Pickguard for J45

[Hoyt]

I've played my new sunburst J45 VOS heavily for over a week and a half. It's defnitely a keeper, so I peeled off the plastic over the pickguard.

 

What I thought was a bubble in that plastic covering is actually an imperfection in the pickguard about half the size of a thumb nail (or perhaps it's some funky glue on the underside of the guard that you can't press out).

 

It doesn't change my opinion of the J45 and I might just take the thing off like I did on my Blues King. I like some guitars without pickguards.

 

I'd appreciate any recommendation regarding options for nice traditional/vintage looking pickguards for Gibsons. I know there are several sources for custom made Martin pickguards -- what do Gibson owners consider a nice upgrade?

 

Thanks for any input.

[TheLiveSoundGuy]

Myself, I would contact Montana for an exact replacement. But that's just me.

[tw2_usa]

where'd you buy it? is it a new TV or something custom like Fuller's sells?

[Hoyt]

where'd you buy it? is it a new TV or something custom like Fuller's sells?

 

I think it's a TV with red spruce top and that semi-dull/muted finish (which actually polishes up really nicely). But it just says J45 VOS on the inside label. Thanks.

[Hoyt]

Myself' date=' I would contact Montana for an exact replacement. But that's just me.

 

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That makes a lot of sense. No need to mess around with a nice guitar. I do like the thin pickguard.

[Brendan]

You could check out terrapin guitars on the net. They make pickguards in the Gibson shapes both old and new. I hear they are pretty good..

[Plad]

See my reply to Sitric for address, you can get both J-45 shapes (teardrop & batwing) in your choice of thickness, you can see my batwing on my avatar picture, mine is the thinnest option, so I get the best of two worlds; the shape I like, but without the original batwing's potentially tone-deadening thickness.

[TWilson]

I got the thicker batwing from Terrapin for my J-45. I liked it because they are able to put a nice bevel on it and it's remenicent of the vintage style guards they used to use. It's also tortoise. I didn't notice any discernable difference in tone or volume. Mine's a 2004 and it has opened up quite nicely and is quite a boomer when strummed and a great finger picker. Either way, they are nice pickguards. Good luck.

[Gilliangirl]

I don't know if I buy that argument that bigger pickguards deaden tone. If that were the case, why would Dwight Yoakam be able to get tone out of that double pickguard guitar? I wish someone would do an experiment on this, once and for all. I've got the thick batwing on my Southern Jumbo and the thing is so loud I can't even sing over it. And it's got tone from here to eternity.

[Gilliangirl]

I got the thicker batwing from Terrapin for my J-45. I liked it because they are able to put a nice bevel on it and it's remenicent of the vintage style guards they used to use. It's also tortoise. I didn't notice any discernable difference in tone or volume. Mine's a 2004 and it has opened up quite nicely and is quite a boomer when strummed and a great finger picker. Either way' date=' they are nice pickguards. Good luck.[/quote']

Terry, where did you get that avatar? I HAVE to send a picture of that to someone I know. It's great!

[wonderful remark]

I saw a Hummingbird VOS at a local L&M store.

it had the same issue with the pickguard.

I think they might have done it to make it look "Vintage"

[Plad]

Let me hasten to say that I have absolutely nothing to back up wether a thick pickguard would deaden the tone of the guitar, I suppose I thought that if the finish (nitro vs synthetic) matters, as some, not least Gibson themselves, claim, then a big hunk of plastic ought to. I totally agree that the thicker one with bevelled sides look cooler and more authentic.

[asmith9509]

I took the stock pickguard off of my J-45 because I didn't like the way it overlapped the rosette. I ordered supplies from LMI to make a firestripe guard using the method on frets.com (with the beveled edge for the "finished in" look). I stuck the old pickguard to the new material and traced the shape with a razor blade, then warmed it in hot water and cut the shape with scissors. After beveling edge and polishing, I stuck it to the guitar with 3M film adhesive.

 

The good news- it looks awesome, exactly the way I wanted it. The bad news- it definitely, unquestionably dampened the tone a bit. It wasn't enough that I would consider going without a pickguard, but it made me a believer that the pickguard makes a difference.

[Hoyt]

I took the stock pickguard off of my J-45 because I didn't like the way it overlapped the rosette. I ordered supplies from LMI to make a firestripe guard using the method on frets.com (with the beveled edge for the "finished in" look). I stuck the old pickguard to the new material and traced the shape with a razor blade' date=' then warmed it in hot water and cut the shape with scissors. After beveling edge and polishing, I stuck it to the guitar with 3M film adhesive.

 

The good news- it looks awesome, exactly the way I wanted it. The bad news- it definitely, unquestionably dampened the tone a bit. It wasn't enough that I would consider going without a pickguard, but it made me a believer that the pickguard makes a difference.[/quote']

 

 

That's another thing with mine -- it does overlap the rosette more than I'd like. But, I've about decided to just live with it for awhile because I'm really happy with the sound and playability. That's the main thing anyway, and I wouldn't want to mess anything up.

 

I may see about getting a replacement pickguard from Gibson when I get around to it. If I see a custom one that has a really nice tortoiseshell look -- like the old tortoise below -- I'll grab it.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments.

 

 

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