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Pickguard Material

djw171

By djw171
in Gibson Acoustic

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retrorod

retrorod

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Posted

Actually…I wish Gibson would just put the pick guard in the case when they ship, and let the owner decide to put on the pick guard or not. THEN they could either use the factory supplied pick guard, get and after market guard, put it on covering the rosette, put it on not covering the rosette or toss it in the trash. Ahhh..that felt good!

 

Right on [thumbup]

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Hall

Hall

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Posted

Hallgroper....So then your cheap flubber--rubberized Hummingbird pick guard, according to you, did indeed peel off your $3100 Gibson guitar?? ....Could that have happened because of over polishing it? ...or perhaps some polish film seeping under the flubber guard loosened up the flubberware and caused it to peel off?

 

Also you commented on volume and tone being better when the rubberized hummingbird pick guard peeled off....I must say my own bird suffers from what I consider an unexpected loss of treble volume and muted tone, and I am concerned that this cheap molded rubber Hummingbird pick guard, ...that Gibson did not tell me about when buying it ...that maybe this is responsible for the muted trebles and tone on the new Hummingbirds.

 

I removed the white plastic pins... for Ebony wood pins because like most people...I don't like PLASTIC on my guitars...now I discover that the ENTIRE Hummingbird pick guard is made of cheap molded soft jell rubber that peels off and sucks tone. And when it does peel off....we get to beg Gibson for a replacement. But why bother...who wants another rubber jell pick guard anyway.

 

Looks like another case of poor planning and poor quality on Gibsons part. While the pattern on the old pick guards may have worn off with time....WHO IN THE WORLD WANTS A RUBBER PICK GUARD ON A $3100 GUITAR? ...The Asians are pleased I guess, they are the ones getting paid by Gibson to make them.

 

GuitarLight.... #1. The pickguard lifted at the points regularly. But, it didn't peel off at all. I haven't ever used polish on the Hummingbird. #2. For a couple of years I just pressed the points back in place at each playing. It was out of curiosity to sound/volume (not a new issue here) that I removed it. The guitar sounded better to me and so I replaced the guard with a thin one and maintain the original. #3. I have nothing against the plastic pins myself and on most of my guitars I stay with the stock pins, re: personal matter to every owner. #4. Eh, the thick guards are not my favorite for certain, but I knew what I was buying as I played the guitar before purchase. I probably never would have investigated the sound issue had the guard not lifted and the matter not have been of interest here.

 

 

steve

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littlejohnny

littlejohnny

Posted
Posted

Hallgroper....So then your cheap flubber--rubberized Hummingbird pick guard, according to you, did indeed peel off your $3100 Gibson guitar?? ....Could that have happened because of over polishing it? ...or perhaps some polish film seeping under the flubber guard loosened up the flubberware and caused it to peel off?

 

Also you commented on volume and tone being better when the rubberized hummingbird pick guard peeled off....I must say my own bird suffers from what I consider an unexpected loss of treble volume and muted tone, and I am concerned that this cheap molded rubber Hummingbird pick guard, ...that Gibson did not tell me about when buying it ...that maybe this is responsible for the muted trebles and tone on the new Hummingbirds.

 

I removed the white plastic pins... for Ebony wood pins because like most people...I don't like PLASTIC on my guitars...now I discover that the ENTIRE Hummingbird pick guard is made of cheap molded soft jell rubber that peels off and sucks tone. And when it does peel off....we get to beg Gibson for a replacement. But why bother...who wants another rubber jell pick guard anyway.

 

Looks like another case of poor planning and poor quality on Gibsons part. While the pattern on the old pick guards may have worn off with time....WHO IN THE WORLD WANTS A RUBBER PICK GUARD ON A $3100 GUITAR? ...The Asians are pleased I guess, they are the ones getting paid by Gibson to make them.

 

 

GuitarLight.... #1. The pickguard lifted at the points regularly. But, it didn't peel off at all. I haven't ever used polish on the Hummingbird. #2. For a couple of years I just pressed the points back in place at each playing. It was out of curiosity to sound/volume (not a new issue here) that I removed it. The guitar sounded better to me and so I replaced the guard with a thin one and maintain the original. #3. I have nothing against the plastic pins myself and on most of my guitars I stay with the stock pins, re: personal matter to every owner. #4. Eh, the thick guards are not my favorite for certain, but I knew what I was buying as I played the guitar before purchase. I probably never would have investigated the sound issue had the guard not lifted and the matter not have been of interest here.

 

 

steve

 

Steve, how old is your bird, my understanding is, that gibson changed the pick guard material in question just recently (mayby 2 years ago?). So you and GL talk about different kind of guards.

 

And GL, do I remember correct that you were so pleased with your new bird??? Now that you know what kind of guard is on you don't like it anymore.

 

Whatever, one more reason to go for a TV bird, which has the old, thick but not flubber made guard :-"

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Hall

Hall

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Steve, how old is your bird, my understanding is, that gibson changed the pick guard material in question just recently (mayby 2 years ago?). So you and GL talk about different kind of guards.

 

And GL, do I remember correct that you were so pleased with your new bird??? Now that you know what kind of guard is on you don't like it anymore.

