Scratchplates... Do we need them?

[HANGAR18]

Something like this?

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/blog/post/ptc_custom_pickguard_design_for_ja_15_model

THAT's neat!!

 

[Mixstar]

Something like this?

Really? Why cover the 'F' holes though? They are a thing of beauty and should be seen.

 

[Watersilk]

I saw Whitesnake in concert this past Monday. (Good concert, well played songs, etc.) Both guitarists usually played Gibson Les Pauls, getting them swapped out between songs quite often. At one point during one of the songs with a keyboard heavy interlude, with neither guitar playing, they both tuned up. Really?! Mid-song, when you have techs at the side of the stage handing you a tuned guitar at the start of the song? I check my tuning before I gig with my PRSi, but I rarely have to actually tune more than a couple of strings (usually because they get tweaked going into the case or gig bag) unless the weather has really changed, and I never seem to have to tune mid-gig, much less mid-song.

So when I saw both of those guys tuning frantically, I LOLed. Yay for Gibson quality!

I dunno, maybe it's because they put fresh strings on before every single gig, so the strings don't get a chance to stretch out...

And they're..... Pleked!

My R9 Les Paul stays in tune reasonably well, but even my SE with the original standard tuners is just as good ...... and my Mc Carty with Phase 2 locking tuners is brilliant..... ! As you say though, great temperature changes will affect any guitar's state of tune...... perhaps the heat of all those lights.... ??? They are professionals, and have techs to keep them in tune.... they would have fitted new strings a while before the gig to give themselves an easier time ... surely?

Is your PRS fuel injected?

 

[drdoom8793]

Really? Why cover the 'F' holes though? They are a thing of beauty and should be seen.

I can only assume that the person was trying to go for that ES-175 vibe.

I must admit, I dig the look of the pickguard on LPs and the vintage style Hollowbodies. It's a classic look that I just think fits well for it. Maybe it's just because that's how you always see them. I also think that PRS has done a great job deciding what gets a pickguard and what doesn't. The S2 models look great with a pickguard. I think it just suits the style and the look, especially so for the Mira, Starla, and Vela. To the other side of that coin, I can't imagine what a Custom would look like with a pickguard. The idea just seems weird to me.

In regards to the whole tuning thing, I've got an SE Singlecut (stoptail) and an SE Angelus Custom and they both stay in tune almost perfectly. I was in the process of moving and they both had to stay cased for a couple weeks until I got settled. They both only required minor adjustments even after being moved and cased for 2 weeks. During gigs, I never have to tune the Angelus beyond an initial tuning and very seldom do I have to tune the SC. Can't say the same about big Gs that I've played.

 

[gball]

And they're..... Pleked!

My R9 Les Paul stays in tune reasonably well, but even my SE with the original standard tuners is just as good ...... and my Mc Carty with Phase 2 locking tuners is brilliant..... ! As you say though, great temperature changes will affect any guitar's state of tune...... perhaps the heat of all those lights.... ??? They are professionals, and have techs to keep them in tune.... they would have fitted new strings a while before the gig to give themselves an easier time ... surely?

Is your PRS fuel injected?

I own two recent Gibsons and they stay in tune as well as my PRS' so I don't think its Gibson quality/design/etc. I am not a fan of the 2015 changes, at all, but Gibson has been putting out some pretty solid stuff the last few years, even with their QC lapses (for example, I did have a hard time finding a 2013 SG that did not have a finish flaw. In the process of looking I discoverd the Mira, so it ended well).

I think maybe some combination of A.) Just double-checking while you have a free moment onstage, even during a song. They are pros, right? Gotta maximize the time; B.) Fresh strings; C.) Temperature change

 

[Watersilk]

Paul doesn't want you to put ugly plastic on his pretty guitars. They'd be on there already if they were needed! I'm just not a fan of them in general. I like the PRS that have them on stock well enough. First thing I did to every LP I ever owned was ripped that ugly crap off! Hahaha. It's really not necessary unless you use a hunk of broken glass as your pick

This is is precisely the point, if Paul didn't fit them, I would think there is no need for them, however, he does fit them on 'some' guitars.. Perhaps those with flatter profiled bodies?

i can see that the pickgaurd on a Les Paul is quite a bone of contention for some, while for others it's part and package of that guitar....

 

[dogrocketp]

I used the static cling clear scratchplates. After you perspire on them for a while, they soften and get slightly sticky. Not my favorite solution by any means. Then they get to be difficult to remove.

 

[Watersilk]

Really? Why cover the 'F' holes though? They are a thing of beauty and should be seen.

Yes, I wouldn't wish for my 'f' hole to be covered up, as you say, a thing of beauty and should be seen....

Clever way to do it though, the grandchildren will never know there was ever a pickgaurd there!

