Hello there. I made a new pickguard for my Epiphone Joe Pass

[roteleks]

Hi there. I just registered today. I thought I’d show off a new pick guard I just made for my early 90s Korean epi joe pass. I lost the original joe pass ‘signed’ guard years ago and have wanted to replace it for some time but I’ve never been able to find one and haven’t been able to afford remakes from the US. So I did some measuring and used google images to draw one up in adobe illustrator. I then bought a 3 ply pickguard sheet from eBay and then got to cutting out a template out of ply on my friends ban saw. I then used a hand router to cut the plastic and get the right bevel on the curved edge. The harness is from eBay (china) and all in all it’s come together really well. However…
No sooner had I finished, I went and snapped a tuning peg! So now I reckon a new set of locking tuners is in order. So, does anyone have any recommendations for locking tuners that would be a decent fit for the JP? I don’t mind if I have to drill new screw holes but if anyone has done this upgrade, any tips or advice would be very much appreciated.

[Gitterbug]

Welcome to the Forum! Nice work! There's an awful lot of fuss here about replacing original pickguards of vintage archtops. And yes, replicas seem to cost a fortune. To me, this is the lowliest, most expendable part of the guitar, almost like a set of strings. The original pickguard on my Ibanez AFJ-91 looked like a piece of counter top, so I used it as a template and band-sawed a new one from three-layer mother-of-pearl plastic sheet found at a guitar supplies store. Did not have a router then, but beveling the outer edge to 45 degrees by hand was a done in a jiffy.

[garybaldy]

Hi there. I just registered today. I thought I’d show off a new pick guard I just made for my early 90s Korean epi joe pass. I lost the original joe pass ‘signed’ guard years ago and have wanted to replace it for some time but I’ve never been able to find one and haven’t been able to afford remakes from the US. So I did some measuring and used google images to draw one up in adobe illustrator. I then bought a 3 ply pickguard sheet from eBay and then got to cutting out a template out of ply on my friends ban saw. I then used a hand router to cut the plastic and get the right bevel on the curved edge. The harness is from eBay (china) and all in all it’s come together really well. However…
No sooner had I finished, I went and snapped a tuning peg! So now I reckon a new set of locking tuners is in order. So, does anyone have any recommendations for locking tuners that would be a decent fit for the JP? I don’t mind if I have to drill new screw holes but if anyone has done this upgrade, any tips or advice would be very much appreciated.

Nice work.
I also have a 90s EEJP.
Does the appearance of the underside of your pickups suggest cheapness like on mine?
I wouldn't have expected pickups of that standard on a guitar with the Joe Pass name on it. Cheers

[Sleeko]

Looks nice. I'm wondering how one loses a pickguard ...

[Doctor Jeff]

Yes those are probably Epiphone Classic 57s. I replaced mine with Stew Mac Parsons Street Alnico 2’s with good results.

I installed the old pickup in a beater guitar I play slide on. Sounds super crunchy with the gain turned up.

The gold plating on the appointments is disappointing and became fairly faded and tarnished over the years I had mine. I replaced my tuners with some Allparts with tortoiseshell buttons and replaced the pickguard and control buttons with rosewood versions I got off Ebay. Greatly improved the look.

I would recommend replacing the tuners with Hipshot locking tuners. They are awesome, and worth the cost IMO.

[Jimmy blue note]

Looks nice. I'm wondering how one loses a pickguard ...

If you don't secure them, especially in mating season, you leave it on the stand overnight and next morning it's gone.
But seriously, the plastic they use is often thin, has a fair amount of plasticizer in it and through use, heat and general aging, they can tend towards warping, and the 'pringle' effect. In addition to being unsightly in a Salvador Dali way, they can get in the way of a picking arc. That's why replacement pickguards are such a common item in guitar stores.

[sgosnell]

Looks nice. I'm wondering how one loses a pickguard ...

IME, you take it off because it's in the way, put it somewhere, and when a few years later you decide to reinstall it, it's gone. I take the pickguard off almost every archtop I acquire, because I don't like them. I'm far from sure that I could find all the pickguards now.

[Doctor Jeff]

Well it’s funny—the Joe Pass pickguard was much criticized in the Episphere as being cheesy. Some people sanded or scraped off the signature.

I took mine off and replaced it with a wood pickup because I wanted a different look, but I kept the old pickguard and included it when I sold it.

I felt a bit of a connection to Joe because of that signature. Maybe I can never play like him, but…look, he signed my guitar!

[Sleeko]

Gotcha, I've never messed with mine though they do tend to look better to me without them. Barney Kessel's guitar is a fine example.