Big pickguards and tone

[pdhguitar]

I was looking at some pictures of older GIbson Super Jumbo guitars, and I notice all the different pickguards used over the years. Some of these pickguards cover quite a bit of the top of the guitar. My question is, do these pickguards have any effect on the tone of the guitar? Do they hamper the vibration of the top any? Thanks for the input.

[wonderful remark]

i am sure it does a little bit.. but for me, it's not enough to notice..

[ksdaddy]

I agree. Any effect would be minimal, at least to my ears. Some folks claim to hear a difference with different pins, saddle and nut material, even tuners for gosh sake. I won't dispute them but I hope my ears never get that sensitive. I hear enough changes in my guitars just by moving them from one room to another or one weather condition to another without questioning little things too.

[bkharmony]

Probably. There's a reason most of the new wave of high-end guitars (i.e. over $3000 and not Martins or Gibsons) don't have pickguards.

 

But they don't bother me. In fact, I quite like them. And anyone who tells me my pickguard-laden J-45 or J-200 doesn't have sufficient tone, well, I know not to bother talking to that person, cause they either can't hear or have an agenda.

[BigKahune]

Sound/tone effects aside, the look is enough to keep me away. :P

[bkharmony]

Sound/tone effects aside' date=' the look is enough to keep me away.

 

 

 

You mean without a pickguard?

[BigKahune]

I meant the look of 2 giant pickguards covering most of the deck.

[bkharmony]

I meant the look of 2 giant pickguards covering most of the deck.

 

 

Oh yeah, like the Folksinger, or whatever that GIbson was called. That was ridiculous.

[ksdaddy]

I saw an old episode of Pop Goes the Country and Boby Bare was on there with a blonde J200 with dual guards. It just looked wrong to me.

 

Now on the other hand, there was a trashy 70s Southern Jumbo on ebay a couple years ago with dual Aria (yes Aria) guards. They were big and funky and I think they had stars in each one. Looked like Marlo Thomas in 1966. I wanted it. It went for absurd money though.

[diogo]

i've owned Gibsons with severe top and back cracks (not fixed) that sounded lovely, just plain gorgeous. they'd probably sound better and more according to their potential if the cracks weren't there to begin with or if they were fixed, but given how i've heard some guitars sound with their top's vibration potential so brutally compromised, especially models i'd owned before in their Bozeman reissue form (ex.: vintage 50s J45 vs. Bozeman J45), i'd say a pickguard's effect on tone and projection is negligible at best.

[daylightrobbery]

I played a Ronnie Wood signature J200 (double, massive pickguards) a few years ago in Denmark St- it was the most amazing thing I've played- unfortunately I didn't have five thousand quid burning a hole in my back pocket!

[Dove Histronic]

Strummed the Dove and felt the guard --- easy to feel vibration coming through...

 

No doubt the vibrating Abalone Dove sweetens the tone with an otherwise unobtainable jangle...

[MissouriPicker]

I don't think the size of the pickguard has much to do with the sound. For me, a good-looking pickguard is part of the Gibson tradition. Aside from the great sound, I think the elaborate type pickguards you see on Dove, Hummingbirds, the Super Jumbos, etc. add a great deal of character to the guitar. I like the guards. I like the inlay. The design on the guards and the inlay speak to the folksy traditions that Gibsons have developed in and from. When I first saw a Hummingbird I thought "Wow!"...and it was the pickguard I first noticed. Look at the Super Jumbos Cash played...they had huge bat-wing-like patterns for the guards. Awesome stuff. ......Of course, there will always be the Gibson bashers that use the pickguard as one of their focal points when attacking Gibson. These are the same people who claim to have played Gibsons for years and never heard a good one. We can only hope they make better choices in cars and spouses.

[zombywoof]

Might hear a difference if you have dog hearning.

[milod]

I'm increasingly convinced that there are too many variables beyond the guitar's basic design (woods, size, bracing, etc.) that can have some effect and - yupper, definitely even different rooms can play a role as well as how you hold the thing.

 

And... in keeping with that, I'm convinced that for me, at least, whether I sound half decent or not up to snuff has more to do with me than with a decent instruments anyway.

 

m

[Dove Histronic]

... I'm convinced that for me' date=' at least, whether I sound half decent or not up to snuff has more to do with me than with a decent instruments anyway.

m

[/quote']

 

Ain't that the bitter truth...

 

Assuming everything else is exactly the same, it's not like the audience will like the song if it's on a Custom Shop Adi topped, pearl rosetted J-45, but dislike it on a standard J-45, or a red label Yamaha.

 

Song choice, vocals, guitar playing, blending of vocals and playing, etc., all take precedence over what guitar is in your hands.

 

The only, and I mean only, thing that makes a difference, is a bird on the pickguard :-

[fortyearspickn]

I'm still not convinced that, given the face / soundboard vibration is integral to the sound - that you can take one of these 1/4" plastic pickguards that take up 20% of the face and cement them on without somehow diminishing the balance and tone. Yes, you might need dog eared hearing to tell the difference - but just because a tree falls in the forest and doesn't hit you doesn't make you lucky.

[jefleppard]

speaking of fugly pickguards.... i still love this guitar for some reason. maybe because i feel its pain of being a misfit.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-F-25-1964-acoustic-/130403127982?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Guitar&hash=item1e5ca1d2ae

[62burst]

Well, we can't have a discussion about big Gibson pickguards without checking out the

Everly Brothers Gibson :

 

http://home.provide.net/~cfh/everly.html

 

I'm sure we could just double up on some duct tape in case there any areas of that top that still

show some finish!

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With regards to vintage guitars & pickguards, it's pretty common on old guitars to see what are called "pickguard cracks". Not really a crack in the 'guard, but just in from the outside edge of the pickguard. The crack can run towards the bridge, towards the neck, or both directions. Almost makes you wonder if the pickguard prevents the top

from expanding until enough tension builds up where it can't be transferred naturally across the grain.