 

[Mixstar]

Can't say the same about big Gs that I've played

Bottom 'E' on my LP Standard always seems to drop half a notch, dunno why, maybe it's the damned overrated locking tuners which I don't like much in any case? I bought a guitar new from Canada a few months ago and it turned up in the UK still in tune :iamconfused:

 

[bigcohoona]

For me personally it has quite a bit to do with how someone plays.

I'm sloppy primarily because I'm a pianist and self taught guitarist who uses a guitar on songs that need it or songs that the piano has to go on a backtrack for being too difficult for stage, lol! I just play really hard.

Depending on the guitar color/style bears largely on whether or not I use a pick guard. The PRS' are so gorgeous I hate to cover them up.. but they don't look nearly as attractive with that "worn" look as a gold-top would so I'm considering putting one on my S2 Singlecut.

I recently bought a Vela in the Ice Blue which I personally thought the white pick guard enhanced not only the look but also the feel of the guitar playing, I loved it! I also appreciated PRS' attention to it's design, it follows perfectly the contour grades of the upper bout of the guitar.

I had a McPherson Acoustic that was far too nice for me to NOT put a pick guard on it, but there were none to purchase so I created my own. We ended up calling it the "Shark-tooth", but I used all the natural contours of the guitar to create it's shape, and in the end it looked so natural that you didn't notice it (The "Any Takers" logo inlay is in Koa).

I had it done at Nichols Guitar: http://www.nicholsinlay.com

Here's some pics of my project.

 

[Watersilk]

For me personally it has quite a bit to do with how someone plays.

I'm sloppy primarily because I'm a pianist and self taught guitarist who uses a guitar on songs that need it or songs that the piano has to go on a backtrack for being too difficult for stage, lol! I just play really hard.

Depending on the guitar color/style bears largely on whether or not I use a pick guard. The PRS' are so gorgeous I hate to cover them up.. but they don't look nearly as attractive with that "worn" look as a gold-top would so I'm considering putting one on my S2 Singlecut.

I recently bought a Vela in the Ice Blue which I personally thought the white pick guard enhanced not only the look but also the feel of the guitar playing, I loved it! I also appreciated PRS' attention to it's design, it follows perfectly the contour grades of the upper bout of the guitar.

I had a McPherson Acoustic that was far too nice for me to NOT put a pick guard on it, but there were none to purchase so I created my own. We ended up calling it the "Shark-tooth", but I used all the natural contours of the guitar to create it's shape, and in the end it looked so natural that you didn't notice it (The "Any Takers" logo inlay is in Koa).

I had it done at Nichols Guitar: http://www.nicholsinlay.com

Here's some pics of my project.

Wooooooooo!

I have thought quite a lot about how to go about designing a pickgaurd for a guitar which doesn't have one designed for it. I'm trying to follow your design philosophy in the first picture, on following the lines of the guitar... but your lines seem to have a will of their own.

Personally, I would have followed the curve of the lower bout for the curve of the bottom of the pickgaurd..... like the top of the soundhole follows the curve of the top waist...... and the pickgaurd size 'may' have been a bit larger to be more in balance.... but then I would guess that you tried a few designs before settling upon this one. My personal opinion, is that it just doesn't seem to flow. I think the big challenge here was to find a shape that would sit in balance with that soundhole. I don't think I would have been brave enough to have taken on a project like this, at least not without first fitting a new top and getting the soundhole in the correct location.....

Just joking Bigcohoona, you are a brave man!

What does the logo mean?

 

[RedVee]

Really? Why cover the 'F' holes though? They are a thing of beauty and should be seen.

it isn't mine. I was been thinking of an LP style pickguard for the silver Tremonti SE, but with no screws, so I did a search on the PRS site, this was a few weeks ago. I remembered seeing this article when I read this threads OP.

it seems a clever way to do it while still being able to easily go back to standard.

 

[Watersilk]

it isn't mine. I was been thinking of an LP style pickguard for the silver Tremonti SE, but with no screws, so I did a search on the PRS site, this was a few weeks ago. I remembered seeing this article when I read this threads OP.

it seems a clever way to do it while still being able to easily go back to standard.

That's what scares me about drilling holes in my beloved singlecut..... as Bigcohoona shows in his post, designing a pickguard is not at all as easy, or simple as it might seem, it can make quite an impact visually, for better or for worse! If my pickguard idea didn't work..... I would be left with the holes to constantly remind me of my stupidity..... but I have to admit... I 'do' have something of a fetish for those delightful, shiny metal brackets Gibson use..... they just make the scratchplate look supported (because it's not flat against the body)..... but no way then of reverting to standard..... perhaps I will try the PTS way first....

As a matter of interest RedVee, which colour would you use for the pickgaurd to compliment the silver body?

 

[fender68]

When i see pickguards on a prs i just cringe!! I don't think they should ever be allowed on them. The tops are just too gorgeous. It just ruins them.