Pickguard, on or off?

What do you prefer?

  • Total voters
    22
Gahr

Gahr

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I know people have differing views on what looks best on a Lester when it comes to leaving the pickguard on or pulling it off. I'm kind of in two minds about it. Generally I prefer the pickguard off on bursts, but when it comes to goldtops I have a tendency to prefer the guitars with the guard left on.

But being easily influenced by my heroes, I have lately kind of taken to Duane Allman's pickguardless goldtop. So the question is: Do I leave the pickguard on or do I pull it off?

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Tough one for this particular guitar. I have been going through the same debate in my head with my Goltop and black RI LPs. I have taken the PG off all my other LPs without hestiation, but for the Goldtop, I think it works. I vote on.
 
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I have an Ovation acoustic. No pick guard. My opinion about that is it’d just look dumb with one. I like it without. That said. In your case. On.
 
RVA said:
And top wrapped with a Nashville bridge. Now that is style! In an effort not to derail, I am going to start a top-wrap thread!
Click to expand...

It looks 'right' with the pickguard.

I never liked top wrapping, but to each their own. Joe B's tech slides an old string ferrule down the new string so the wrap is not bent when top wrapping and Phil X top wraps only the "g" string, so everyone has a method.

I personally love the Faber TP-59 locking aluminum tailpiece with height adjustable shims. I install a lot of them...
 
Pickguard on all the way for looks. But, I'd do it based on how it feels when you play. Does it feel more comfortable on or off type thing...
 
I voted: Pickguard off... To me, the Les Paul pick guard just looks dorky,
because it was supposed to be avant guarde in like 1951. Advanced jet fighter aircraft
of that day and age flew on wings like that. So it was a guitar for the "jet age..."
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American cars made five or six years later began to have tail fins for the same
reason, and they look dorky too, in hindsight.
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Contemporary with "Danish Moderne" furniture styling. *laughs... You're a Norwegian,
...what do you think of "Danish Modern" styles, eh? They look pretty old fashioned now.

Anyway, all that stuff is retro, including Les Paul's music and the Les Paul guitar.
Even my favorite SGs are retro, but they still look radical to me. Les Paul guitars
and SGs look retro, but they are so adaptable that we can play music from any age on them,
and that's why they are still a viable design. Guys buy them because they sound so good.
NOT because the delta wing pick guard looks so cool and advanced, as it once did.

Now, in the 21st century, we are free from iron clad stylistic rulings... so we are free to
go unguarded, which I think you should do. Take it off, baby...
 
LPs and their single cut design looks proper with the pickguard to offset the upper bass-side bout with the 3-way selector and it's poker chip. Another thing you could try, but it would be a hassle, is remove the poker chip with the absent pickguard and see if it's interesting to you. But I prefer Old School... :cheers:
 
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