Zacko Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 hello all, i just joined. i have a 1957 J-45 in my shop that is borderline needing a new pickguard. L,M,I my previous go to source shuttered their operation. stewmac tortoise stock is too red. most materials i'm finding have too much yellow streaking. the color on holter's guards are close but not quite correct. gibson is no help. a martin rep told me their supplier but they only sell premaid teardrop guards. jim grainger passed . anyone have any other ideas on where to look. the 1st photo is the original & the 2nd is what's available. shrinkage cracked the top. i'd like to seal under it byt removing a guard intact is risky on one this old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 (edited) There will be variations in the tortoise sheets the guards are cut from. Maybe contact Holter and send them a pic of what you are looking for and they might sort through what they have for one that matches closer than what they show on their site? Edited May 17 by PrairieDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlejohnny Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 (edited) Hi there, I ordered a batwing pickguard for my j-45 here: https://www.terrapinisland.com/chitzenitza/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=55 ok, it was about 10-15 years ago and my guitar is not vintage but from 2005. https://imgur.com/cxCXf4m Edited May 17 by littlejohnny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 (edited) 1 hour ago, Zacko said: hello all, i just joined. i have a 1957 J-45 in my shop that is borderline needing a new pickguard. L,M,I my previous go to source shuttered their operation. stewmac tortoise stock is too red. most materials i'm finding have too much yellow streaking. the color on holter's guards are close but not quite correct. gibson is no help. a martin rep told me their supplier but they only sell premaid teardrop guards. jim grainger passed . anyone have any other ideas on where to look. the 1st photo is the original & the 2nd is what's available. shrinkage cracked the top. i'd like to seal under it byt removing a guard intact is risky on one this old. LMI done? Very sorry to hear that. 'Wonder what happened to all of their inventory(?). Hard to believe StewMac was not in the loop with an offer. The original pickguard is such a big part of originality- I'm so happy to hear that the original owner's family found the original p/g of my '45 maple J-45's p/g in a desk drawer and remembered to include it when it came to me. It would be a big win if you were able to heat/steam the orig 'guard away from the top on the '57. . . even if a bit or two should come apart. Would it be possible to steam it off, and reassemble it on a sheet of double-sided clear and re-install with the help of some CA to the potentially broken bits? ps- I mean, it doesn't look that bad. Edited May 17 by 62burst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacko Posted May 17 Author Share Posted May 17 when you pull up l.m.i you get sent to stewmac. you can't call stewmac anymore so i'm waiting to hear from them via email. waiting to hear from terrapin as well. client doesn't like the replacement that i posted. truthfully neither do i. holter told me that he split an order of tortoise guard stock awhile back with l.m.i. i'm hoping he has something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 Having just been through a pickguard acquisition myself, I highly recommend Holter. Excellent craftsmanship. He does list a 50s Gibson batwing guard and the deep maroon color looks like a match for the original in your photo. Not inexpensive but perhaps the best out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I would suggest reading Buc’s recent thread. Years ago I put a batwing pick guard from Terraphin on my MC J45. It worked well, I was pleased. But the Holter that Buc just put on his is finished a lot better. Yours being a vintage instrument I would go Holter and send them a picture of what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacko Posted May 18 Author Share Posted May 18 i'm still waiting to hear back from both but i'm leaning towards holter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Just my opinion - I agree that the Holter guard that Buc got is great looking but I would not put it on a vintage instrument without a little Murphy treatment to match the age of the guitar. It would look too pretty. I had to replace the pickguard on my '42 LG1 and scratched it up to take the newness off it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacko Posted May 18 Author Share Posted May 18 i'm restoring a 1955 LG-1 of my own. luckily the pickguard is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelsegui Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) I’d go Holter 100% Very happy with all the pickguards I’ve gotten from him Edited May 20 by michaelsegui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfish Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Sorry to hear Jim Grainger passed, he made the best pickgards for acoustic Gibsons Where he got his material or if he had any left would be nice to know Jim was a delight to deal with RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacko Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 a couple of guys i used to deal with at & get great service from at Martin have passed too. taylor from holter called me yesterday & is sending me a sample piece. he reminded me of something that i'd forgotten. these pickguards are semi-transparent. if i stain the spruce under the guard it will make the guard appear to be darker. did gibson ever spray the sunburst before the guard was installed? the original guard is slightly but noticeably lighter towards the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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