Cream Plastics or Black? Which Looks Better

BillDL

I've just had a budget (but good quality) Les Paul copy in vintage sunburst stripped down for a fret level and polish.  I'm putting better electrics into it and have a pair of fairly good quality humbucker-sized P90s (P94-a-likes) that have been waiting for a donor guitar like this.  The guitar has chrome tulip button machine heads and standard chrome tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar tailpiece.  I removed the cream pickguard and I don't think I'll put it back on.  It came with horribly cheap looking copper coloured knobs.  I have plain black speed knobs and black top hat knobs but I like the amber coloured speed knobs with rubber grip rings.  I have them temporarily stuck on with Blu-Tack in the photos.

It's a cheap project using parts I had, but I want it to look as nice as possible without buying any other parts.  Do you think it looks better with cream plastics (originals that had Wilkinson covered humbuckers) or black plastics?  Perhaps you don't like either, which is fine.  I'm not easily offended over honest opinions.

Hopefully the image embedding will work.  I'll spread it over two comments.  [EDIT] NO, it doesn't.  I give up.  I've tried variouis permutations.  Perhaps somebody else can link to them and embed the images for me.

https://imgur.com/a/Exxqs6X

https://imgur.com/a/FQpKOi3

BillDL

https://imgur.com/k1SYbIj

BillDL

https://imgur.com/w6dVYUO

RickLucas

Black

BillDL

Thanks @RickLucas ;;.  I really am very undecided on this one.  Normally I would be able to say "nope, that one definitely looks better" at a fairly early stage of looking at side by side photos, but not with this one.  Do you think black knobs would be better with the other black plastics?

I should have mentioned.  It has a plain black glossy black headstock.

paganskins

I'd usually go cream on a burst LP, however I like black with this burst and the black pickup tops.

Black knobs too if you can.

munckee

Cream always. 

BillDL

Thanks for embedding the images @paganskins

A black pickguard with the black plastics or would that be black overkill?

@munckee with two polar opposites I can see that I'm going to either still be left undecided or I'll have to count the votes and go with the most popular.

munckee

I would also put the cream pick guard on, controversial I know!

BillDL

i think you may be right.  IF I decide to use the cream pickup rings I still have that chunk of black in the middle of each ring, so the pickguard might offset that a bit.

Keefy

Black, and no pickguard.

Funkfingers

My gut instinct is cream plastics - including the tops of the P-90s.

Black surrounds look right with your black pickups but wrong with the sunburst.

It might be worth sourcing a pair of faux chrome coloured surrounds. Those would lend a Firebird/Dynasonic look. 

CMW335

Cream for me and agree with @munckee I am a guard on kinda guy 

Sporky

Black, no pick guard. 

BillDL

This just goes to show how varied we all are in what we find aesthetically pleasing or disturbing.

i actually have some thin chromed metal rings that would sit on top of the existing black rings.  I must try that.

@Funkfingers I wish I could have got those pickups with cream top plate.  I'm sure I've seen real Gibson P-94s with cream tops and also copies of them, but I couldn't see any when I bought them.  I suppose i could probably desolder and remove the chrome metal cases and fashion cream tops from plastic, but I'm not really too keen to start pulling the pickups apart.  I might be able to get some thin enough cream plastic that would sit down just below the metal rim.  Maybe I could cut pieces from the cream pickguard and sand the pieces much thinner, but that would annoy @CMW335 and @munckee ;

This is a dilemma I will need to dream about for now as I need some sleep before dinner then nightshift.

Roland

Black. Nothing else on the guitar is cream, so new reason to use it. Usually I’d go black knobs too, but I like the way that the amber knobs bring out the body colours.

BillDL

I keep thinking that the black surrounds look much larger and chunkier than the cream ones and perhaps a little too much like an old cheapo Kay guitar from 1980, but if it dog-ear P90s they would take up as much space anyway.

ICBM

I think the pickups look too awful for it to make any difference what colour the surrounds are. If really pushed I'd say the black surrounds look better.

No pickguard ever.

On the bright side, I don't normally like that dark amber colour for the knobs, but here it goes well with the unusually dark sunburst.

You did want honest opinions .

sev112

The burst is quite dark and so I think the black looks great.  On gold tops or bursts which are much lighter at the extremities cream looks good 

Deadman

Everything black for me.

BillDL

Looks like black is winning so far and probably also no pickguard is in the lead.
@ICBM I do respect everybody's opinions and input.  If the truth be told, I'm not keen on either.  I'm not trying to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear - maybe just a synthetic fibre purse that doesn't jar the senses too much.  It's really how it sounds that matters, but I wouldn't deliberately drive a beaten up looking car that goes well unless I really had to.