es-175 pickguard

[NeillonGuitar]

Hi all,

I am wondering about the pickguard on a 175 - where it overlaps the bridge pickup plastic bracket. Is there supposed to be anyway of attaching that? Mine keeps popping up that little bit - not a show-stopper, but annoying. When I press it back down, strong playing tends to make it vibrate a little bit.
Just thinking, because it is so securely screwed in near the neck and on the side bracket.

NL

[oldane]

It's only supposed to be fastened to the neck and the bracket. However, I got annoyed by the wobbling of the pickguard when it rested my fingers on it, so I simply glued a piece of a bottle cork to the back side of the pickguard, so it rests on the bridge pickup ring via the cork. That was 30 years ago, and the cork is still in place there. It may be safe to conclude that a cork lasts longer than the contents of a bottle. If it has to tuch the finish of a guitar, a piece of thick felt may be better (some luthiers use that). I don't know how cork will react with nitrocellulose laquer in the long run.

[Cooperro]

I had issues with my L5 pickguard, so I took it off!. I was never more pleased - I love the look without the pickguard. The strings are far enough away from the body that there's very little chance for pick scratches.

Costs nothing to try, and takes less then a minute to unscrew it.

[NeillonGuitar]

Thanks for those thoughts - I will give it a quick try without the pickguard, but I think I try the cork or something similar after that.
I just needed reassurance also; my first es-175 and I was wondering if that was the standard way of it being attached.

Cheers,

NL

[Tom Karol]

I like my pickguard to be flush with the surface of the pickup mounting rings, so I took a self-stick neoprene donut pad thingy about the size of a quarter (I just happened to have it in a drawer) and attached it to the underside of the pickguard near the strings about 1/3 of the way from the bridge pickup to the neck pickup. The pickguard is exactly at the right height (for me) and never moves.

[gtr_5155]

All of the above solutions are valid,and easy to do,but being an anal type I always over complicate things.
Early on I was informed of the difference between a pickguard and a finger rest.According to the late Jimmy D. "Pickguards are for cowboy guitars." Archtops do not really require a pickguard due to the distance of the strings to the fall-away of the arched body.335,etc.,players tend to rest the side of their hand on the bridge,and don'tcontact the pickguard.175 players usually prefer to elevate their hand by using their fingers to elevate their hand,hence the "finger rest".This ex[plains the difference in mounting tecniques.335 guards are cut around the pickup mounting rings and sit lower than a 175 guard,which is made to rest atop the mounting rings.Setting up this type requres that the mounting screw at the neck be spaced properly.I lat the "finger rest on top of the mounting rings and then cut a proper length spacer from the body of a cheap Bic pen.This assures that tightening this screw will not pull up the bridge end.Use a small felt spacer,such as found on a strap button to protect the finish.There will usually be some discrepancy between the mounting ring heights,so I use some type of semi soft material on the underside to even this out.Bend the bracket at an angle that will apply some downforce to the finger rest to the top of the bridge pickup mounting ring.On 335 type guitars a simple bumper under the bridge end will save you from the distracting wiggle.