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Pickguard on an LG2-AE?


MorrisrownSal

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Would you guys do it?

 

I know that a pickguard "can" impede "tone", and the thicker the guard, the more you risk that happening. I love this guitar's sound, but I also love the B25/J5- ish pick guard aesthetic look.

 

My thought is that for really delicate "tone" that one loves... ie on an upscale Martin or Gibson with intricate specs, the risk of tone-loss might outweigh having that look. However these small body Gibsons have a sweet uncomplicated sound; maybe it would not be a big deal? I would love to hear any and all thoughts!

 

What would you do?

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ah!

I misunderstood.

I know now what you mean.yours is naked . I like the B guitars look too. that's with the southern jumbo style guard right ?

my 45 just has a regular old teardrop guard and, after reading stuff about a thicker or bigger guard supposedly effecting tone , I gave the guitar a whirl while it was naked. surprisingly enough - absolutely no difference in how it sounded !

 

I also remember parlourman changed his teardrop to a larger southern jumbo style with no difference in sound either.

 

But I have to do one of these , just cos it's the Internet - YMMV.

;)

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Same experience for me on my J45...

 

...I gave the guitar a whirl while it was naked. surprisingly enough - absolutely no difference in how it sounded !

 

Sal, I'd definitely put a pickguard. I like both shapes, although the 1960's guard might look a touch too big for a smaller body than a J50 :

 

Without :

WITHOUT_zps4b9ba580.jpg

 

1950s:

1950s_zps706033fb.jpg

 

1960s :

1960s_zps3ac64f09.jpg

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If you play heavy, using picks, I'd put one on. Fingerstyle has little risk of scraping the top, but hard strumming will turn it into a "Trigger" clone in a few years or less. I don't see the tone being compromised, especially when you plug in.

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I debated this for many months with my LG-2 AE.

 

Finally mounted a J-45 teardrop from Terrapin Guitars. It is a light tortoise color, and I LOVE IT! A huge improvement in visual balance, imho. I don't post pics, but if you PM me your email, I'll send you a photo.

 

Considering that this region of the instrument is already heavily braced, the impact of a small and light pickguard should be minimal, and I for one noticed absolutely no difference in tone on my LG-2 AE. I used to have a '65 B-25 with the very thick batwing guard, and certainly you would suspect a guard like that to impact tone to some extent, but I liked the sound & never took it off. Bottom line - your ears will settle the matter.

 

One more thought: Upon arrival, I experimented with the pickguard's placement for quite a while. Someone here on the board had a great tip a while back, which was to place a small piece of tape on the right side of the guard protruding a bit over the edge - while the adhesive backing is still on. This allows you to set it in place, assess it, and move it if you so desire. When you finally have it where you want it, you flip the guard over like opening a book from the back, peel the adhesive film off, and then carefully flip it back into it's permanent position. Worked great, as it allowed me to fully visualize many positions that were slightly different, and then settle on a favorite.

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Hi Sal,

I used to think the guard made a difference. Perhaps the slabs like those on the Everly Brothers guitars did.

 

But the modern thin guards don't appear to be tone killers to me.

 

If it were mine, I'd go with a tortoise colored J 50 style Guard--that would be the 60s B25n look.

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