Double Pickguard Purpose

[golfski]

I came across an SJ-200, I believe Bob Dillan style with double pick guard.  Just curious what the purpose is of double pick guard?  I assume to stop scratching on the low side of the strings but is there any other purpose?  

If I picked up a SJ-200 with double pick guard, can you remove one of them if you don't like it?  I can't tell if it looks good or not so was curious given that this guitar seems to cost a few hundred $ extra new vs. single pick guard is it just ascetics or other purpose.

[E-minor7]

The purpose is to guard the upper zone - as simple as that. And for some it is necessary.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You would be able to remove the unwanted one with naphtha, , , but prepare for a tan-line that it will take a bout 4 years to even out. 
 

                           You'll probably hear a bit more sound too, even feel a freer vibe - depending on the sensibility of your senses. . 

Edited June 14, 2021 by E-minor7

[QuestionMark]

It’s also a method that guitar techs used to do to extend the life of a guitar that was worn through or nearly worn through from strumming or touring wear , above the sound hole.  This was the old school explanation given for many country and folk musicians’s guitars having double pickguards.  Such as for Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio’s very cool looking double batwing Martin on their Decca albums.  But even before him, the Everly Brothers previously had cool looking double pickguard guitars just because they looked cool.  Today, it’s pretty much used just a cool looking thing.

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Edited June 14, 2021 by QuestionMark

[cunningham26]

my L48 has got some hard wear on the upper bout

[golfski]

2 hours ago, E-minor7 said:

The purpose is to guard the upper zone - as simple as that. And for some it is necessary.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You would be able to remove the unwanted one with naphtha, , , but prepare for a tan-line that it will take a bout 4 years to even out. 
 

                           You'll probably hear a bit more sound too, even feel a freer vibe - depending on the sensibility of your senses. . 

Would that be true for a brand new guitar?  This is a new amber burst SJ-200, is that tan line thing for new and used or just used ones?

[E-minor7]

7 minutes ago, golfski said:

Would that be true for a brand new guitar?  This is a new amber burst SJ-200, is that tan line thing for new and used or just used ones?

Hmmm, , , probably not, but the fading starts early. I removed the guard on my 2012 TV Hummingbird in 2016 and the line was easily seen - wasn't disturbing though.                                                                                         Not until this year has it evened out - only a hawk can see it now. . 

[fortyearspickn]

6 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

It’s also a method that guitar techs used to do to extend the life of a guitar that was worn through or nearly worn through from strumming or touring wear , above the sound hole.  This was the old school explanation given for many country and folk musicians’s guitars having double pickguards.  Such as for Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio’s very cool looking double batwing Martin on their Decca albums.  But even before him, the Everly Brothers previously had cool looking double pickguard guitars just because they looked cool.  Today, it’s pretty much used just a cool looking thing.

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Yah,  And Dave Guard had an extended neck (2 add'l frets) banjo and the other guy a 4 string guitar.   Explanation?   They came from San Francisco. 

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said:

Yah,  And Dave Guard had an extended neck (2 add'l frets) banjo and the other guy a 4 string guitar.   Explanation?   They came from San Francisco. 

I wanna get back to my city by the bay. 

[E-minor7]

Some would say it adds a feminine dimension ~

 
 

[dhanners623]

16 hours ago, E-minor7 said:

Hmmm, , , probably not, but the fading starts early. I removed the guard on my 2012 TV Hummingbird in 2016 and the line was easily seen - wasn't disturbing though.                                                                                         Not until this year has it evened out - only a hawk can see it now. . 

You could remove the unwanted pickguard, but be forewarned — you (or a guitar repair person) may need to wet sand and buff out the area under the pickguard.

The adhesive on the pickguard interacts with the nitro finish, which usually hasn’t fully cured when the pickguard is attached. When you remove the pickguard, you’ll see a slight pebbling in the finish.

When I got my J-35 in 2016, I had the righty pickguard removed and had a lefty one installed. The guitar was new and the shop had to do some work to smooth out the finish that was underneath the righty pickguard.

It looks fine now, although if you hold the guitar just right in the light, you can still see a very, very faint outline of the old guard. If you didn’t know it was there, though, you wouldn’t notice it.

Edited June 15, 2021 by dhanners623

[docr]

Removing pickguards is easy if you have got the "flubby" version which has been discussed in this forum so many times. They come off the guitar by themself, just some lighter fluid needed for removing some glue ... I am still angry about the pickguard of my 2018 Hummingbird, all advices how to "flatten" the removed pickguard before fixing it again did not work in my case up to now. 

[E-minor7]

Here is the 2016 scene just after the guard lost contact. Rubber-glue's still there. Looks pretty dramatic, , , and in some ways was.  

[fortyearspickn]

Em7,  Your's could be a twin of mine ...  I can see if my p/g  fell off - I'd leave it off and put it in a hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's back porch.  The guitar without it, with the fading, adds a ton of mojo.  The next owner, hopefully a family member, can decide what they want to do with it.   Funny, as I think about it ...  my LG1, which I bought in '64 and gave my son 10 years ago - the p/g  did actually fall off, and there were ZERO tan lines.  And that sucker was on there ...  40 years +/- !

[E-minor7]

14 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

Em7,  Your's could be a twin of mine ...  I can see if my p/g  fell off - I'd leave it off and put it in a hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's back porch.  The guitar without it, with the fading, adds a ton of mojo.  The next owner, hopefully a family member, can decide what they want to do with it.   Funny, as I think about it ...  my LG1, which I bought in '64 and gave my son 10 years ago - the p/g  did actually fall off, and there were ZERO tan lines.  And that sucker was on there ...  40 years +/- !

I dig this Bird without the flora/fauna, but wouldn't have done it if there wasn't another like it in the herd (lOVE Hartford Snider's gentle garden) -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        and have to say I prefer it without the mark, which means the state it reached this spring. 

Your LG1 experience sounds strrrange - very much so in fact. So good for you and junior, , , in case the line-mojo isn't missed. . 

[62burst]

1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said:

 ...  my LG1, which I bought in '64 and gave my son 10 years ago - the p/g  did actually fall off, and there were ZERO tan lines.  And that sucker was on there ...  40 years +/- !

Very interesting. . . and congrats on getting that time machine dialed in for travel back to '64- 

As they say (~?) , modern Gibson finishes are not your grandfather's nitro' . And the same most likely goes for the tortoloid teardrop.

[RBSinTo]

I would guess that the purpose of the extra pick guard is to make the guitar just that much uglier. And to be fair, it accomplishes that end really well.

RBSinTo

[QuestionMark]

On 6/15/2021 at 7:33 AM, fortyearspickn said:

Em7,  Your's could be a twin of mine ...  I can see if my p/g  fell off - I'd leave it off and put it in a hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's back porch.  The guitar without it, with the fading, adds a ton of mojo.  The next owner, hopefully a family member, can decide what they want to do with it.   Funny, as I think about it ...  my LG1, which I bought in '64 and gave my son 10 years ago - the p/g  did actually fall off, and there were ZERO tan lines.  And that sucker was on there ...  40 years +/- !

Same thing happened to my 1965 LG1.  The p/g fell off and there was absolutely no lines or discoloring where it was.  An authorized Gibson repair person reattached it with double sided tape underneath.  That was about 20 years ago.

QM aka:  “Jazzman” Jeff