gtarman Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Hi, Why do some people remove the pickguards on Epiphone Casinos (usually on the natural finish ones). Is this for cosmetic reasons or is there any advantage in removing it? Was wondering if it was maybe easier to fingerpick, for example, without the pickguard? Any ideas? I don't own a Casino yet but hope to soon (probably the Elitest version). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongMan Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Why do some people remove the pickguards on Epiphone Casinos (usually on the natural finish ones). Is this for cosmetic reasons or is there any advantage in removing it? Was wondering if it was maybe easier to fingerpick, for example, without the pickguard? Any ideas? I don't own a Casino yet but hope to soon (probably the Elitest version). At least for my part it's pure cosmetic. Some guitars just look better without pickguard, or the pickguard doesn't match the rest of the guitar. Removed the plain white pickguard from my Riviera, because it doesn't match the candy apple red finish, creme bindings and black pickup frames at all. Left the black pickguard on the ES-335 though. Removed the pickguard from the Les Paul Custom Black Beauty, because the plain white inner plies and the overall plastic look don't match the Customs creme bindings and black finish. But left the single ply creme pickguard on the Les Paul Standard, as it matches the creme pickup frames and creme binding. Didn't find a difference in playability, but I have the right hand on the bridge/tailpiece most time. When finger picking I have the thumb on the upper edge of the pickup frame or the E or A strings, so having a pickguard or not doesn't make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed1 Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I removed mine when I raised my pickups, as it just sat too high. IMHO, it looks better, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerobox94 Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I removed mine because I thought it'd be alot more comfortable for my strumming hand (and it is, IMO) Plus it doesn't hurt that Lennon had his pickguard removed and I wanted mine to look more like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 The replies you get on this topic will be all over the board. The "Remove or Not Remove" the pickguard debate rages on. I'd say it depends on you. There is no harm in removing it. But it might get scratched or damaged easier without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The.Traffic.Lights Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I'd say the majority does it to get a Lennon-look. I personally wouldn't do it, as I like pickguards aesthetically and I consider them useful for what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSDx Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 But left the single ply creme pickguard on the Les Paul Standard, as it matches the creme pickup frames and creme binding. Man, you must've gotten lucky - the cream colored guard on my LP is so off from the pup surrounds,binding,switch ring that it looks white - that was one (of a few) reasons why I removed mine from the LP. It's funny, because if I put it against a white surface, it looks quite cream colored, but against the rest of the LP stuff, it looks refirgerator white !!! If I should one day find a guard that matches, I could go with it, but it's plenty comfortable w/o it, and allows more of the flame top to be seen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Personal preference or "hero worship" I guess, depending on the person. I like them, I think they improve the looks of most guitars, and they do protect the finish from pick scratches. However, the white pickguard on the light Casino is not to my tastes. (I like the white PG on the cherry Casino though.) So I removed the white PG and replaced it with a black one. I also replaced the knobs and I think it looks much better that way. Before After I can't see where removing the pickguard should do anything to the tone of the guitar, so if you like it off better, why not? If you don't, leave it on. And if you want a different color. Change it. Insights and incites by Notes ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Why do some people remove the pickguards on Epiphone Casinos (usually on the natural finish ones). I thought it was because of this photo: http://www.thecanteen.com/lennon8.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtarman Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 I went round a dozen music shops today and finally found an Elitist Casino. The shop was pretty busy at the time so I'll go back and try one out for myself another day soon. I was wondering about whether the pickguard might affect fingerpicking as I have only one other guitar with one and I feel that it would be easier to fingerpick on it without it. Since the pickguard's quite close to the strings on it, I find sometimes in fingerpicking the tip of the nail will hit the pickguard and produce an unwanted resonating clicking noise. Admittedly this is my electric sitar guitar, but it's basically a guitar! I've been mainly fingerpicking the last few years so I'm sure I'd like to do so on my prospective Casino sometimes. Regarding John Lennon, he did a lot of fingerpicking at the time he had his sanded/stripped Casino without pickguard (1968/White Album era), although I don't know whether he was using the Casino on these tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Regarding John Lennon, he did a lot of fingerpicking at the time he had his sanded/stripped Casino without pickguard (1968/White Album era), although I don't know whether he was using the Casino on these tracks. According to Wikipedia: "After Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Lennon moved on to a D-28 from C. F. Martin & Company (alternating between the J-160E and the D-28 for "The White Album") while Harrison upgraded to a Gibson J-200 Jumbo (which Lennon used on "Two of Us" and other acoustic tracks on Let It Be)." () There's also this book: http://www.beatlesfabgear.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtarman Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 I'm sure he used lots of guitars, but he's using his stripped Casino in the White Album era "Revolution" video and in the rooftop concert in 1970 so he presumably recorded with it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I was thinking more along the lines of the fingerpicking he did on Dear Prudence and Julia... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardog Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 my ibjl came with the pickguard not attateched. not sure if this is how it was to be shipped. I like the ideal i was given the choice to put it on or not. So far, I have left it off. I am more of a cosmetic prone decision maker. My strumming makes no contact with the pick guard i have on my guitars, and i really hate hinding a beautiful burst behind a pick guard!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtarman Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 I was thinking more along the lines of the fingerpicking he did on Dear Prudence and Julia... I don't know the sound of the Casino well enough yet to be able to pick it out with any certainty. I don't think the fingerpicking on "Happiness is a Warm Gun" sounds like a regular acoustic, though - more electric. I don't know if anyone can say for sure whether JL ever picked up his Casino and fingerpicked it! It's not that important anyway... ;-) I guess I'm just a bit ignorant of raised pickguard guitars in general and whether they're a hindrance to the fingerpicking style. If it's a similar case to my other guitar I think I'd probably find myself removing the pickguard on my Casino as I'm into my fingerpicking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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