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335 Dot Better without pickguard


EpiOne

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New Epi 335 Dot owner here.

 

Bought a sweetly modded used one a few weeks ago. When I was giving it the new-home initiation and polishing I liked its looks much better after I took the pickguard off.

 

I searched this forum for the precise topic before I posted but didn't find anything.

 

Anyone else loving their Dots sans pickguard?

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My ES355 has the classic Gibson off-gassing issue, so I made the decision to keep it seperate from the guitar. Didn't like the look at first, but bound tortoiseshell guards aren’t exactly cheap to replace so I decided to live without for a while and I've learned to like it. My Sheraton has never had a guard in the time I've had it, and looks good without. I've kept the guards on my 330 and Casino.

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I guess I'm the odd guy out. Although I think the Epi Dot, 330, 335, Riviera, Sheraton etc. all look great without a PG, I'd rather have the Pickguard on.

Especially the Epi's because the shape of the guard gives the guitar a different personality than a 335. I really like the shape of the Epi's guard but It's all good ...

I'm keeping mine on.

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I removed the pickguard from my Casino immediately.

 

I had only a Strat for 15 years and when I got my first LP I found it got in the way of my picking. This was mostly due to the Floyd Rose vibrato on the Strat which allowed me to raise or lower pitch. If I rested my hand on the bridge sometimes the notes would go sharp so I developed a picking style where I would rest the pinky of my picking hand on the body of the guitar rather than the bridge, kind of like a classical guitarist position plus I also did a fair amount of fingerpicking.

 

I say pickguard off but more for ease of play than for looks although the stark white P/G on the Casino looked a little gaudy to me as the guitar was black and the binding ivory.

 

 

 

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I did the "take off the pickguard" on a '50s archtop some 40 years ago and regret it since it's lost...

 

I do use the pickguard on my archtops/semis to often anchor the pinkie whether flatpicking or fingerpicking. That helps keep the flatpicking gentle given light strings.

 

Looks... that's subjective, but I don't care for the extra space between the strings and top.

 

As for pinkie down on fingerpicking - I always figured that was more "banjo" than "classical guitar." When I'm getting fancier with fingerpicking I do tend to lift the pinkie to go back to a classical guitar style that is no finger anchors. Neither did Joe Pass "anchor" a finger for his fingerpicking.

 

I figure that if your style of playing is enhanced by removal of the pickguard, it's likely too much for what I do.

 

m

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