BigKahune Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 One of the reasons one would buy a Hummingbird or a Dove is the beautiful pickguard. If I had one, I'd want to keep it in good shape. Yet, I strum a lot, as well as do fingerstyle. If I use a pick, I do strike the pickguard and all of my guitars have a scratched area on the pickguard. I could just play fingerstyle, assuming the guitar would play well in that style. Hmmm... or maybe alter the picking technique. Any thoughts on that? And for those who say, "just play it, don't have any concern for the looks, it just adds mojo."... well, I understand that but don't adhere to that philosophy. I take good care of my guitars and try to keep them nice. I do have an old J-50 that has wear on it but I bought it like that. The OP has to have a lot of patience for members that can't read. Despite putting up a polite disclaimer, practically every one of the currently 28 replies on this thread take a swipe at exactly what the OP wasn't looking for. Just sayin' . . :unsure: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
struma6 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I keep my guitars in great condition. I clean 'em regularly, wipe 'em down always and mind the buttons, snaps and zippers. That said, when I look at one of my guitars, especially one I bought new, and see playing wear on it (pickguard or otherwise) I smile. I love a guitar that has a lot of miles on it. Then again, I'm really not a buy ti so I can sell it down the road kinda guy. If the wear and scratches and dings came about honestly, I like 'em! Of course, the bar drunk who stumbles into my guitar and bangs it up first gets a bar stool shoved up his tuchass and then thrashed. I'm talkin' honest playing miles.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 It has amazed me the kind of responses these type of posts receive. The OP stated that they understand the whole 'just play it' ethos, but asked for a possible solution. Instead we get some responses like you are stupid/ mad/ silly... you shudn't go near a guitar.. hahah ? ... some ppl wanna protect their instruments if they can. Personally I like 'mojo' and honest wear and tear, my last main playing/ gigging guitar looks kinda like willie Nelsons fabled Trigger.. and my new HB TV the design is already wearing off in places, i don't mind... but the OP obviously does..so here is a link that i was given on this forum when i asked about protecting the back of a guitar ( which incidentally I have decided not to bother with ) http://www.frets.com/fretspages/luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/ClearGuard/clearguard1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 The OP has to have a lot of patience for members that can't read. Despite putting up a polite disclaimer, practically every one of the currently 28 replies on this thread take a swipe at exactly what the OP wasn't looking for. Just sayin' . . :unsure: . Why, thank you! I find it a bit odd insinuating that I am needing therapy or should just be a collector (when I gig regularly, have written over 300 songs and have been a player for over 40 years) for thinking of buying a Doves In Flight with the primary draw being its looks. Why would someone buy a guitar like that? It's a high end Gibson, I would think it would sound good. And if it sounds terrible (which is doubtful), I'd return it or sell it. I have 23 guitars. And, I'm upgrading the herd. I have plenty of guitars that sound fabulous. I simply am drawn to buying a beauty or two and would want to keep the pickguard from damage. Seems reasonable to me. I, for one, can't comprehend someone NOT wanting to take care of something that is as beautiful as the attached image and thought there might possibly be solution that someone in Gibsonland could share. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
struma6 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Just the nature of a discussion. A topic generates interest to different people in different ways. I don't think anybody doubts your experience or skills or intention at all. It makes for a more interesting discussion, I think. If you got only "Static adhering clear plastic" answers it would have maybe 2 posts in the thread. Let it roll, you got the right answers and started a rollicking little discussion. ps...you wanna REALLY get a discussion to fly off on a million tangents? Mention ivory. w00t! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Well, if you weren't looking for validation, what then? If you're an experienced guitarist with 40 years under your belt, a current herd of 23 guitars, and very strong opinions, I would tend to think that you'd already have an answer to your question. Something doesn't fit quite right...... Why would they lie?????? Sorry moshie but i find some of your posts to be a lil' too personal and negative.... they posted an honest question.. don't need their integrity being brought into question.<_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hey, if one is gonna pose a question in a public forum, one must accept the results. Results, not Insults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 People have varying attitudes to wear, scratches etc on their guitars. I am a pretty enthusiastic player and do put a lot of wear on every guitar I own; scratches, dings, dents, finish clouding, heavy fret wear, divots you name it. I am resigned to the wear because it's nearly impossible to play the way I play and still keep the guitar pristine looking. Other folks styles, personal attitudes, scrupulous care, etc might lead them to another conclusion and doing things such as painting a few thin layers of clear finish over the guard, etc. I have no quarrel with that. To each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I guess its not too much of a concern for Glenn here .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I guess its not too much of a concern for Glenn here .. Mark, that picture is in the wrong thread. It belongs in the "why did you start playing guitar" thread. You gotta love the look in her eyes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Mark, that picture is in the wrong thread. It belongs in the "why did you start playing guitar" thread. You gotta love the look in her eyes.... Agreed That was such a great movie and I remember thinking when I watched it that I wondered how that hard strumming "acquired" sound hole affected the sound of the guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I guess its not too much of a concern for Glenn here .. It looks to me like she is thinking: "He really loves the new guitar I got him! Hope he doesn't notice that little hole in the front bit?" He is thinking: "What happened to the Gibson Doves-In-Flight I was getting?" BluesKing777. P.S. I thought DanvilleRob might have some tips about the Dove..