I'm starting to appreciate pickguards

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hi.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum. I just wanted to comment about my thoughts on pickguards. Some time ago I said that I don't like them and that I prefer the look of a pickguardless bass. Also said that the only pickguard I've always liked is the Stingray 4's which fortunately is the same for the Bongo, and I really love the looks of my white ice pickguard on the lava pearl body, but again, that's been the exception.

But today I noticed something: One friend asked me to setup his bass (intonation, action, relief...) and worked on that this morning. It's a red Yamaha RBX765A (no pickguard). Before and after making all the adjustments I played the instrument and when I tried to pop the G string... Uh-oh! The gap between the string and the body was too big and my middle finger went so "deep", making it so uncomfortable to pop. I grabbed my Carvin BB75 and, while the gap isn't that big, I felt it sort of uncomfortable compared to the Bongo. So I think the pickguard has something to do with it. I'm not sure, but I think I read or heard some years ago that one of the reasons because Stu Hamm enjoyed his move from Kubicki to Fender was that the pickguard (absent on his Kubickis) made string-popping easier for him. So I'm rethinking my position about pickguards (but still hate the Stingray 5's). Any similar experiences?

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Hi.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum. I just wanted to comment about my thoughts on pickguards. Some time ago I said that I don't like them and that I prefer the look of a pickguardless bass. Also said that the only pickguard I've always liked is the Stingray 4's which fortunately is the same for the Bongo, and I really love the looks of my white ice pickguard on the lava pearl body, but again, that's been the exception.

But today I noticed something: One friend asked me to setup his bass (intonation, action, relief...) and worked on that this morning. It's a red Yamaha RBX765A (no pickguard). Before and after making all the adjustments I played the instrument and when I tried to pop the G string... Uh-oh! The gap between the string and the body was too big and my middle finger went so "deep", making it so uncomfortable to pop. I grabbed my Carvin BB75 and, while the gap isn't that big, I felt it sort of uncomfortable compared to the Bongo. So I think the pickguard has something to do with it. I'm not sure, but I think I read or heard some years ago that one of the reasons because Stu Hamm enjoyed his move from Kubicki to Fender was that the pickguard (absent on his Kubickis) made string-popping easier for him. So I'm rethinking my position about pickguards (but still hate the Stingray 5's). Any similar experiences?

I can see the relationship but you don't have to go whole hog there Al - why not just attach a nice tailored piece of clear acrylic of the right thickness on top of your guardless body, at that point under the strings to ease that gap a little? No need for a whole pg when you won't need all of it. A couple of dots of clear double sided tape would hold one on forever and not mess things up if needed removing later.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Great suggestion. I'll forward it to my friend (the owner of the Yamaha) and try it with my Carvin. Thank you!