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To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 10:13 am
by FlyingVFanatic
Well, i was messing about with my Les Paul Jr, taking the pickguard off cause, i wanted to. Anyway, I was wondering, what do you lot prefer on a guitar? Pickguard, or none? I know there are inbetween points, like an SG with a small guard, and that it changes with guitars but, hey, im just interested :D

For me anyway, i like my LP with its guard on for now, and the big full face 67 style pickguard on my V. Not a fan of the 58 style small guard, nor the guardless V...

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 4:53 pm
by dubkitty
depends on the design and the wood grain. if you've got a really pretty slab of mahogany it's a shame to put a big ol' batwing guard like a late 60s SG or a full Strat guard on it. sometimes it really bothers me when i see a beautiful solid body on the Warmoth site that will lose much of its beauty after routing for, say, Strat PUs and tremolo.

i generally keep the guards on my guitars because i can get a little excited and overzealous when strumming. i prefer Les Pauls without guards because the guard interferes with the lines of the body design but have left the guard on mine because WHACK WHAP BRAAAAAAAAANG, and i quite like exotic wood Tele or Strat bodies with a back-loading control rout.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:10 pm
by Greenfuz
always a pickguard except for on carved top les pauls

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:36 pm
by FlyingVFanatic
Mmm i get what you mean about the grain of the wood.... I love seeing the grain on my faded V, but it looks so good with that pickguard.... Thankfully theres plenty of wood sticking out on the wings! :joy:

IMAG0171.jpg


Im starting to think the junior looks cool minus pickguard though.... cant decide....

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:15 pm
by hollowhero
fenders always need pickguards. gibsons need a case-by-case assessment

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:55 pm
by dubkitty
hollowhero wrote:fenders always need pickguards. gibsons need a case-by-case assessment


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what-you-did-there-i-see-it-pelican.jpg (48.54 KiB) Viewed 2506 times

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:21 am
by Mudfuzz
FlyingVFanatic wrote:Mmm i get what you mean about the grain of the wood.... I love seeing the grain on my faded V, but it looks so good with that pickguard.... Thankfully theres plenty of wood sticking out on the wings! :joy:

IMAG0171.jpg


Im starting to think the junior looks cool minus pickguard though.... cant decide....

that look better without, I've always disliked the jr guard

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:04 am
by colin
I prefer it with the pickguard, just looks like there's something missing with it gone.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:08 am
by Greenfuz
it looks naked

sorry but I only like double cut jrs

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:19 am
by dubkitty
i like the Junior without the pickguard. i don't think i could get used to it on my Special, though.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:21 pm
by Ghost Hip
I love the jr. pickguards haha. I mostly like pickguards. Although certain carved top les pauls look good without them.

I need to paint the pickguard on my crestwood, its mostly white, but there is a portion between the two pickups they left clear... :?: :idk:

image.jpg


WHY. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS EPIPHONE.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:03 pm
by greyscales
I always pickguard.

And the LPJr looks kind of naked without it IMO.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:30 pm
by FlyingVFanatic
I've decided i prefer it with pickguard.... I'll need to find another way to make it my own..... Im thinking jaegermeister stickers :D I hate leaving guitars stock....

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 2:40 pm
by tim
I also always pickguard. Guitars sans pickguard always seem like they belong to someone who frequents TGP for some reason.

Re: To pickguard or not to pickguard...

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:55 pm
by AngryGoldfish
Here is a good example of one of, in my opinion, the coolest looking modern guitars that was ALMOST ruined by removing the scratchplate and why I love pickguards so much, except on guitars with figured tops.

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