Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

[Frankly]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

I often stay up at night wondering how good Hendrix would have sounded if he rocked sans pickguard. His tone would have given him the confidence and freedom to express himself. Imagine how different the world would be if Buddy Holly screwed 'em right to the wood, and if Layla had no plastic intruding between Clapton and the tape. Think of how wonderful Magic Sam's music would be if he had not used whatever guitar was at the gig and painstakingly researched the effect different magnets, beam blockers, and brass plates would have on his music. I was listening to "West Side Soul" the other day and if you listen with headphones you can hear Sam say, "How do you think this would sound with Alnico 8?"

Thank you.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

I will only play a strat that has a truss rod made of adamantium. It makes a difference I'm telling you!

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

this seems like some huge convoluted attempt to get those of us that love Fenders to admit that we all secretly want a PRS...which is NOT TRUE!

go play your guitar.

 

[PaulReedSmith]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

I often stay up at night wondering how good Hendrix would have sounded if he rocked sans pickguard. His tone would have given him the confidence and freedom to express himself. Imagine how different the world would be if Buddy Holly screwed 'em right to the wood, and if Layla had no plastic intruding between Clapton and the tape. Think of how wonderful Magic Sam's music would be if he had not used whatever guitar was at the gig and painstakingly researched the effect different magnets, beam blockers, and brass plates would have on his music. I was listening to "West Side Soul" the other day and if you listen with headphones you can hear Sam say, "How do you think this would sound with Alnico 8?"

Thank you.

you must not understand... :17:

anyway, I didn't say that a stratocaster sounds BAD with a pickguard...Im just saying it could sound better. DID THEY HAVE STRATOCASTERS WITHOUT PICKGUARDS AT HENDRIX'S TIME? I dont think so, but I could be wrong.

Tone is subjective, I know...but still, the question holds

 

[PaulReedSmith]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

go play your guitar.

grow up. If you can even remember that, I feel sorry that you do not have a life...Seriously.

Life goes on...move on...

There is nothing wrong with a paul reed smith, and im sure if you played one you wouldnt mind it. I am not endorsing them in any way however, and to prove this, I actually own a few fender strats All with pickguards. However, WITH MY INTRODUCTION TO THE SHOWMASTER SERIES...


I am very intrigued...their lack of a pickguard seems to give them...make them sound..."better" to my ears....its purely my taste, but yeah, go play one and see if you notice it. Apart from my strats, which I do like, I have a few other guitars, all without pickguards....and I admit, I do prefer them in tone. Not that this has to do solely with not having a pickguard though. dont get me wrong.


anyway, time for supper. I will check back on this topic perhaps tomorrow or later this evening if I have time.
have fun

 

[big_black]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

you must not understand... :17:

anyway, I didn't say that a stratocaster sounds BAD with a pickguard...Im just saying it could sound better. DID THEY HAVE STRATOCASTERS WITHOUT PICKGUARDS AT HENDRIX'S TIME? I dont think so, but I could be wrong.

Tone is subjective, I know...but still, the question holds

Better? I think you mean differently.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

Eeeasy big guy...it's just the internet.

I actually know what you're talkin about. My Warmoth Strat has no pickguard, it's based on the Fender HM Strat that was out in the 80's, except it has a string-thru hardtail bridge instead of a tremelo. I've always noticed this guitar was more resonant than my Fender Strat with the huge pickguard, but I always attributed it to the bridge, the fatter neck and the thinner finish...

And I've played plenty of PRS's bro...if I want something that fancy-shmancy I'll take a Les Paul but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

seriously though...on the gearpage...quite a few people feel the pickguard robs tone. It must in some way.

That's not logical. It either does or does not rob a guitar of tone. Opinions and feelings have nothing to do with it

 

[theodie]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

ya but it is hard to run across the stage at 88 mph's...


why the hell does Warmoth made so many pretty maple top strat bodies and top route them? that's a waste of nice maple if you ask me... but only for looks not tone

I think the people at Warmoth are Retarded sometimes.

BTW, you just have to pick at 88MPH

 

[mrturtle_91]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

do I believe they can change the tone: yes
do I believe they will rob tone : no

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

hahaha. i think this thread is vault worthy because the responses are hilarious!

i kinda feel bad for the guy who started it though...

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

I do know I am getting sick of taking the dang things off to switch pickups out every other day lately. (finally settled on the SSL-1 set for now) The next body I buy is going to be a rear route body so I can just loosen the strings and pull the pickups out.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

Ya see, some players are trying to get more tone of of their guitars by changing caps and such. They dont get real tone until they get a flux capacitor.

so they can go back in time and tell themselves to not bother with plastic covered strats but get a PRS instead....

genious

 

[Mephis]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

They can contribute to feedback, but rob tone? Hell no...

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

I think the people at Warmoth are Retarded sometimes.

BTW, you just have to pick at 88MPH

oh dam!!! no wonder my tone sucked!!!! and i could not sing a note of back up vocals as i was out of breath!

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

Another Analogy...

On an acoustic guitar, the strings vibrate which creates sound waves which travel to the soundboard of the guitar. They thus vibrate the top of the guitar (and the back, but to a much less extent) and cause us to hear the sound of the guitar amplified by the body, etc.

Do you think the guitar would have the same resonance and sustain if someone covered about 60% of the top of the acoustic guitar with a pickguard? I think not. The plastic would dampen the vibrations and cause a loss of tone. Major tone suckage.

I know this is probably an extreme example, but the physics related principles still hold true with solid body guitars.

And if you have the argument that "oh, the vibrations of the strings just go into the sound hole, etc blah blah" well, there are a few guitar makers that locate the soundhole AWAY from the strings, so yeah...the top of the guitar is in fact being vibrated by the energy from the strings transmitted through the air, the bridge, and the nut.

all kinding aside on the other posts, you have brought up a valid point... i will say i believe anything connected to a guitar in any forum any way will effect tone.... weather the human ear can hear it or not

 

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

What abou tthose wood pickguardS?

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

What abou tthose wood pickguardS?

i would figure since it is stuck on the guitar it would have to effect the guitar in one way or another... but the thing is, could you hear a difference.... most likely not

 

[Mephis]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

What abou tthose wood pickguardS?

Probably too fragile to be worth it.

 

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Re: Do Pickguards Rob Your Tone?

Yah.
maybe.
Q