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 One of the reasons one would buy a Hummingbird or a Dove is the beautiful pickguard. If I had one, I'd want to keep it in good shape. Yet, I strum a lot, as well as do fingerstyle. If I use a pick, I do strike the pickguard and all of my guitars have a scratched area on the pickguard. I could just play fingerstyle, assuming the guitar would play well in that style. Hmmm... or maybe alter the picking technique. Any thoughts on that? And for those who say, "just play it, don't have any concern for the looks, it just adds mojo."... well, I understand that but don't adhere to that philosophy. I take good care of my guitars and try to keep them nice. I do have an old J-50 that has wear on it but I bought it like that. Really?...You are serious aren't you?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyWheat Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Hmmm. Mine is a mid-2011 H'Bird and the pickguard is engraved and painted on the top, not the underside. I've had mine but a month now and it's already beginning to show some wearing of the paint where my pinky drags the edge of the guard. I don't have much problem with the pick striking the guard - it's called control. It comes down to the plane you move your hand (and thereby the pick) through when strumming. Strike the strings in a plane parallel to the guitar top and the pick does not strike the guard at all. Digging in hard with a whimpy pick in an attempt to generate tone and volume can lead to bad angles of attack, resulting in a guard under attack. But it is true that time will wear the fancy off the guards of the Hummingbird, Dove and others with paint. It's just the way it is. +10 This is EXACTLY right!. I have a few older guitars with nary a scratch on the pickguards because this principle of parallel planes is true. It also imparts a better sound to the guitar, whether it is acoustic or electric. That having been said, I have to agree with Moishe, who is seldom wrong in these matters: if you play the guitar, something is going to show the wear (plating, satin necks getting shiny, divots on fret crowns, saddle burrs, etc.). It's inevitable, so you had best just go with the flow and get used to it. J/W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Gittars are made to be played, not just looked at, or left laying in their cases. Play, use the things man, come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Gibson solved the problem with their latest Hummingbirds. The design on the pickguard is not on the top anymore like it used to be, it's either in or underneath the guard. No way to mess it up now. The Dove still has the design etched into the top, but I sure don't worry about wearing it away, the guitar is meant to be played. The Dove has three pieces of Mother Of Pearl inlayed into the pickguard. There is no way to inlay MOP into a rubber pickguard so I doubt you will have to worry about seeing that. Everyone was so upset about the engraved Hummingbirds wearing off Gibson decided to do something about it. They gave you just what you wanted a big piece of sticky rubber on the top of your fine guitar. Hmmmmm. They are using this Asian product on more of their guitars not just the Hummingbird. They found a supplier that makes them for a lot less and since everyone likes the "new" stuff you are going to get a lot more. Does it change the sound? It's a 1/4 inch slab of rubber what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 The Dove has three pieces of Mother Of Pearl inlayed into the pickguard. There is no way to inlay MOP into a rubber pickguard so I doubt you will have to worry about seeing that. Everyone was so upset about the engraved Hummingbirds wearing off Gibson decided to do something about it. They gave you just what you wanted a big piece of sticky rubber on the top of your fine guitar. Hmmmmm. They are using this Asian product on more of their guitars not just the Hummingbird. They found a supplier that makes them for a lot less and since everyone likes the "new" stuff you are going to get a lot more. Does it change the sound? It's a 1/4 inch slab of rubber what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I say let the fella buy the DIF model, get a glass case etc, have his own mini museum piece, what's the harm? I would only say buy it, install it, but don't use it, if you use it it will get scratched marked and ultimately tainted if you're looking to maintain perfection. Ornamental purpose or instrument purpose, I actually doubt Gibson cares, a 'commission that sold and is under warranty for the advised period' is probably the only consideration and let's be honest I bet Gibson would be happy to shift a ton of these as purely ornamental pieces... nifty business Everybody buys guitars for different reasons, I love the look of mine, the fact they sound good is the reason I bought and kept them, but the lure is first with the eyes, if they ain't a looker you're more likely to skip past. I'd say a sizeable percentage of Gibson sales were due to people looking for a sharp look with the right appointments and logo primarily, once in the 'owners' club the quest for tone comes along. That's why there's so many of us with multiple guitars.. The Hbird strummers, the L-00 pickers, the maple'ers and so on, once you buy in to the range of Gibson tones it can be a case of 'only a Gibson is good enough' for a lot of people. The power of the brand and all that.... We must remember, those Gibsons we're putting down in stores saying 'not the one' or 'not a good one' are still selling, so they're perfect for someone.. they probably think their opinion on tone is as valid as anybody's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 One thing you need to make your mind up about is whether these pieces of glued wood are objects/artifacts or instruments. When mint from the factory they are pretty much the first – simply very attractive things, items of great promise. But they are meant to be something more than that. These woods are thought to bring something divine into this world, something 'higher' than good looks. And as we know, music will only emerge if the strings are touched. Hereby the nature of the creation is brought to live - from there the real purpose begins. And yes, there will be scars and love-marks over time. They will show as evidence of what