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Pickguard Opinion


ChrisM

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I had this same topic rolling around my head when I rebuilt this J-40.

 

I decided on making a custom bat wing and decided I liked black against the burst. I cut the sound hole so the white laminate completes the rosette. And I also put the extra "tab" under the first string since I tend to curl my little finger under the string when I play.

 

If anyone is interested I would be happy to make one up, I have the router template hanging on my shop wall.

 

 

DSC_0092.jpg

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I forgot to add that if I were to choose between more or less transparent I would pick less (as if not obvious from my prior post). My reason is that I find it a bit busy if you can see the burst through the PG.

 

But any way you go is great as long as it is how you want. We can tell you what we think all day long and in the end it is up to you.

 

Cheers,

Bob

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ChrisM, I would encourage putting your new pick guard on. I had the same concerns as you do. When mine came from Terrapin it looked overly yellowish and yellowish brown, like yours in the picture. After experimenting with pulling the backing off and laying it upside down on the guitar, I put it on last night. The procedure was easier than I thought and the results are splendid. All of my apprehensions were unfounded. It looks beautiful. The picture thing here is beyond me. So sorry, no picture unless someone wants to post it for me. Anyway I want to thank this thread and littlejohnny for his pictured post. I also want to thank ParlourMan for his response and information on an earlier post in a thread about pick guards. Lastly thanks to all, I enjoy this forum (mostof the time [rolleyes])

 

chasAK

 

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ChrisM, have you made a decision on the pick guard? BTW thanks for posting the pics.

 

BBG, I agree, it looks a lot better with the rosette showing.

 

Ordered some Tortoloid material from Stewmac.

 

I am going to make a reproduction pickguard with the material. I want to compare this pickguard to the Terrapin one before putting one on.

 

I will update the thread when the new pickguard (whichever) is on.

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I ordered the Tortoloid from Stewmac and received it the other day.

 

The two pictures below are of the Terrapin pickguard and the Tortoloid pikcguard I have made. I sanded and beveled the edges of the Tortoloid pickguard I cut. It looks pretty good imo. I just have to buff the edges and then it will be ready to install on the J-45. It looks really good when I placed it on the guitar.

 

 

Terrapin

31BE041C-6C7E-4BD8-B267-D96B3AEC07D2.jpg

 

 

Tortoloid

7E17924B-4E8C-4FCB-94B1-4BD1A7937D42.jpg

 

540B8F39-F79D-4023-920C-A6D702D5C82F.jpg

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I sure like the look of your guitar without any pickguard but you can't leave her naked. I think your new pickguard will look great once it is on your J-45. And, as said earlier, you can change your mind later and try a different pickguard if it bugs you. I'd go with what you have in hand and play for awhile and see if it doesn't sit well with you.

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Conclusion! I got a pickguard on the guitar!

 

 

So in the end I did make a tortoloid pickguard and put it on the guitar. Personally I think it looks really good. I cut the tortoloid material with the sunburst in mind. I think the colour and pattern of the material flows really well with the sunburst finish.

 

2D1DDD76-52FA-4F6A-AB66-C7A047014DF9.jpg

 

1DEB9C7D-B78C-4B0D-ADBF-F8180399FFA5.jpg

 

0E4BE994-C6D1-4C85-B772-517C43825D57.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

As for the process...

I heated up the tortoloid with a heat gun. Then I used good quality sharp scissors to cut the material (really easy when it's warm). I should mention I taped on a paper template so I knew where to cut. Once I had the rough shape cut the material was a bit warped from me handling it so much. I reheated the material with the heat gun then threw it under my textbooks for a couple hours. I repeated this process a few times over the course of the making of the pickguard to ensure it was perfectly flat.

 

The material sands very easily so I used a combination of fine files and sandpaper to get the final shape. I then wet sanded the edges with fine sandpaper. At this point the edges were very smooth. Next I beveled the edges with a brand new razor blade, this gave great results. After beveling the edges I did some more wet sanding. A little buffing with a Dremel and buffing compound made the beveled edges look perfect.

 

A little naptha on the underside of the pickguard to clean it then I put the 3M double sided tape on. I made sure the tape went on as smoothly as possible and as flat as possible. Even still there was a few air bubbles. A litle hobby knife got rid of those. After trimming the excess hangover tape I clean the guitar with naptha to clean it prior to putting the pickguard on. I marked the pickguard placement with a few bits of tape on the guitar. I then very carefully and slowly laid the pickguard down. I smoothed it out by hand, ensuring I did not apply too much pressure on the top. A quick wipe down with a cotton cloth and I was done.

 

It was actually an enjoyable process making this pickguard. It's defiantly something I would recommend to others and wouldn't shy away from doing again myself.

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I switched out the pickguard on my 2007 AJ for this one. I think it looks fabulous! Changing pickguards is easy and a lot of fun!

 

http://www.firestripepickguards.com/wp-content/uploads/larsaj1.jpg

 

i got mine from James at www.firestripepickguards.com

 

His service, as well as his product, is outstanding.

 

Lars

Your firestripe guard looks great!

 

I am contemplating doing that on my J-35 next.

 

Maybe a new more authentic firestripe pickguard and a Colosi saddle and bridge pins. [thumbup]

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Perhaps I should add that I used a little trick to get my new vintage styled firestripe guard to look good on a modern Gibson sunburst top. In the old days, the guard was applied to bare wood, before the burst was sprayed. In other words, the finish was sprayed on top of the guard, and that is why the guard on the old timers so often naturally blend into the burst pattern.

 

On a modern guitar, that is sprayed before the guard goes on, it is hard to acheive this natural look by applying a semi-transparent guard on top of the finish. The burst pattern will simply not look right. It will be too dark, compared to what I like

 

To remedy this, I hand painted a burst pattern on the back of my new guard before installing it. I used brighther colors (acrylic kids paint) and made sure the color would look right when seen from the front. All it took was a very crude burst pattern, but in brighther colors. It was a fun project!

 

Now if the modern guitar has a natural top, non of this is of course needed...

 

Lars

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