Strat pickguards and tone

[Kyle Ashley]

So I took one of my strats and switched ONLY the pickguards. From an original EJ single ply '57 style parchment to a Fatboy 62 greenguard. All the guts and parts remained exactly the same. Reinstalled in guitar and recorded a test clip to compare to a reference clip I recorded with the single ply guard.

I was surprised at the amount of difference. The Fatboy guard gave the guitar a more plinky feel, with a more pronounced attack and a higher midrange resonant peak. The single ply guard sounded more open yet warmer with a lower mid resonant peak. A bit more acoustic sounding with a softer, rounder note attack.

This got me to wondering about the difference in materials and construction of these PVC based guards vs. the original celluloid nitrate guards. Has anyone compared a PVC guard to an original with any sort of analytical approach and with an ear to tonal differences?

Perhaps the resonant, woody, and reedy bark of many vintage Strats is more pronounced because of the pickguard material. I see Lashing guitars makes some celluloid guards with an apparent attention to detail. Anyone have any experience with them? http://www.lashingguitars.com/celluloid/index.html

[Zimi]

You've got to be jivin'.

If you're serious you probably had the pickups set at different heights, or think you had them the same without using a ruler.

[GAD]

Yeah, pickup hight is my guess.

[Cream]

Eric Johnson... is that you?

[petermelton]

Originally Posted by StratPack

Eric Johnson... is that you?

I was thinking the exact same thing. This might be the silliest totally serious thing regarding altering tone I've seen on this site aside from the guy who suggesting leaving your guitar not in the case improves tone due to more oxygen exposure or something.

[Kyle Ashley]

Pickup height was kept consistent and carefully recorded. I'll see if I can get some clips uploaded this week. The difference would be audible to anybody, not just Eric Johnson. If it was insignificant, I would not have opened the discussion.

[otaypanky]

true, you can't always judge a book by it's cover, but if you click on the link to Kyle's website you''ll see the business he's involved in would probably mean he is a discerning listener. I would certainly assume he was correct in what he heard and was probably meticulous when he said all thing were the same

[soundbee]

Do you have a picture of your original pickguard wiring? Always a good idea to take pictures when disassembling things. I've heard and seen it happen where something like a tone cap being switched around can "open" up a sound. Of course tone caps aren't supposed to be directional - but hey, it happens.

[StratStringSlinger]

I've gone from my original plastic guard, to nitrate guard back to my original plastic guard and each time it sounded different. I tend to think it has to do with pickup height more than material. Even a quarter turn of the screw on the pickup changes the tone. With my 1/64" ruler I can't really measure accurate enough to tell the difference of the 1/4 turn of the screw. I say just use the guard you like and fine tune the pickup height by quarter turns or even eighth turns to your liking.

[Kyle Ashley]

Originally Posted by soundbee

Do you have a picture of your original pickguard wiring? Always a good idea to take pictures when disassembling things. I've heard and seen it happen where something like a tone cap being switched around can "open" up a sound. Of course tone caps aren't supposed to be directional - but hey, it happens.

I didn't solder or rewire anything. I only moved the whole harness and pickups intact from one pickguard to the other. I'm in sessions all day tomorrow, but on Tuesday, I'll get an mp3 clip together to upload.

[shane88]

calling the fender custom shop ....

[marsos52]

i have heard from a well known custom builder that a pickguard on strat type guitars
do help to create harmonics etc etc

as compared to strats with out pickguards like rear mounted

[dincorcelles]

I experienced this too. My strat originally came with a 3 ply tortoise guard. I replaced it with a mint green 3 ply. There is really a difference in sound and the vibration of the body. Its more noticeable when I play it unplugged.

[4nd3h]

-nevermind.

[harryjmic]

I know for fact taking the pick guard off my tele to adjust the neck pu and the sound will be different after I put the pick guard back on. Different pickguards however is something I do not know about.