sbpark Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Picked up a 2010 J45TV a little while back. Awesome guitar, love the way it sounds, but the way they covered the rosette with the pickguard from he factory always bugged me. Ordered one from Terrapin and would not recommend using them. Their customer service was awful. After about 5 weeks never received the item, never heard back from them after a polite email then a voicemail, so I contacted them through PayPal, and magically a couple days letter got a message telling me the pickguard shipped. When it arrived I was not too stoked with the color of the tortoise pattern, but going by what I read from others, and the fact that the pickguard arrived with a yellow paper backing, I decided to install it anyway. The fit was ok, not perfect, but better than the stock pickguard, but looked awful. Way too many clear sections on the pickguard, and it basically ended up looking like a Martin pickguard on a Gibson, so I removed it. For what I paid, the horrible customer service, and poor match, I'd stay away from these guys. Instead I just ordered some pickguard material and adhesive sheet from StewMac. I went with the "red swirl" pattern. I have a brand new "flubber" pickguard for a new J45 standard here at home (had a 2017 Standard for a hot minute and the pickguard was peeling off so Gibson sent me a brand new one), so I'll use that as a template. (I'd use the "flubber" guard, but it's basically a thick, dampening piece or rubber!). Attached is a pic of the material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Could the guitar fly without a guard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 . . . or couldn't the pickguard just be relocated off of the guard a little? Much of the time, the radius at the sound hole is fine: . . . if not, it could be re-contoured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 62burst, I like your suggestion. Keeps it original and corrects what bugs the owner. Of course, the other solution is to just put the original back on re-adjusted or if not, them the way it was. There are better things to do than worrying about it being on the rosetta...as in, who would even care, especially on a great beautiful sounding guitar (and when a bunch of other guitar's also have the same minor pickguard condition.) Just my two cents. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Good luck... If you have the dough... I can vouch for the guards that GuitarGal has in Nashville. Loved the one she sent me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 ....Attached is a pic of the material.... That says pickguard all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 After you cut the pickguard material to shape, you might want to sand or wet-sand a micro bevel or radius on the cut edges to soften them before putting the adhesive on. I've also discovered that most plastics are soft enough that you can fine-tune the shapes or the soundhole radius with a bit of sanding if required. Stewmac says you can easily sand that tortoloid material, if that's what this is. That material looks very much like the late 50's through mid 60's material that Gibson used. I picked a dark genuine celluloid material for a new pickguard on my old J-45. It's very close to the original, at least as I remember it. In the photo, you can see light reflections off the rounded edges, which really softens the look: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Could the guitar fly without a guard? It could, but given that stock guard has been on there for 7 years it's left a noticeable ring from where the pickguard was, despite trying to polish it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 After you cut the pickguard material to shape, you might want the sand or wet-sand a micro bevel or radius on the cut edges to soften them before putting the adhesive on. I've also discovered that most plastics are soft enough that you can fine-tune the shapes or the soundhole radius with a bit of sanding if required. Stewmac says you can easily sand that tortoloid material, if that's what this is. That material looks very much like the late 50's through mid 60's material that Gibson used. I picked a dark genuine celluloid material for a new pickguard on my old J-45. It's very close to the original, at least as I remember it. In the photo, you can see light reflections off the rounded edges, which really softens the look: That material looks great on yours. Where did you get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 . . . or couldn't the pickguard just be relocated off of the guard a little? Much of the time, the radius at the sound hole is fine: . . . if not, it could be re-contoured. I already threw it out. Did want to deal with the hassle of removing all the adhesive off the back of it, fiddling with it, and you can see once it's off the guitar that it's a pretty pixilated image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I'm not very picky about my pick guards except for the fact that I do prefer to have one. I've tried without but did not like scratching the finish. A few years ago I picked up this J45TV that did not have one. I found a couple nice looking guards but can't remember where. On this one, I reshaped the sound hole arc and buffed it to remove the shine. From all the threads about the guards, I thought I would try the using tape as a hinge when positioning. I've since sold this guitar. I still have the other guard that I'm holding on to. Hope you find what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 That material looks great on yours. Where did you get it? It was Italian celluloid that the guy who works on my guitars had sitting around. He never throws anything away, like most luthiers who have been in business for decades. He also fabricated the bridge in that photo from a leftover piece of Brazilian that closely matched the fretboard. We had an old photo of me with the guitar from about 1967, so we were able to choose from several pieces of celluloid. I've searched a bit online, but haven't found a current source for similar celluloid material. The Tortoloid stuff Stewmac sells looks pretty good, but I've never actually had it in my hands to compare it with the real thing. Most of the celluloid pickguard material you seem to find online is laminated, and thick, of the type you would use on a solid-body electric or an archtop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Ordered one from Terrapin and would not recommend using them. A couple of years ago, I ordered a J-45 guard from Terrapin for my guardless LG2-AE. It arrived on schedule, and I love the look of it on this particular instrument. Sorry your experience wasn't satisfactory, but I would not hesitate to use them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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