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I want to get two pickguards.
The first is a 1920s dot neck L5 pickguard. That's the short one, not the long one. I want it to be extremely high quality and preferably the handiwork of a luthier. I emailed Chris Mirabella but never heard from him. Who else do you recommend?
The second is for a mid 40s Epiphone Deluxe. Obviously I want quality but it doesn't need to be Mirabella. I am leaning toward Joe V but curious to know if people have any other recommendations.
Thanks!
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02-03-2022 05:00 PM
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the problem isn't necessarily finding a high quality guard w/good mitre joints but getting correct tortoise plastic
there was someone that had decent striped Epiphone plastic but I can't remember who.
you might try Fox guitars for the L-5.
Gibson L-5 1924-1929 TruVintage guitar pickguard celluloid tortoise w/ aged binding | fox-guitars.com
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p.s. our own deacon Mark and Fws6 can make a high quality guard but you might have to supply the plastic
p.s.s. I'm not sure if Fws6 is making them anymore, just PM him on the forum
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I can let you know about quality soon, since a pickguard I ordered for an Epiphone just shipped. Chandler Music, aka Pickguard Planet, offers tortoise and black pickguards for many models. Mine was reasonably priced, since it's just plain without binding, which is what my guitar originally came with. They may not have what you want, but maybe it's worth a quick look.
https://www.pickguardplanet.com/our-work
I would emphasize again, I don't really know how good their products are, since I haven't received mine yet, and I'm not that worried about details, since it's a bottom of the line guitar anyway.
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Wow. $329, that's more than Joe V. I once ordered a guard from fox about 4 years ago and it was made of cheap materials and came at a cheap price. Do you know if they upgraded materials or is the price adjustment just a response to demand?
Originally Posted by wintermoon
For the record, I do like Joe V's guards a lot but I have had some mixed experiences. I had one on an Epiphone Triumph that was just perfect, and the binding was beautifully aged, and I've also gotten a relatively flimsy one from him with fairly lazy binding work.
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Also, what makes for high quality tortoise plastic? Any sources? Stewmac seems to carry a lot. Another option is to get some blanks and have a local (or non-local) luthier do it.
(Deacon Mark, you around? Any interest in a pickguard project? I'll DM you.)
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Try Leroy Aiello, who did the work for Mandolin Bros. for years and has his own shop.
Welcome to AielloGuitars.com
No idea what he charges.
And check your PM.
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I don't see anything really good regarding swirl pattern/color on the NW dealers site
the L-5 guard pictured apparently is only available in the Epi material they have, which isn't close to the orig
but if you're more interested in the quality of build and don't care as much about color/pattern you'll have options
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I can make them depends on need. Getting tortoise in correct color is impossible but can get it places. The cost is in the number of binding layers. Getting binding aging I can’t do other than do cream color not white.
Making a 7-9 layer Dangelico stair step pick is much harder. I can but those get expensive fast. PM me.
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Home | Pickguardian
This guy did a good job for me on a more contemporary Gibson so I don't know if he will work out. Worth a little research though.
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As preface to the following story, I have not yet received the pickguard that I ordered from Quick Guards Custom Pickguards, so I can’t yet attest to the quality of the work but I will provide the link to the website for you to checkout. So, here’s the story about the pickguard that I’ve ordered. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
About 3 months ago I was browsing Reverb and came across a listing for a 1978 Aria Pro II PE-175 Herb Ellis. It appeared to be in great shape, however, sometime over its 44-year history someone had replaced the original “H.E.” monogramed pickguard with a cheap, plain black plastic guard. Despite the replacement pickguard I decided to buy it before it ended up in someone else’s cart.
After a few minor tweaks and a new set of D’Addario chromes the guitar was good to go but the replacement pickguard bothered me. I scoured the web for a few weeks on the off-chance that I might find a used, original “H.E.” monogrammed pickguard for sale but wasn’t surprised when that turned out to be a futile effort, so I started looking for someone to make a repro pickguard for me that would match the original design. That’s when I came across Mike Quick at Quick Guards.
So far, Mike and I have traded a whole bunch of texts and emails about what I was looking for and we have created a template to reproduce the original pickguard. At the moment I’m still a few weeks away from receiving the final product so the best I can do is suggest that you have a look at the website and get in touch with Mike about what you want.
I hope this helps.
Andrew
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On instagram I recently came across 1929pickguards, and thought they looked pretty nice. I don't have any personal experiences with them though.
1929 Pickguards
Paul
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For tortoiseshell pickguards, you might try Spitfire. They specialise in tortoiseshell pickguards. They are well-known and highly regarded for their guards for Fenders (Jag and JM players love them) but they will do custom work.
Link: 10 Frequently Asked Questions |
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The OP doesn't mention it has to be plastic or celluloid so I'll toss in my 2 cents.