 

Whatever, one more reason to go for a TV bird, which has the old, thick but not flubber made guard :-"

 

littlejohnny - Without going downstairs and checking for certain, my Hummingbird of issue in the post is probably more than 5 yrs old. But, it came with the thick soft embedded design guard for sure. The Hummingbird model is not my daily go to Gibson, although I have always had one around! This one is still a fine guitar with or without the thick guard. I prefer the thin one though and sure see your point on a TV. .

 

steve

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Hall

Hall

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Posted

This whole thread about pickguards and Flubber is Drama

 

my Gibson J-15 sounds fantastic I did put a Firestripe pickguard on for a different look is does not sound any better

 

 

 

It is subjective for certain.

 

 

steve

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retrorod

retrorod

Posted
Posted

This whole thread about pickguards and Flubber is Drama

 

my Gibson J-15 sounds fantastic I did put a Firestripe pickguard on for a different look is does not sound any better

 

Imagine that! ...drama on the Gibson acoustic Forum....! Some actually obsess over the paper label inside of their guitar....OR....the quality of the air inside of their acoustic "sound box".... [crying]

 

Flubber scares me....!

 

 

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djw171

djw171

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This whole thread about pickguards and Flubber is Drama

 

my Gibson J-15 sounds fantastic I did put a Firestripe pickguard on for a different look is does not sound any better

 

Just to clarify, since I started the thread. It was not started in anyway as drama or discussing the 'tone sucking' properties of 'flubber'. I just wanted to know if anyone knew what the material is as I wanted to try and obtain a aftermarket pickguard in the same material.

 

anyway....

 

I asked Gibson what the material was a for the pickguard on the J15 couple of weeks back..here is the response:

 

This PG is the same material that is used on the Hummingbird and the J-200. It is a more flexible material and does feel softer. This is the correct PG for that model.

 

Gibson would make great politicians..unable to just answer a straight forward question with a straight forward answer!

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J-1854Me

J-1854Me

Posted
Posted

FWIW, the teardrop pickguard on my 2011 J-50 appears to have been printed: I examined it using a small lens and it's swirly patterns are composed of dots, as you would see in a printed image or photograph.

 

The guitar sounds great, btw. [biggrin]

 

Fred

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62burst

62burst

Posted
Posted

...

 

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... and Soylent Green is people.

 

Coming of age in an era of conspiracy and scams, it would be easy to question changes in materials used. Each is a compromise: Hummingbird guards thick enough to add durability to the design, yet flexible enough to resist the infamous

. J-45 pickguards thin enough to maximize vibration of the top, while being thick enough to offer dimensionality to the tortoise pattern. Martin's been there, done that, too. Did you buy it for the pickguard? Like tuners, you can make it your own.
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B1ues Boy

B1ues Boy

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Posted

I wasn't questioning your concerns about the pickguard and I can see your thoughts but I do feel the stock pickguard is fine for the J-15 looks nice and in my opinion just the right thickness

Just to clarify, since I started the thread. It was not started in anyway as drama or discussing the 'tone sucking' properties of 'flubber'. I just wanted to know if anyone knew what the material is as I wanted to try and obtain a aftermarket pickguard in the same material.

 

anyway....

 

I asked Gibson what the material was a for the pickguard on the J15 couple of weeks back..here is the response:

 

“This PG is the same material that is used on the Hummingbird and the J-200. It is a more flexible material and does feel softer. This is the correct PG for that model.”

 

Gibson would make great politicians..unable to just answer a straight forward question with a straight forward answer!

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  • 7 months later...
Assenphat

Assenphat

Posted
Posted

I have a Hummingbird made in June of 2011, which I bought new not long after that. It has a flubber/gel pickguard, After reading this thread I poked it with a guitar pick under bright light and I can confirm it is indeed gelatinous. I never knew it until now. I admit it's a bit disappointing to realize after more than 4 years that my guitar has a dampening material for a pickguard, but nonetheless I never felt the tone lacked a single thing, and I now noticed the 'guard has no pick scratches. I would gander that even a plastic pickguard would inhibit resonance. But I don't care, the guitar sounds stellar.

 

While I'm on the topic of pickguards, I had a 2010 Martin D-41 that cost $3,999 new, and it had their infamous "purple dot matrix" pickguard: a plastic tortoise shell pickguard that, upon close inspection revealed that the tortoise appearance was merely printed in reddish-purple with a very visible dot matrix pattern. The guard looked normal under indoor lighting, but as soon as it was under bright light or sunshine it looked more purple than reddish brown. There was a lot of screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth over that at the time. Quite disappointing what guitar making seems to be slowly coming to these days, not to mention the outrageous prices many of them command.

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MissouriPicker

MissouriPicker

Posted
Posted

I'm with you, Sal. That damn pickguard or piece of flubber has been on my Hummingbird for some ten years now. Sucks-up all the volume. I can't even hear the guitar if it's not plugged-in. I'm peeling that damn thing off and then if I can hear the guitar I'll just get a permanent marker and draw some kind of bird near the soundhole (not touching the rosette). Likely be dumping the J15 too.

 

BTW, assenphat, welcome to the Gibby forum. We had this discussion months ago, but it's always good to rehash it...lol....welcome abroad.

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