Cream "Gibson" Color Survey?

[JGundry]

I don't know if this will be useful but below are color swatches of both modern and vintage "Gibson" cream plastics. All of these were shot under studio flash lighting with the identical set up for all. These were color corrected with a Macbeth color chart reference. Same color correction for all.

This first series is of 10 different plastic samples shot with same lighting and exposure...


This second series is of the same samples except the individual swatches have adjusted so the density of all is equal. This hopefully will be a more accurate comparison color judge.


Again these are both vintage and modern cream plastics. I'm not trying to play gotcha with this. I really just want to get an opinion of what people think is the best cream color. After a bit I will post let everyone know which is vintage and which is modern.

[JGundry]

Here are the samples a bit brighter.

[David Schwab]

I like number 7 in the first batch.

I think adjusting the density will not give you an accurate representation of the color. That would only be useful if you intend to print it using 4 color process (CMYK). You can't get the density over a certain point. Four color printing never captures colors well. Take a look in a pantone to process color chart book to see how bad it is.

Also I doubt many people here have calibrated monitors, especially on Windows systems. They always look way too blue. Hold a piece of white paper up to white on the screen to see how far off the color is.
The Mac has built in color management, but you have to take the time to calibrate your monitor.

Mine is.

[JGundry]

Thanks Dave.

This is not CMYK printing. These are photos of actual plastic in a studio environment shot be me with the same set up for all. This was done RGB on a Mac, calibrated etc.. I agree this is only useful to a point. Most people won't have a calibrated monitor and even if they did every step of the way would have to have a color profile attached to the image.

[Possum]

....

7 in the first group looks most vintage to me, the 2nd group doesn't seem of any use. Even 7 looks a bit dark. See attached '59 double creme...

[JGundry]

7 in the first group looks most vintage to me, the 2nd group doesn't seem of any use. Even 7 looks a bit dark. See attached '59 double creme...

This above photo is useless. It was shot outside on a pink cloth and probably with auto white balance. Nice photo but unfortunately useless to judge color from. Plus it is overexposed.

Possum lets hear which cream color of the samples you think look vintage? Pick whichever batch you want, they are all color accurate relative to one another.

[JGundry]

Whoops. Sorry Possum #7 is your pick. There are 4 vintage plastics in the swatches. Any more you would pick?

[David Schwab]

This is not CMYK printing.

I understand that, but that's the only reason you would want to adjust the density. That's ink density... how much ink you are going to lay down on the paper. RGB colors don't have density, they have luminosity.

So that second set is not very useful. The first set looks good color wise.

I used to do a lot of retouching and color correction and even dot etching... now there's a lost art! (thank goodness).

[Possum]

....

Its kind of a ridiculous thing to ask really, I'm on an iMac and I have the color set a certain way, someone on a PC is going to be seeing something very different, someone on an old computer and old monitor won't be seeing anything correctly. Here's another one....
You also have to consider if the bobbins were covered for 50 years or open. You ever see a white strat guard after 30 years of being played in a bar? Nicotine smoke adds its own color. UV light etc.....

[JGundry]

I agree, getting a color match over the internet does not make sense unless it is a closed calibrated system. But this is the best that can be done under the circumstances. If anything this will demonstrate that.

Any other opinions on which is the vintage plastic? There are 4. The color does change with exposure etc...

[cryptozoo]

I looked at these on two different computers and they look different on both -- it's too much information to choose from. If I was to pick which shade I'd like to have on my Les Paul, it would be #7 from the first batch, not the density-adjusted version.

[Bill M]

2,6,7, and 10 from the first batch. At least thats what my monitor is telling me.

[JGundry]

Thanks Bill. Anybody else have an opinion?

[belwar]

I couldnt tell you which is vintage, but I like 7

[Possum]

...

This kinda like asking "what color are white people."