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J45 Pick guards


chasAK

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Hello all! I've been hanging around some but notcontributing much. I wish I could say I've been busy playing more, but that'snot necessarily so. Also, one of my busy times is here! What is the evolution of pick guards on the j45? I like, what I call, the batwing pick guard (like on some of the Southern Jumbos) and have thought about replacing mine. Recently someone posted a picture of theirs and it started me thinking again. I have two concerns. One, I what to keep my MCJ45 somewhat historically accurate. I understand it already has problems! The batwinged j45s I have seen are from the 60s have the adjustable bridges. Mysecond problem is that I do not want one of those super think pick guards. The one on my old j160 was even screwed on!! I like the thickness of the tear drop on my j45. I also like the sound of my j45 and do not want to change it.

 

chasAK

 

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exactly what I did to my 2005 HC J-45. Ordered the pickguard from terrapinguitars. Guard is as thick as the original and I did not notice any difference in sound after installing the bigger guard.

 

IMG_0108.jpg

 

nice job johnny , no bother from terrapin ? i take it you're UK based by the time of your post ?

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BBG I've checked back email (took a while to find) but both mine came from Terrapin, not UK based as I'd thought, and postage was only a few quid, no customs check because the value was low either. I got both guard for just over 20 euro. plus P&P.

 

cheers PM , seems to be the best place to order from , the way its set up seems like i'm likely to pick the right size etc ... i was thinkin firestripe but it would apear that theyre a bit much sunburst cant be seen through them at all from looking at google images , tortoise shell i reckon , just like it is only bigger

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cheers PM , seems to be the best place to order from , the way its set up seems like i'm likely to pick the right size etc ... i was thinkin firestripe but it would apear that theyre a bit much sunburst cant be seen through them at all from looking at google images , tortoise shell i reckon , just like it is only bigger

 

Yeah I ordered the plain jane job, it came perfectly radiused to sit outside the rosette, lined up beautifully and the whole thing was a 20 minute operation to get the old one off, clean up, apply the new one. A no-brainer mate... if you fancy I'd say go for it.

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good to know , hairdryer would scare me near the laquer , thought the dental floss soaked in fluid was a good idea ...

cool , if i do it i'll video it and you can all watch a perfectly good guitar get fecked or changed ... either way it'll be interestin...

 

have to get the thing sent across the world first so dont be holding yer breaths

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good to know , hairdryer would scare me near the laquer , thought the dental floss soaked in fluid was a good idea ...

cool , if i do it i'll video it and you can all watch a perfectly good guitar get fecked or changed ... either way it'll be interestin...

 

have to get the thing sent across the world first so dont be holding yer breaths

 

So funny BBG - my workmates think i've lost the plot laughing by myself lol

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The large pointy .025 thick "batwing" pickguards showed up on J-45s and other guitars in 1955. This remained the style for alot of years although they grew to be about three times as thick in 1963. Later in the 1960s Gibson started slapping white screwed on pickguards with the "Gibson" name on guitars.

 

And I can highly recommend Terrapin for pickgurads.

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Has anyone else seen the 'printed pickguard'? I have a teardrop pickguard, and when you examine it with magnification, you can see that it's a printed image on plastic! I examined it with a loupe and a magnifying glass, and you can see little squares, i.e., 'pixellated'.

 

Never saw that before.

 

Fred

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Has anyone else seen the 'printed pickguard'? I have a teardrop pickguard, and when you examine it with magnification, you can see that it's a printed image on plastic! I examined it with a loupe and a magnifying glass, and you can see little squares, i.e., 'pixellated'.

 

Never saw that before.

 

Fred

 

 

Not celluloid, then?

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I did this very job on day 1 of having my J-45... never looked back. This replacement guard is thinner than the factory one that came as stock.

 

4B924D20-7E3A-4582-86DE-EF367A2AED97-3163-000003482CB0BE10.jpg

 

167BAD25-E706-4F21-95E5-532553DC502C-3163-00000348322862AF.jpg

 

 

Funny, I have been thinking about the same change, ever since you posted these pics a few days ago, PM. The black looks great.

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why didnt we all just buy a feckin southern jumbo

 

Haha, true... I much prefer the SJ inlays too. The J-45 was a replacement for the Woody, after being messed about by Thomann and finally helped out by Gibson themselves I settled on the J-45 offered as a replacement, I was on a short time-frame between gigs and I'd already waited months. It's a cool guitar but I did like the inlays on the Woody neck. I'd say I preferred those inlays to those on my SJ-200TV. SJ/Woody/Hummingbird is by far my favourite inlay configuration Gibson do.

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Why didn't we all buy Southern Jumbos? There wasn't one locally available at the time. Thanks for the information and pics. After the Christmas financial crunch I will order one! Nick, nice line up, is that one of those new Sheryl Crow Jumbos? Little Johnny, you have IMO the perfect dual!! Mid to late 50's appointment works for me. Again thanks for the response and PM for getting us started on this. If I disappear again for a while, Merry Christmas to all and be mindful of the Saviour.

 

chasAK

 

 

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