a mostly empty vessel. He talks about the birth of his first child and he tells you more about the car he drove to the hospital in than anything else. He comes across as slightly neurodivergent. All cars, model trains, self importance and self promotion while his bandmates overdose and die, and once again Neil is oblivious to the human element until the worst happens.

[Pilgrim]

That sounds more than a little like how many people relate to the others in their office environment.  If Neil is a bit short on empathy, he's certainly not alone among famous musicians.

[ilan]

1975 Fender pixelated faux tort guard where you can zoom in and actually see the pixels