What would you all think of a custom pickguard that is basically 1/4" ebony that matches the fretboard with matching fretwire on it. I want to make one for my new bass but Im not sure wether or not it would look ridiculous. I have the materials I need to do it but I am a little aprehensive about it. I'll try to attach a picture I Photoshopped to give an idea of what I would like. Keep in mind, I would keep the fret spacing the same as the 21-22 fret throughout the piece. And I did not do it in the photoshop thing, but I would align the last few frets (18-22 or so) with the frets on the pickguard and then after the 22 fret I would maintain the 21-22 spacing throughout.

Thanks,
Jeff

Thank you Denpan for the picture.

It'd weigh like 5 pounds. There are a few people who have installed ramps which extend their fretless fingerboard that long, but I don't think anyone's done what you're describing.

Yeah, my ATK already weighs too much as it is, but Im a big guy anyways.

That bass sounds like it could make a chiropractor happy.

Seems like it would be cumbersome to play, plus having the spacing not change after the 21/22 means you'd just have a bunch of atonal intervals to play, since the scale length to pitch ratio is logarithmic rather than 1:1. An idea that I had is to do something similar so that the fb runs to the first pup on a fretless and use the same type of wood for a "much" thinner pickguard (maple top/neck on a mahogany body w/ebony fb/pg). You wouldn't want the pickguard to be an extension of the fb if you have any electronics under it because then you'd essentially have to remove and re-set the fb everytime you needed to make electronic adjustments.

It's a nice look, but I would personally keep the fret sequence going instead of even spacing.

Don't worry about the weight. It's not going to be 5 pounds and if you need to you can chamber the body under the pick guard to compensate.

Do you have a piece of ebony that big? You might have to book match something. You will also want to pickle it with some penetrating epoxy or some other material to stabilize it. Thin wood that wide will have a tendency to move quite a bit.

I take it you won't be playing those frets and this is purely decoration. Keep them low so they don't cause any unwanted buzzing.

Greg N

Personally, I would keep the fret spacing true to notes instead of even, and I would only install fretwire underneath the strings where it's playable vs. the entire width of the pickguard, because, imo, it does look pretty rediculous.

No offense intended, but you asked. :)

It's different, I'll give you that. Would've been more unique if the pick guard was actually built up to the height of the fretboard in the middle of it. can you say "extended"?
Although I don't if the intonation goes out once you hit the pickguard.

Well, my goal in doing this is purley cosmetic and not to actually be able to fret notes that high. That is why I would use even spacing. I dont think I would use 1/4" thick material now that I think of it. 1/4" plus the height of fretwire would not allow me to get my fingers under the strings as deep as I would like. Maybe 1/8" thick would be better. I plan on using two blanks of ebony 4"x8" glued together to make 8x8 which is what I need to route the template out. Im guessing I will probably just stick to my original idea of an pickguard to match the fretboard without fretwire on it. Ill inlay my initials or something like that.


Jeff

it would look crazy if the whole bass was finished to look like your pickguard. crazy!!!

like, BOOTSY-crazy! http://planetsmilies.net/not-tagged-smiley-13318.gif