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Pickguard Help


duluthdan

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In the category of "too much time on my hands' I am going to try and apply a new firestripe guard on my guard less J-45. I know that the yellow is relatively brightened in the photo below, because there is the 3m sticky backing on it. But, I want to try and use some artistry to make the guard blend a little better into the sunburst. Any tips or suggestions welcomed. Do I recall that Lars 68 did a post of his PG project? Archives now don't go very deep, so I could not find that post anywhere???

 

I realize I'll probably have to remove the mounting sheet, do the modifications, and then reapply a new sticky sheet. Here's the guard with the backing on just laid loose onto the guitar.

 

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All done. Just like Buc said - blended in all by itself. I searched out some 30 year-old acrylic paint from old child art supplies - hard as a rock, so i took the easy way out, sorry Lars.

This guard is from Holter Pickguards - holterpickguards@gmail.com nice bevel, nice guard, I am a happy hack !

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I have never been a fan of what they call those amber firestripe pickguards. I am sorry children. This is a what a firestripe pickguard should look like (this one is on a 1933 Gibson-made Recording King mando). For whatever reason it appears to be a lost art. I would rather go with a dalmatian or a dark tort scratchplate,

 

Recording_King_Mandolin_Pickguard_Detail_zpsobj9.jpg

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I have never been a fan of what they call those amber firestripe pickguards. I am sorry children. This is a what a firestripe pickguard should look like (this one is on a 1933 Gibson-made Recording King mando). For whatever reason it appears to be a lost art. I would rather go with a dalmatian or a dark tort scratchplate,

 

Recording_King_Mandolin_Pickguard_Detail_zpsobj9.jpg

 

 

I have been looking for real firestripe celluloid material for a long time, and haven't found it. The modern interpretations are generally a poor imitation of the real thing. The best modern versions I have seen aren't even celluloid.

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Although not a 100% perfect match, these guards come very, very close to the original look.

http://www.firestripepickguards.com/

I have two of these (2012 SJ and 2007 AJ), as well as an original to compare with (from a 1938 kalamazoo KG 3/4 Sport), and the modern counterparts do capture the vibe of the oldie.

 

The modern firestripe guards used by Gibson look a little different. I think they look very nice, but yes a little different. Celluloid is not a material suitable for mass produced guitars, shipped cross international borders. Also, the oldies were placed on bare wood and then the sunburst was sprayed over the guards. This method caused the wood to crack when the celluloid started to shrink. So it is not very likely Gibson will ever go back to neither original material, nor original method.

 

lars

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I have been looking for real firestripe celluloid material for a long time, and haven't found it. The modern interpretations are generally a poor imitation of the real thing. The best modern versions I have seen aren't even celluloid.

 

I want to say the only place you can get celluloid these days is from Italy. When I had my 1942 J-50 restored it needed a pickguard. Although it was not what was originally on the guitar, the guy doing the work wanted to put a firestripe scratchplate on it. He ended up making me one out of some NOS celluloid he had on hand.

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Also, the oldies were placed on bare wood and then the sunburst was sprayed over the guards. This method caused the wood to crack when the celluloid started to shrink. So it is not very likely Gibson will ever go back to neither original material, nor original method.

 

 

The biggest pain in the butt pickguard to replace was on my 1950s Epiphone FT-79. Not only was it attached to bare wood but it was actually set into the top so it sat flush. I attempted it twice and finally gave up and had somebody else do it.

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I want to say the only place you can get celluloid these days is from Italy. When I had my 1942 J-50 restored it needed a pickguard. Although it was not what was originally on the guitar, the guy doing the work wanted to put a firestripe scratchplate on it. He ended up making me one out of some NOS celluloid he had on hand.

 

 

Could we see a picture of that?

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Job well done dan

 

Anyone know of anywhere in UK that makes such things ??

 

Hey bbg-- I tried to send you a PM on this, but no luck.

 

I wrote to Taylor Mullins at Holter and while I was doing that I asked about shipping overseas. Here is his response:

 

"Thanks for reaching out. I have not shipped to Ireland before so I’m sorry I’m not much help here. Truthfully, shipping overseas has been hit or miss. I have had 2 packages returned the last several months and had to refund the customers. I do remember the costs ranging from $12 - 23 before, but I don’t remember where I was shipping to exactly.

 

What kind of guard/guards are you looking for? If your open to covering the shipping, we can give it a try. Just let me know and thanks again for reaching out!

 

Taylor"

 

I mentioned I was asking for someone who lived in Ireland, but I guess he thought I lived there. :)

 

I know this is not promising, but I wanted you to have the info. He is at:

holterpickguards@gmail.com

 

Take Care

Patrick

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Hey bbg-- I tried to send you a PM on this, but no luck.

 

I wrote to Taylor Mullins at Holter and while I was doing that I asked about shipping overseas. Here is his response:

 

"Thanks for reaching out. I have not shipped to Ireland before so I’m sorry I’m not much help here. Truthfully, shipping overseas has been hit or miss. I have had 2 packages returned the last several months and had to refund the customers. I do remember the costs ranging from $12 - 23 before, but I don’t remember where I was shipping to exactly.

 

What kind of guard/guards are you looking for? If your open to covering the shipping, we can give it a try. Just let me know and thanks again for reaching out!

 

Taylor"

 

I mentioned I was asking for someone who lived in Ireland, but I guess he thought I lived there. :)

 

I know this is not promising, but I wanted you to have the info. He is at:

holterpickguards@gmail.com

 

Take Care

Patrick

 

 

Thanks boss

 

That’s mighty kind of you to investigate

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I want to say the only place you can get celluloid these days is from Italy. When I had my 1942 J-50 restored it needed a pickguard. Although it was not what was originally on the guitar, the guy doing the work wanted to put a firestripe scratchplate on it. He ended up making me one out of some NOS celluloid he had on hand.

 

Taylor Mullins at Holter Pickguards claims his are made of celluloid.

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Taylor Mullins at Holter Pickguards claims his are made of celluloid.

 

 

You can still get it - at least Celluloid Acetate. It is Celluloid Nitrate that went poof when you touched a match to it. I recall doing that to old guitar picks. I also recall the stuff smelled like Vicks Vapo Rub when you built up even a tiny bit of heat by simply cutting it. Up to a few years ago there was a Italian company called Mazzucheli or something where you could buy the sheets of celluloid. Not sure if they are still around but it was expensive as all get out and on top of that you had to buy bulk.

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You can still get it - at least Celluloid Acetate. It is Celluloid Nitrate that went poof when you touched a match to it. I recall doing that to old guitar picks. I also recall the stuff smelled like Vicks Vapo Rub when you built up even a tiny bit of heat by simply cutting it. Up to a few years ago there was a Italian company called Mazzucheli or something where you could buy the sheets of celluloid. Not sure if they are still around but it was expensive as all get out and on top of that you had to buy bulk.

 

It smells like Vapo Rub because camphor is used as a plasticizer in making it.

 

Here's a link to a company that supplies celluloid in some forms, such as turning blanks for fountain pens, but apparently not in the thicker blocks that you slice up to create thin sheets for use for pickguards. Lots of good information, however.

 

American Art Plastics

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All done. Just like Buc said - blended in all by itself. I searched out some 30 year-old acrylic paint from old child art supplies - hard as a rock, so i took the easy way out, sorry Lars.

This guard is from Holter Pickguards - holterpickguards@gmail.com nice bevel, nice guard, I am a happy hack !

Does Holter ave a website? I can't find it.

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