NGD 456CE-FLTD

[mavr]

Just received a new 12 stringer, 456CE-FLTD 

I just managed to open a box and to play it only briefly - had to return to the office :-(

On a brief inspection, the guitar setup seems to be perfect, gutar even came in tune,... woods seems to be nice, the only surprize for me is that there is no pickguard on that guitar (here http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/456ce-fltd Taylor shows pickguard supposed to be on that guitar). Attached is a bitmap showing the sticker inside the guitar, with serial number etc, where you may find all other details

I would appreciate if anyone could comment on 'missing' pickguard,... thank you!

[Strumming Fool]

Taylor will provide the pickguard at no cost to you. (If you like, you could order the PG of your choice- faux tortoise, black or clear.) If it were, me, I'd be thrilled. I have no need of pick guards on Taylors, and I think that they look great without them! Congrats on the new guitar. Please post pics!

[TaylorGirl]

Yes, I think the tortoise PG is standard (unless you order it w/o one) and probably should have been on the guitar. But, if it were me (just like Strumming Fool said), I would be excited that it came with no PG. Now you can decide what you want to do.....keep it that way, or go tortoise, black, clear, static cling, or even rosewood (I know the RW are for only the 800 series, but given they messed up, maybe they'd send you one of those....worth a try  ).

Don't forget to post pics when you get the chance....would love to see what she looks like.

Congratulations on your NGD!

[dgaemc2]

Congratulations on your new guitar mavr!!
I don't know whether or not it should have a pick guard, but I agree with others in that I would be just fine without one!

[JimW]

Congrats on a nice guitar. I have a 456CE SLTD and love it!

[michaelw]

the dealer may have ordered it without a pickguard -
in the past, some baritone 400 series LTDs did not have a pickguard, but
the spring 320e baritone does (black is standard on the 300 series) &
the 150e 12 string dreadnought also comes standard with a black 'guard

the faux tortoiseshell one is standard on the 400 series, although a clear,
or removable static, pickguard will allow all of the top wood to be displayed

congrats on the 456ceFLTD &
WELCOME ! ! !

[mavr]

Thank you very much for all your responses 

I am sorry for not yet posting any photos,... I am more busy playing the guitar than taking its photos,... but I will do it sometime this week, I promisse 

Regarding the pickguard, Taylor responded already that they are willing to send it to me free of charge,... so now I am deciding what would be nicer, black or red tortoise,... I know it would be better to ask such question once I show you some photos of the guitar,... OK, yes, I will do my best to take some photos this evening and post them,... and then ask you kindly again, if you believe I should continue using the guitar without pickguard, ... or what color pickguard should I request,...

All in all, the guitar is exrremely easy to play, very nice sounding,... and the electric output is also very good,... although, I guess for recording in studio, I will "mike" it,... acoustic guitar must be recorded acoustically, I believe :-)

Bye for now!

[JimW]

Tortoise!

[Strumming Fool]

Thank you very much for all your responses 

I am sorry for not yet posting any photos,... I am more busy playing the guitar than taking its photos,... but I will do it sometime this week, I promisse 

Regarding the pickguard, Taylor responded already that they are willing to send it to me free of charge,... so now I am deciding what would be nicer, black or red tortoise,... I know it would be better to ask such question once I show you some photos of the guitar,... OK, yes, I will do my best to take some photos this evening and post them,... and then ask you kindly again, if you believe I should continue using the guitar without pickguard, ... or what color pickguard should I request,...

All in all, the guitar is exrremely easy to play, very nice sounding,... and the electric output is also very good,... although, I guess for recording in studio, I will "mike" it,... acoustic guitar must be recorded acoustically, I believe :-)

Bye for now!

For me it would be no pickguard, as I believe that Taylor's finish stands up quite well to strumming and I like the look of no pickguard - none of the Taylors in my signature have a pickguard. With that said, I'd go for a clear pickguard if you are concerned about protecting the finish - it's the next best thing IMO...

[mgap]

The GS Mini does look nice with out the pick guard.  The finish(as Strumming Fool indicated)stands up very well.  However, my vote would be tortoise shell if you get one for it.

[michaelw]

the gloss finish on the current 400s is pretty durable (gloss 6.0), especially
on a sitka top, so with a little care, a 'guard is more of an aesthetic option, imho -
on a mini, baby or big baby, without any grain filler & a barely there matte varnish 2.0 ...

i think this looks pretty , but others may not feel "the mojo" quite as much
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=326437

[mavr]

OK, here we go, here are some photos of my lovely 12-stringer without pickuard,... :-)

[mavr]

batch 2 

[mavr]

and one more batch,... 

[michaelw]

OK, here we go, here are some photos of my lovely 12-stringer without pickguard,... :-)

very nice

congrats
i think it looks fine enough to leave it as it is

i stopped by the local shop today & saw/played a
416ceSLTD with a top that had a sort of similar grain pattern -
i thought it looked much better without the pickguard

ironically, the jpg resize app i use took 416ms to downsize it

thanks for sharing the pics