My LH650 came with a so-called custom pickguard in a horrible yellow/orange/brown faux tortoise. The only thing good about is is that it's thin. Anyway, my plan has always been to replace it, with something less gaudy and preferably smaller so more (possibly all) of the f-hole is exposed. I talked this through with the luthier (Chris) who did the set-up last weekend, and he suggested wood. I'd considered that myself, even contacted Dowina to know if they could cut me something from a remaining bit of nice scrap wood but then realised it might become too thick and get in the way of fingerpicking. Chris meant a laminate and showed my some nice ash tinted almost black; his idea is to sandwich a strip of maple between 2 layers of that ash and then taper the edge so you get an impression of a double binding aka purfing. This should be barely thicker than the plastic PG currently on the instrument, and it should look a lot better.
I didn't ask for the price, but he took 90€ for the set-up, which too almost 4 hours of his sunday afternoon. After seeing the prices above I may want to inquire before going ahead
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nice guy if something took 4 hours of my afternoon it would need to cost $250 in us money to make a go it. Originally Posted by RJVB
The OP doesn't mention it has to be plastic or celluloid so I'll toss in my 2 cents.
My LH650 came with a so-called custom pickguard in a horrible yellow/orange/brown faux tortoise. The only thing good about is is that it's thin. Anyway, my plan has always been to replace it, with something less gaudy and preferably smaller so more (possibly all) of the f-hole is exposed. I talked this through with the luthier (Chris) who did the set-up last weekend, and he suggested wood. I'd considered that myself, even contacted Dowina to know if they could cut me something from a remaining bit of nice scrap wood but then realised it might become too thick and get in the way of fingerpicking. Chris meant a laminate and showed my some nice ash tinted almost black; his idea is to sandwich a strip of maple between 2 layers of that ash and then taper the edge so you get an impression of a double binding aka purfing. This should be barely thicker than the plastic PG currently on the instrument, and it should look a lot better.
I didn't ask for the price, but he took 90€ for the set-up, which too almost 4 hours of his sunday afternoon. After seeing the prices above I may want to inquire before going ahead
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Nick Bachman from 1929 Pickguards, as mentioned above by Webby, has been making a lot of nice guards lately, including McCarty pickup/pickguard reproductions. I have been following him for quite a while. He is really into Epiphones himself and is quite active on Facebook Epi groups.
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i havent got a workspace anymore . Got all the equipment stored so Maybe when I retire Originally Posted by wintermoon
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He actually even told me to pay him what I wanted. I didn't want to do that so I held out the bills I had with me (we'd agreed on how much cash I should have with me). Originally Posted by deacon Mark
I reckon this might be because it was my 1st visit, and maybe because I assisted. I didn't tell him I was a biker too until afterwards so that can't be it
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I got one from Cris Mirabella many years ago. Not cheap ($250-350 IIRC) but very nicely made. Triple bound, period-correct tortoiseshell coloration, not flimsy. IDK whether he still does that kind of work but you could ask. My luthier sent him a tracing of the original (and photo, probably). It took a couple months. The guard was made without cutouts for the PUPs so the luthier could custom-fit those to the placement of the PUPs on that particular archtop. It was a good call, bc the original guard is now a crumbly pile of celluloid chips.
While waiting for the custom guard, I bought a $29 one on eBay* just to protect the guitar without scratching up the original guard, which, foolishly, I thought I would preserve by putting it in a sealed plastic bag. A move which likely hastened its demise by trapping the offgassing. Live and learn. If I had that to do again, I might put it in a cool dark place without the bag.
* you get what you pay for. It was OK but not at all in the same league as Cris' work. The cheapie was thin and not nearly as nice-looking, though a decent fit.
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LeRoy made a custom pickguard for me a few years ago. It turned out perfect. He was very fast and the price was fair. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend LeRoy. Originally Posted by Hammertone
Keith
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cool dark place in an open paper bag. Originally Posted by starjasmine
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I went to a guitar tech in Wales who kindly hosted a sale for me and the buyer who was also in Wales. Myself and the seller both gave him some money for hosting the sale and going over the guitar (Gibson Chet Atkins) for me before I set out. Originally Posted by RJVB
He actually even told me to pay him what I wanted. I didn't want to do that so I held out the bills I had with me (we'd agreed on how much cash I should have with me).
I reckon this might be because it was my 1st visit, and maybe because I assisted. I didn't tell him I was a biker too until afterwards so that can't be it
He refused to accept my money so whilst he was out making a cuppa T, I put it in his desk drawer. Unfortunately he then decided to show me some of his tools in the same drawer (he had hundreds of drawers). He found the money and asked if it was me. I refused to comment.
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Last StewMac tortoise I got was pretty dark, looked like this. It was fine for this project as the guitar only cost $300.
Due to the time involved, paying someone $300 to $400 to make one of these for a 1920s L5 seems reasonable.
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Fws6 made a real nice one for me several years ago.
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I was corresponding with a few builders, including Paul Fox. Almost placed an order this morning but then thought I should probably google him. Glad I did. Seems like horror stories abound.
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