Pickguards for MIM Jazz Bass

SuperDuck · #1 03-05-2002, 03:00 PM

I've been slowly but surely adding things to my MIM Jazz. I replaced the stock bridge and just threw in some Barts, and I'm pretty happy with it. (A new nut is on the way) I would like to spruce up the looks a little bit, however. I'm going to ditch the stock knobs and was also looking around for a replacement pickguard.

The pickguards at www.pickguards.com are hellaexpensive. I was looking at Warmoth, however, and really like the crushed blue shell pickguards they have. And they're only $22! Here's my only concern: They say it MIGHT not fit some Mexican or low-cost imports. Well, mine's as Mexican as... someone from Mexico... and I was hoping to hear from someone who has had success/failure with this particular venture. Thanks!

Hambone · #2 03-06-2002, 05:02 PM

When they talk about fit, they are referring to two or three different features - The neck slot, the pickup hole, and the screws. You will likely get 1 or 2 of the above to match at the expense of the the third. I'm sort of in the same boat with my MIJ's. The neck and pickup openings were fine but about half of the screw holes were mis-aligned - from just a little bit to "wayyy off". As a player bass, I don't think too much about resale, etc. so I filled all of my screw holes, touched up the paint over them and then drilled new holes to fit the guard. Worked perfectly and I'll kiss the boots of the expert that can tell me it's visible.

SuperDuck · #3 03-06-2002, 11:09 PM

I suppose the screw holes are what I'm most worried about. I can always file down the pickup route and the neck fit, but for some reason I'm hesitant to drill new holes. I don't have the tools or resources to fill and touch up the holes (What did you fill them with? Epoxy? Dowel rods? Bubblegum?), although considering it's a MIM Bass and I've already filed the neck pup slot and scratched the body up, and don't plan on selling, maybe I'll just get over it and get out the 'ol drill.

Thanks for the input.

(Of course, maybe I'll get lucky and everything will work out, making this all moot.)

keithconn · #4 03-07-2002, 10:45 AM

I got a new pickguard from Guitarstop.com, and they were willing and fast to answer a couple of questions to assure me that it would fit. It was for a p-bass, but it all worked out really nice.

Hope that helps.
K.

Hambone · #5 03-07-2002, 11:23 AM

To fill a pickguard screw hole I used round toothpicks and white glue. When they had dried, I sliced them smooth with a razor blade and touched them up with Black fingernail polish (Nitrocellulose)

You're right - these materials are in pretty short supply. Maybe someone over at NASA has what you need

allan grossman · #6 03-07-2002, 11:51 AM

I got a pickguard for my MIM Deluxe from WD (pickguards.com) and almost everything lined up correctly - the pickguard overlapped the control plate by about 1/8" so I ended up moving the control plate south just a little.

This entailed drilling new screw holes for the control plate but everything worked fine. Neck cutout and pickguard mounting holes lined up fine.

allan

SuperDuck · #7 03-07-2002, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hambone
You're right - these materials are in pretty short supply. Maybe someone over at NASA has what you need

Alright, alright... I was envisioning a much more complicated process. Nail polish and toothpicks, while sounding less impressive than the grand scheme I was imagining, sound like a good plan. Wiseguy.

Alan and Keith, I was trying to stick with Warmoth because both GuitarStop and WD cost purt'nere twice as much. I'll pay the money if it comes down to it, because I don't want to skimp on my bass, but from the starving college student perspective, I would like to be, ah, as frugal as possible.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys!

shirojiro · #8 03-28-2002, 10:38 AM

Superduck,

i just ordered a MIM Jazz pickguard from pickguards.com. It was $22. They have a $25 min order though. The part number for a MIM was JBS-303 for a BWB pickguard.

Hopefully I won't have to change it too much when I get around to putting in my new pickups. I'm thinking about changing my order to a MIA style pickguard, but I don't know how well the screwholes or neck pocket will fit. I guess I'm hoping that the screwholes and neck pocket will be ok for the MIM guard, and I'll fix the pickup hole if I need to.

I did a quick side by side comparison, and it looks like the main difference is that the MIM pickups are about 2mm wider than the standard jazz pickups.

The MIM bridge pickup is about 4 mm shorter too.

-Shin