it cost to become an instrument. Did you ever see a beautiful woman who never was loved. Unbearable. . . Were you ever aware of the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Buy them to look at them, buy them to play them, buy them to smash them up in a music video, they're all just 'reasons', as a bunch of fans and players here it makes most sense for us to hear the old 'bought it, played it, still playing it after all these years and loving it' story, but for everyone of us who thinks it's something special as an instrument there's others for which it's an artwork, a prop, a few bits of wood glued together etc... Others reasons may conflict with our own, but c'est la vie an all that.... the profit from a sale of a guitar which would smashed to pieces as a statement is the same as the profit from the sale of our well loved instruments. Love, cherish and play your own but what others do with theirs, well, we just need to sit back and watch the show, I can't understand the notion that we should be some sort of Guardians of Gibson's output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 You're right as so often PM, but of course we know that the point of the OP is precisely that livemusic both appreciates his instruments as works of art and as producers of music, and just wants advice on how best to preserve the former quality while enjoying the latter. The two views conflict in him, and I'm pretty sure they conflict in all of us to some extent. PM and I get over this conflict to differing degrees by playing a Woody, which is so finished that you don't necessarily notice certain added scratches because there already are some things that look like them in the nitro when you get the guitar. In fact I keep finding scratches on mine that I can't possibly have put there (I don't flatpick diagonally forwards over the soundhole towards the forward lower bout), and that nobody else can have put there either. They must be part of the original panscrub and swirl effect. PM being a wise man plays his out a lot, and further gets over the conflict, and I bet his Woody still looks great with the dings. I'm a bit more reticent, because I want this guitar to last, but I still play the beast more than I look at it. This despite the fact that a 1940s-styled SJ is really a thing to behold, with or without VOS effects. I really do sympathize with livemusic, however, because where the Woody is meant to be a player first and a homely looker second - like the girl next door, the Bird and Dove are intended as stunning lookers and great players from the off. Worse, a good part of their beauty is in the guard which is also functionally very important given their reputation as strummers. I hope that a combination of the clear plastic tip and advice over alternative strumming techniques is a winner. I really don't think that livemusic wants to leave them as pure museum pieces, and nor do I think that they should spend their lives being fingerpicked. An SJ could carry that gig quite nicely, and mine will to a large extent, but any jumbo deserves a bit more, and even I need to give the Woody a thrashing with a pick sometimes - especially since my wife took up the mandolin and needs accompaniment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 As was sung in the past, the first cut is the deepest, after that, you get on with playing them as guitars. I do empathise though, I suppose he has to weigh up the options and decide which part of his attraction to the guitar is stronger, the playing or the showing. Yeah mojo, I use the woody for gigs, but I also Use the Keb Mo too, my singer plays it sometimes, I play it other times. As much as one of them is collectable, the other a std production, I bought them to play, just as I will gig the SJ-200TV as soon as the K&K is fitted. I'm quite happy for them to get played and pick the odd scars of life along the way, all part of the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Maybe put a 3M clear sheet over the Guard... something like what they use on front ends of cars.. then you have a Clear Protective coating over the etched guard.. For some reason, I am conjuring up an image my Great Aunt's house with those plastic slip covers slapped on all her furniture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 As was sung in the past, the first cut is the deepest, after that, you get on with playing them as guitars. I do empathise though, I suppose he has to weigh up the options and decide which part of his attraction to the guitar is stronger, the playing or the showing. Yeah mojo, I use the woody for gigs, but I also Use the Keb Mo too, my singer plays it sometimes, I play it other times. As much as one of them is collectable, the other a std production, I bought them to play, just as I will gig the SJ-200TV as soon as the K&K is fitted. I'm quite happy for them to get played and pick the odd scars of life along the way, all part of the ride. Well, I guess I bought mine with my previous go-to guitar in mind - a classical that I learned on from the age of about 9 or 10, which lived out of its (soft) case the majority of the time, fell over and was dropped any number of times, was heavily gigged with a plectrum as well as with fingers, and was still going strong until 2008. It would still be if it weren't for a machine head which fell off, several years after the fixing screw fell out of it. Not so worthwhile to replace machine heads on said classical as on a Gibby, I fear. Three-in-a-line like the Woody, so no minimalist fix, but no cheap replacements locally, and not worth the expense of sending out. Frets still not worn and no notable divots in the fingerboard, just all the paint from the board gone. Not exactly Trigger, but at least Silver. But that was a cheapo and it lasted over 20 years of pretty hard daily use. I want the Woody to become such a long-standing go-to guitar, but I'd rather it not have to be retired due to some sort of damage. I'd rather get to the point where it needs refretting than where it needs new machines due to vandalism by children unknown. And given the price, I really need it to last that long, so the soft case and diet of drops, falls and scrapes are definitely not part of my mojo accrual and amortization plan! Guitar for life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 For some reason, I am conjuring up an image my Great Aunt's house with those plastic slip covers slapped on all her furniture. Now I've got a vision of a Hummingbird with an antimacassar over its pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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