Original Fender Tortoise Pickguards-Why Are They Not Made

[JimmyM]

Honestly, I don't think I'd want a celluloid pickguard. They shrink and break too easily. Plastic breaks easily enough, but at least I don't feel as foolish buying a $20-30 pickguard as opposed to a $50-100 one.

 

[One Drop]

It's true they shrink but man, they are a thing of beauty.

 

[Mr.Fingers]

Spitfire makes those guards, and they look very convincing (right "swirl" & colour, correct bevel,...). Ridiculously expensive, but it's all handmade.

 

[chaak]

I recently bought this one and it is of excellent quality.

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[RED J]

No turtle should have to die just so you can have a pick guard.

 

[rzero]

Ancient thread but I'm having a moment here.

I'm trying to figure out why I paid $65-70 for two Jazz torts in 2019 and 2020 from WD Music, which were completely fine by the way, but now I see unopened Fender originals all over the place in the $40s-50s from some sellers and $60s-70s from major retailers. I just received one via eBay that was unopened and authentic for $37.50 plus shipping.

Were these unavailable or really expensive 6/7 years ago? I seem to remember the consensus at the time being that WD Music was nearly the only option for celluloid tort...

 

[J-Bass RMR]

Ancient thread but I'm having a moment here.

I'm trying to figure out why I paid $65-70 for two Jazz torts in 2019 and 2020 from WD Music, which were completely fine by the way, but now I see unopened Fender originals all over the place in the $40s-50s from some sellers and $60s-70s from major retailers. I just received one via eBay that was unopened and authentic for $37.50 plus shipping.

Were these unavailable or really expensive 6/7 years ago? I seem to remember the consensus at the time being that WD Music was nearly the only option for celluloid tort...

Modern celluloid (acetate) pickguards were readily available 6 years ago, and have been around since at least the 80s. (WD & Chandler, to name 2)
Celluloid is just a type of plastic. "Celluloid" itself - does not imply - nor differentiate - vintage at all.

Your question is about pricing fluctuations of Modern Tort pickguards over the past 6 years?
This has been a period where we've seen various pricing anomalies due to various factors - including supply chain issues, etc.
WD is a custom manufacture - and IME - their prices tend to reflect that.

Also, Pickguard pricing can vary widely on different platforms - and many unscrupulous sellers "misrepresent" modern celluloid as "vintage" guards.
i.e. https://reverb.com -Fender-jazz-bass-pick-guard-1974-tortoiseshell-nitro-original vintage-usa-tortoise-shell-pickguard

By '74, Fender stopped using "nitrate" guards and briefly used a Printed dot-matrix tort from roughly 1974 -1975.

When comparing the two types of celluloid" - it's about a few main things:

• The chemical additive that makes the celluloid pliable (nitrate vs acetate),
• The manufacturing process: vintage/ celluloid nitrate was poured into a thicker sheet vs. "modern" Celluloid Acetate is rolled out into a very thin layer on an industrial machine - which generates a more "predictable" less "dimensional' pattern.

as a result modern celluloid acetate is more "opaque" and one-dimensional; Celluloid Nitrate is more translucent - almost "3-D" in appearance.

Celluloid acetate has been around 100 years - but not quite as long as Celluloid nitrate
Celluloid Nitrate is very labor intensive, very volatile and highly regulated today, which is why it is not commonly available for our little "niche" industry.