picking a colour when buying guitar ....

Keira-WitherKay

ok this is aimed at performing musicians be it hobbyists/amateurs/pro's anyone who performs with a guitar

when we buy guitars we always go shopping in daylight or very well lit stores .......... BUT when we use the guitars we tend to be in coloured lights or in low light on stages in clubs/restaurants ect and this is something that has 'bugged" me for a while .........

and we forget how different guitars look in low light .... and in photo's on stage

and i know i own a beautiful sunburst jazz guitar which in daylight looks incredible but on stage disapears into the background ...... the bodies black edges totally disapear and it seems i'm playing a mandolin ? yet my white tele pops and grabs attention

and a very valuable piece of advice i heard a long time back is "people listen with their eye's"

? and slightly tongue in cheek suggestion ......so why don't music stores set up a room with low light , to choose guitar colours in ?

so does colour make a difference to you ???

Malkav

At this point in time colour isn't a deal breaker, but then again when you're into the kinds of guitars I like finding anything that isn't black is a miracle...

warrenpridgeon

I like blue...hehehehe... At our one church campus there is cool lighting and stuff... the other one I play at is still basically natural light...

I am also a sizeable backdrop for my guitar... so I could just wear white...lol.

Also I haven't played in any other venue for a couple of years now... but feeling like forming a band at some stage again... so that might change...

If you are scared of fading into the blackness...

Chocklit_Thunda

For me it just must not be a sunburst... Or any kind of burst....

The only burst I may consider is the initial stages of a dark 3 colour burst on a Jazzmaster.... so like 2 colours.....

Tokai-SA

Keira WitherKay wrote:

and a very valuable piece of advice i heard a long time back is "people listen with their eye's"

Really, who gave you that 'brilliant' piece of advice? ?

The colour of the guitar depends on the lighting at the venue.
Here's Stuart at Barrels...guess what colour the guitar he's playing is?
Or better still, using your 'eyes', what guitar is he playing? ?

singemonkey

Definitely. Good topic Keira.

For one thing it amazes me when people buy black guitars without edge binding. A black guitar with edge binding can look awesome on stage. Without, it vanishes.

One curious thing is that Les Paul Customs look really over the top to me in normal light. When someone's rocking one on stage they look simply awesome. What's over the top in the store looks spectacular on a stage in the case of the LP Custom.

I've been thinking a lot about the "listening with the eyes," thing. Time to get a pair of balsa 4x12 cabs and a matched "Marshall" JTM45 Head containing only an LED. Add one yellow coily cable and watch the "awesome guitar tone" comments come rolling in. ?

Chocklit_Thunda

Tokai SA wrote:
Keira WitherKay wrote:

and a very valuable piece of advice i heard a long time back is "people listen with their eye's"

Really, who gave you that 'brilliant' piece of advice? ?

The colour of the guitar depends on the lighting at the venue.
Here's Stuart at Barrels...guess what colour the guitar he's playing is?
Or better still, using your 'eyes', what guitar is he playing? ?

Sunburst? Or is it a trick question and the guitar is actually purple sparkle with racing stripes?

warrenpridgeon

singemonkey wrote: Definitely. Good topic Keira.

For one thing it amazes me when people buy black guitars without edge binding. A black guitar with edge binding can look awesome on stage. Without, it vanishes.

One curious thing is that Les Paul Customs look really over the top to me in normal light. When someone's rocking one on stage they look simply awesome. What's over the top in the store looks spectacular on a stage in the case of the LP Custom.

I've been thinking a lot about the "listening with the eyes," thing. Time to get a pair of balsa 4x12 cabs and a matched "Marshall" JTM45 Head containing only an LED. Add one yellow coily cable and watch the "awesome guitar tone" comments come rolling in. ?

Something like this:

studmissile

I'd like to see more sonic blues and sea foam greens (with a Tele shape of course)

Tokai-SA

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:
Tokai SA wrote:
Keira WitherKay wrote:

and a very valuable piece of advice i heard a long time back is "people listen with their eye's"

Really, who gave you that 'brilliant' piece of advice? ?

The colour of the guitar depends on the lighting at the venue.
Here's Stuart at Barrels...guess what colour the guitar he's playing is?
Or better still, using your 'eyes', what guitar is he playing? ?

Sunburst? Or is it a trick question and the guitar is actually purple sparkle with racing stripes?

Ask singemonkey if he likes the colour of the guitar...he has one the same colour. ?

BluJu

Colour is pretty important to me.

In fact more aesthetics as a whole.

Just this year I passed on my dream guitar (Anderson Drop Top).
Saw a 2nd hand one in York for half the price of a new one but didn't take it because it was a gros purple.

vic

Keira, this is just what Gibson had in mind when they brought out the Goldtop - and TV yellow guitars.....to look great on B&W TV's

singemonkey

Vic wrote: Keira, this is just what Gibson had in mind when they brought out the Goldtop - and TV yellow guitars.....to look great on B&W TV's

Oh wow. I did not realise that. Always wondered why it was "TV" yellow.

chris77

I have honestly never thought about that before. My favourite finishes are Natural and Bursts. Never considered how they might look to an audience though.

Chocklit_Thunda

singemonkey wrote:
Vic wrote: Keira, this is just what Gibson had in mind when they brought out the Goldtop - and TV yellow guitars.....to look great on B&W TV's
Oh wow. I did not realise that. Always wondered why it was "TV" yellow.

White was too bright on TV and cast glare. Same with black guitars that needed to be lit properly.

vic

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:
singemonkey wrote:
Vic wrote: Keira, this is just what Gibson had in mind when they brought out the Goldtop - and TV yellow guitars.....to look great on B&W TV's
Oh wow. I did not realise that. Always wondered why it was "TV" yellow.
White was too bright on TV and cast glare. Same with black guitars that needed to be lit properly.

Good excuse to post Carl Perkins with his Goldtop ?

=

=

Explorerlover

Jirre Vic that was cool....thanks for the vids..

Reinhard

White guitars were pretty bright on a B&W TV

=

ThomasN

In the time of Gibson introducing the GT and TV Yellow, the studio's where the bands were filmed used a lot of "Redhead" spots, and these created a lot of heat and glare, which tended to be both a problem with the lighter coloured and high gloss finish guitar bodies as well as the perspiring faces of the performers.
Nowadays (I think) they use more HMI and Cold lighting with Neutral Density filters etc. on the camera's which cut the glare, and are not as hot. The light is closest to the suns K colour temp, which gives a favorable look to performers and their instruments.

To the OP.
I know the Gibson, Amber finishes always look good in most light, due to their sheen, but a lighter coloured burst I think will look even better in moodier darker lighting.