Pickguard, or not?

[Marc]

Being a guitarist caring about the soundquality of my guitars, I don't have pickguards on my guitar.
I have had guitars (cedar-top) that had actual playwear-holes in them.
Remarkably, this hole had less negative influence on the sound of the guitar than the original pickguard.
I find it strange that we buy expensive guitars with ongoing innovative improvement (bracing, relief-rout) but stick a piece of stiff and rigid plastic on it, not to damage them.
Am I the only one?

[catan]

Hm...can you describe this negative sound a pickguard adds to the guitar?

[Marc]

I'll give it a try.
The difference between a "relief-routed" and "not relief-routed" guitar, but more subtle then that and more audible in the mid-range.
The best way to hear what it does, is to try a Gibson Everly Brothers J-200 and a normal J-200, without the dual pickguards. (That's what triggered me, a long time ago.)

"Negative" is subjective, I know.

[Jersey tuning]

Wonder if the bracing pattern takes into consideration the pickguard

[Marc]

I believe that most guitar brands use identical pickguardmodels on most of their guitars, I doubt it ...

[Martin R.]

I just really like the way pickguards look, and, being a strummer, I find them useful regarding their function. The compromise in sound exists, though in my guitar experience it´s not relevant since it´s almost intangible.

 

[MexicoMike]

You'd have to work REALLY hard to hear a difference between a guitar with/without a normal pick guard and frankly, I don't think you can hear it at all in a blind test.  Consider also that you would have to compare the same instrument with/without, not one guitar with and another guitar of the same model without.

I would not have a guitar without a pick guard but depending on your playing style, you might not need one at all.  If you want a pick guard but don't like the look, you can use clear material as they do on most flamenco guitars and have the protection but still see the wood.

That's what I did when I bought a Taylor GS5 12 string which came with no pickguard.  BUT, after many months, turns out I don't like the no-pickguard look at all and will order a standard Taylor pick guard for it.

[michaelw]

the pickguards Taylor uses are relative thin, especially when compared
to some of the larger, multi-ply ones that other builders have used -
there are some that feel that abalone top purfling may have an effect
on a guitar's tone, but to me it seems it would be more of a "reverse"
relief rout, if the channel for the purfling extends past the kerfing
edge & the rout is on the outside of the top, rather than the inside

UV cured polyester finish is more durable & more tolerant of temperature & humidity changes.
in general,  than nitrocellulose lacquer, so it may take a little more to wear through UV finish -
i've yet to see a guitar that has a hole worn through a non-wood pickguard, but anything's possible

a pickguard would not have "saved" these, but then the mojo wouldn't be the same either -
trigger

"the horse"

[mikeguywest]

I think it depends on the thickness of the guard. Most of us wouldn't be able to tell the difference. If it were that big of a deal I don't think so many of the performers who have them would keep them. I prefer no pick guard, even though I'm an aggressive strummer (I don't beat the strings, just strum them good), mainly because I like the sans guard look more. I would imagine two thick pickguards would make some difference.

[Earl]

My best guitar is a 2006 GS koa/spruce.  It has no pickguard, and I really like that look.  I mostly play it fingerstyle (slack-key and ragtime / country blues).  However, sometimes I like to strum it too.  My strum technique is pretty good about not scratching the top, as most of my existing pickguards have few scratches on them.  But this koa guitar is in near-mint condition so I always feel like I should put a clear pickguard on it for protection, just in case.  I even had a teardrop shaped clear one for a while but never actually installed it, instead gave it to a friend who needed one.  I am less worried about changing the tone than I am protecting the top from an errant strum stroke.  And NO ONE else gets to play this guitar without a pickguard, period.

I have heard of but have not seriously investigated the static cling type of removable pickguards.  Any thoughts there?

[Edward]

The sonic difference betwen most run-of-the-mill pickguards is arguably indistinguishible.  "Arguably" because perhaps one person in a room of 50 could maybe tell the diff in a blind test, but then again, who else would care

The use or not of a pg for most folks really is either functional (because your style will mar the finish), or aesthetic.

Then again, the Gibby hummingbird, let alone the double pickguard on some of their models, are humongous!  With that much plastic solidly connected to so much real estate of the soundboard I'd not be surprised to hear that there are folks who have a sonic preference.  That said, having a pickguard on such a guitar may just well be part of that guitar's sonic signature.

In all, to each his own.  But to suggest that all pickguards detrmentally affect a guitar's voice is, IMHO, a gross gereralization.

Edward

[Tarekith]

I think Taylors have some of the nicest looking pickguards for acoustic guitars, I was impressed with the modern shape when I bought my 814.  That said, taking it off was one of the first things I did, for aesthetic reasons.

I'm a mastering engineering in my day job, so I was really curious if I could hear a difference in tone with it removed.  Did a lot of very careful listening before and after and for me there was no difference unless my pick hit the body of the guitar   I was kind of hoping there would be, just to satisfy my curiousity, but it sounds the same to me.

[azslacker]

I took the faux tortoise PG off of my hog top mini because I didn't like the color against the top wood. Turned out that I had a pronounced tan line so I ordered one of those solid wood ones from an e-bay seller. I played the guitar for a while, then stuck on the PG and played it again. No noticable difference in sound. The PG is solid walnut and close to 1/8" thick.

[jjrpilot-admin]

My best guitar is a 2006 GS koa/spruce.  It has no pickguard, and I really like that look.  I mostly play it fingerstyle (slack-key and ragtime / country blues).  However, sometimes I like to strum it too.  My strum technique is pretty good about not scratching the top, as most of my existing pickguards have few scratches on them.  But this koa guitar is in near-mint condition so I always feel like I should put a clear pickguard on it for protection, just in case.  I even had a teardrop shaped clear one for a while but never actually installed it, instead gave it to a friend who needed one.  I am less worried about changing the tone than I am protecting the top from an errant strum stroke.  And NO ONE else gets to play this guitar without a pickguard, period.

I have heard of but have not seriously investigated the static cling type of removable pickguards.  Any thoughts there?

Hi Earl, I've had GREAT success with the Taylor static cling pick guard.  Use it for strumming and when I'm done I peel it off and put it away.  It's the best of both worlds. 

[lmacmil]

I have heard of but have not seriously investigated the static cling type of removable pickguards.  Any thoughts there?

Hi Earl, I've had GREAT success with the Taylor static cling pick guard.  Use it for strumming and when I'm done I peel it off and put it away.  It's the best of both worlds. 

That's what I use on my GA3.  I bought a generic one on Ebay and cut it into the Taylor shape (more or less).  Since it's barely visible, I doubt anyone notices that it's not the exact Taylor shape.  I only use mine at open mics when I play most enthusiastically.