Clear Pickguard, or not ...thoughts?

[Edward]

Yeah, I've been chided, I have to post pics of my NGD, a custom DN BTO'd by someone clearly crazy .

But let me ask you all this question: if you just got a seriously pretty (and blingy) taylor that does not have a pickguard, would you keep it as is, or have a clear one installed?  I am torn as:
1. I play my guitars and while I care for them, I never obsess over player's wear.  Marks are sings of love and use for me.
2. While the above describes me accurately, this guitar is pretty dang blingy and a part of me says "put on a pickguard you dork!" 
3. Either way, it will still get played with abandon.

Please help with your thoughts!   (yeah, yeah, I'll get pics, I promise

Edward

[rudals1281]

Couple months ago, I got a 2011 916ce brand new (sold it within two weeks though) and as you know it does not come with a pickguard. This was a big problem for me 'cus I WAS a reckless strummer, to the point that I'd wear our guitar tops. So naturally, one of the first things I started looking for was pickguards. Clear ones. Permanent and static ones. I asked questions on a forum and people were 50/50 on whether it was good or bad. I finally said, no pickguard, I'll just change my strumming technique. It was more focused and a less floppy. I played and performed with that 916ce until I sold it and had no pick marks on it. Anyways, just to give you an idea, here is what people were saying in simple form:

Permanent pick guards - affects sound; no it doesn't affect sound
static pick guards - bad for the finish; it doesn't affect the finish

[Guitar Rodeo]

I get to answer this question a lot. If you are a player who scratches your guitars, you need a pick guard. If you are not, or don't know, keep your options open. The UV finish on the upper end Taylor's is really, really, durable. If you start out without a pick guard and start to notice those light pick scratches below the strings, you can install a pick guard after market. Contact your dealer or find one on the Taylor Ware site and install it or have your luthier install it. The light scratches can be buffed away when this happens and there you go... If you are a player who scratches your guitars but wishes you didn't, revise your technique so the strum arc is parallel with the face of the guitar. Proper technique will get you every ounce of volume and projection without coming in contact with the top, just as rudals1281 did in the reply above. Just say "no" to scratching your guitar.....

[DennisG]

A lot of people on forums say that the polyurethane coating is so durable that no pick guard is necessary.  I don't buy it, so I put a clear pick guard on my BTO.  An ounce of prevention ...

[cjd-player]

For my tastes, if it is a standard spruce top I would go with the pick guard.  If it is a sunburst, or a particularly pretty spruce top, perhaps adirondack, englemann, bearclaw, sinker redwood, etc.,  I would go for the clear guard.

I have thin clear guards that I made and put on two of mine.  See frets.com about making clear pick guards from office supply sheet protectors.   

[Iplay2]

I kind of like the wear that happens from years of playing a guitar.  My poor old 710 has some heavy wear around the sound hole and below my pickguard on the body.  I just think of it as battle scars.  I guess that means I also have poor technique....I guess that is another issue with my playing skills. 
The problem is, now that i have my new 614ce with a honeyburst on the top, I'm not so sure I want to mess it up.  I have a removable gaurd I am using at the moment. 

[Saxacat]

The Taylor reusable pickguard sounds like a decent compromise.

I'm hoping to try one out when they come in stock over my way.

[jjrpilot-admin]

A lot of people on forums say that the polyurethane coating is so durable that no pick guard is necessary.  I don't buy it, so I put a clear pick guard on my BTO.  An ounce of prevention ...

Exactly!  I put a clear, removable static one on my GS...put it on when I know that I'll be strumming hard etc.

[rudals1281]

No pickguard = ...

[Iplay2]

Semi-related - just wondering if the pickguards for 814ces are removable if I got a luthier to do it? Or is it a bad idea to ask a luthier to remove it? Thanks. I personally don't need a pickguard and think it looks awkward so am thinking about removing it but I'm not sure whether it's something I should be considering as I know nothing about the safety of removing pickguards.

You can do it yourself with a bit of patients and a hair dryer.  I would caution that if the guitar has had a pickgaurd on it for a very long time, pretty much anything over a year, you will likely have a tan line around the area where the pickgaurd used to be.  The top wood darkens over time due to UV rays, and the wood where the guard used to be will be lighter. 

[michaelw]

if it were me, i'd go with the static removable guard that Josh suggested -
the permanent clear guard is very thin & if one's strumming attack is such to
where it will leave scratches, the permanent guard will show those quite easily

the static guard is thicker, offering more protection, can be removed as desired &
easily replaced if/when it gets to the point to where it looks a little too 'scratchy'

[forhim]

I think I have a static pick guard I can send you if you want to try one...

It's for a GA body

PM me and let me know!

[Scriptor]

Semi-related - just wondering if the pickguards for 814ces are removable if I got a luthier to do it? Or is it a bad idea to ask a luthier to remove it?

You can do it yourself with a bit of patients and a hair dryer.  I would caution that if the guitar has had a pickgaurd on it for a very long time, pretty much anything over a year, you will likely have a tan line around the area where the pickgaurd used to be.  The top wood darkens over time due to UV rays, and the wood where the guard used to be will be lighter.

I've removed 2 pickguards from Taylor's ... not hard but patience is key ... you can find some youtube videos showing how it's done ...

On one guitar there were absolutely no tan lines ... it was only a few months old ... the 2nd had been in the shop for at least 9 months and it has a very slight tan line ... so from my experience, if it has a Spruce top and it's been in the shop for more than a few months, you will likely have at least a faint tan line ... anything more than a year and it will be pretty noticeable ...

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

if it were me, i'd go with the static removable guard that Josh suggested -
the permanent clear guard is very thin & if one's strumming attack is such to
where it will leave scratches, the permanent guard will show those quite easily

the static guard is thicker, offering more protection, can be removed as desired &
easily replaced if/when it gets to the point to where it looks a little too 'scratchy'

I'm with Michael on this, order a clear removable pickguard for your BTO. I keep one handy to use on custom guitars being played in the store.

[cotten]

My 2000 914c came without a pickguard. It was the first nice guitar I'd ever owned, and I was terrified of ripping the beautiful Englemann top with my pick. I played nothing but fingerstyle until the static cling pickguard came in. I slapped it on there, and didn't worry too much about trying to get all the bubbles out from underneath it. I felt more comfortable with it on there, and I used it confidently for a few months.

Ah, but there came a day when I forgot to put it on, a day when I had to do a LOT of strumming! Only afterward did I realize that I had not put the pickguard on. I expected to see a lot of pick scratch. Wrong. Nothing! Not a one! I asked a friend there who plays well, and he pointed out that my strum is mostly with a rotation of the wrist, not a full swing of the forearm from the elbow. He was right, and today I hardly ever use that "portable" pickguard any more. I've played that guitar regularly for over ten years, and though it's gathered a small number of minor dings, it still has no pick scratches.

That said, on my AGF Award McKnight MiniMac, there is a clear, "permanent" pickguard. If I were ordering a BTO 914c today, I'd get the clear, just in case.

cotten