Purely based on “looks”, which one would you choose (they are identical otherwise):
0 voters
This is the black one (comes out a little light here):
This is the brown one:
Note: both have now Pau Ferro fingerboards, so those should look the same…
black if you’re wearing denim, brown if you’re in leather and rhinestones.
They both look brown to me. The top one is like rustic brown. Brown is the new black so you can’t go wrong with either.
The bottom one(“brown”) looks more consistent to me. The fretboard on the top one stands out as if it’s out of place, and would suit it more if it were darker IMO
Try finding a youtube review first to get a good impression. Initially I would have vote for brown because it looks nice on the picture but i think the black one is always a good and safe choice. So black it is 
Black for me but I wouldn’t say no to either if you’re giving them away 
The black one for Monday to Thursday sessions and the brown one for Friday to Sunday. lol
I kinda like the brown with the tort combo. And if you said they are both with pau ferro now (and I’m looking at my pau ferro P bass I have as i type this) I think the rustic browm with tort pickguard and pau ferro neck would look great. That’s because the pau ferro has lighter brown highlights that will match the body.
To me, the black would look better with a black pearl pickguard and a rosewood or ebony neck almost like the one that is on the brown one in the pics yo have provided.
Either way you are picking up one hell of a bass.
At first they were neck and neck (no pun intended) but the more I looked at them, the brown looks like a classier finish. The black starts to look like a bit of a hacky steampunk vintage thing done new. And the pickguard on the black doesn’t match well.
Brown needs a different pickguard. I’d like to see the pics with the same lighting too so the fretboard comes out in the same light in both. But I had to go with brown.
Man, all three of the basses you posted are really cool.
Of the two in the pole, I like the reclaimed wood look of the black one.
I’m not familiar with the brand. What are they?
I like that black. It looks like it has some green hue to it. It’s very tasteful.
Yeah to be clear both look amazing. Would like to see the black one in similar lighting to the brown one - looks like the lighting washed it out a bit, given that those two actually have the same fretboard.
That’s an excellent point @howard. That Black looks great because it’s not as black as I expected. Color corrected may change things for me.
Edit: I just Googled for pictures, and they are almost exclusively of the brown one. I wonder why that is 
In my opinion, the black one looks like it has been in a fire. Especially the back side. No offense 
I like the brown (my favourite neutral) but I’m not a fan of red/reddish pickguards on brown or sunburst guitars. It’s too much clashing of tones without any contrast. So I vote the brown (but I’d change up the pickguard)
The black does have contrast, that’s what I like about it.
Honestly this bass would look best with no pickguard and just bare wood, IMO.
Or maybe a clear one like Atelier Z uses on the Magnitudes:
Thank you all so much for voting and chiming in, with thoughtful (and/or funny) comments. It is good to see that most of your “concerns” also align with mine, and it is indeed a pity that the photo of the “black” one is a bit washed out and almost “green-tinged” (those are the official photos, though!) Here is another one, though low-res:
About the pickguard: just type “tort” in the search field on TalkBass and sit back with an ample supply of popcorn… 
Ah, I just saw @howard had a good suggestion with a clear pick guard!
TBH, the brown 5 string bass is one of my (few) bucket list basses. But, the black one is available right now at a dealer here in Europe with 33% off the original (somewhat hefty) price… I might have to call them and hear what the reason is…
Id never say no to brown with orangeish hue, tortoise pickguard and darker fretboard. Yummy!
Actually what I noticed manufacturers do is pick darker grain for darker color basses. Thats the case with Fender at least.
