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What does Olympic white actually look like?


Grav

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Hi,

I've been looking at getting a Pro II P-Bass, I want a white one.

The colour of Olympic white seems to vary depending on the seller

Is it closer to Arctic White like this? - https://reverb.com/uk/item/36368718-fender-professional-ii-precision-bass-olympic-white

Or a more cream colour like this? - https://reverb.com/uk/item/36160105-fender-american-professional-ii-precision-bass-olympic-white-rosewood

I've picked on 2 Reverb listings though I've see variation everywhere (or is that the answer right there - it's never the same?)

I get that Arctic white is a 'cold' white and Olympic is 'warm' white though I obviously can't go and look at any basses in person and the above examples show the same guitar looking very different.

 

Thanks in advance 🙂

Apologies if this has been acknowledged before, I had a search, could not find the answer.

Edited by Grav
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The original Olympic White was a bright white, but it yellowed with age. So you'll see all sorts of whites advertised as Olympic, depending on whether they are going for an aged look.

Here's the Olympic White CIJ Fender I used to own.

 

DSC_0064.jpeg

Edited by pineweasel
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It’s a cream colour but does vary with the light... it’s hard to photograph.

P bass in Olympic White with a tort pick guard or black with a black pick guard were always my favourite. Drop in some Geezer Butlers or Custom Shop 62’s and even a ham fisted Baffoon like me can sound reasonable.

Edited by tegs07
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I’ve just got a Pro 1 in Olympic White (for some reason in their infinite wisdom Fender supply it with a mint/cream pickguard that looks awful, whereas the Pro II gets the tort guard that such a bass should really come with).

As has been said, in the flesh it’s definitely more cream than white, so like a white bass that’s faded over time, exactly as I’d expect Fender intended the colour to be. The pic Ikay posted is pretty much exactly the colour it appears to me in the flesh.

Edited by FDC484950
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Mint on Olympic White looks fantastic, especially when the mint ages and goes a bit darker, but only with a rosewood fretboard. With maple? No thanks. White, or cream, on white usually looks dreadful and cheap. 

Yeah, it's a guitar, but it shows the difference well.

4D0F77F9-1483-4590-BEE2-AD9D63447206.jpeg

Edited by Doctor J
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Here is the official Fender Custom Colo(u)r Chart :

image.thumb.png.41121af1d2d4b206d21388d9402de471.png

Original Olympic White looks very white as there is a blue undercoat, which is a well-known trick to make white looks whiter. This blue dye trick is also used in xerox paper, cloth, washing powder, laundry detergent, photographic paper, ...

When agic, all (nitro)cellulosic paints tend to become creamier, which is especially the case with the Olympic White.

Modern Olympic White is a recreation of this aging process, so absolutely not a reference.

Edited by Hellzero
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1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

335990-FS-LGY-VTW-MP%20(6).jpg?w=680&h=6

I think it looks great

 

1611307620401341531062203779689-01.jpeg

Yes, for me white/aged white/mint looks fine with a maple board or if the pickup covers are white but with a rosewood board and black pickup cover on a P bass it just looks wrong to me, e.g. the polar white Player P here (although the pau ferro board is much lighter so not as bad):  https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/electric-basses/precision-bass/player-precision-bass/0149803500.html

Tort on rosewood or maple and anodised gold on maple works nicely too. I’ve ordered a tort pickguard from WD as Fender doesn’t appear to offer an OEM tort guard for the Pro P Bass V model.

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I have a US Olympic White P, maple neck with tort pickguard, but lately been thinking of changing it, no reason, just purely for a wee change.

I was thinking about maybe, anodised gold...akin to the '57 AVRI...?

I've never been a huge fan of tort pickguards, but it certainly has its place on this colour scheme.

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