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"Pickguards ruin the tone"

#161
TrevorR said:
I'm absolutely gutted reading this thread. I never realised until just now how awful my Wal bass sounds. Look at the scratch plate on that... tone suck city! :(:(:crying:
View attachment 2746382
Anyone willing to take it off my hands for 10 bucks? You know, like just as a project bass, or for parts or something?
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I can't bear seeing pictures of those old Probass models - reminds me too much of the fretless one I let go for a song 27 years ago. But if $10 bucks is the price I'll happily pay for international shipping!
 
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#162
Jeff Scott said:
Some classical, and a great many Flamenco guitars have a pickguard on the table, but since they are clear/transparent, there is no affect on the tone. ;)
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Actually not so with flamenco but not in the obvious way... they aren't pickguards but are actually tapping plates, designed to protect the wood and enhance the percussive finger-tapping that is an integral part of flamenco playing.
 
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#163
SteveCS said:
There was a thread some time ago discussing the effect (or otherwise) of the old anodised pickguard on tone. I have a brass surround for a J pickup that I used in an on/off comparison, and there was indeed a slight change in tone. Was it ruined? No. Did it change? Yes. With the brass ring around the pickup, the dynamics became slightly constrained, almost like a very light compression, with a slight loss of highs.
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I find that very hard to believe. Sorry man.
 
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#164
Axstar said:
I find that very hard to believe. Sorry man.
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To be honest, first time around neither did I - I was certainly ready for some hard listening but that didn't prove necessary.
But it was subtle, not like changing EQ, and quite difficult to describe. I've been thinking of ways to get more objective data, for example fixing an Ebow at the nut to drive the string then doing spectral analysis, but that wouldn't capture the effect on dynamics - like a very mild and natural compression.
Like I said it was subtle, and maybe enhanced by the fact the the pickup used was an SDQP which has quite large magnets - perhaps it would be negligible with a more traditional pickup?
I don't expect to change anyone's mind and the idea of plastic pickguards having any 'ruinous' impact is laughable IMHO, but those brass surrounds are quite cheap - why not try for yourself? :-)
 
#166
I have a cheap stratocaster knockoff with a swimming pool route that I've used as a test bed for single coil guitar pickups. Unplugged the pickguard makes an audible tone when it's on there. It's not loud but it resonates, sort of like when you hold an unplugged electric instrument up against a hollow core door in your house. I've never used anything besides the pickguard it came with, but I do believe the vibrations are being transmitted to the pickups, and different materials will resonate differently... I imagine the pickguard wouldn't resonate as much if the guitar had nice tight pickup routes, and I can't believe the pickguard would make any difference if the pickups where mounted into the wood.
However I am mostly guessing and don't really care to test the theory. You're better off spending more time playing than tinkering imho.
 
#167
TrevorR said:
I'm absolutely gutted reading this thread. I never realised until just now how awful my Wal bass sounds. Look at the scratch plate on that... tone suck city! :(:(:crying:
View attachment 2746382
Anyone willing to take it off my hands for 10 bucks? You know, like just as a project bass, or for parts or something?
Click to expand...
You pay shipping and I will take you up on your offer. This would make the perfect project bass for something I have in mind. :woot:

ficelles said:
Actually not so with flamenco but not in the obvious way... they aren't pickguards but are actually tapping plates, designed to protect the wood and enhance the percussive finger-tapping that is an integral part of flamenco playing.
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Yeah, i know they aren't actually "pickguards" but most people would call them that; certainly, most bassist don't know the difference between a classical and flamenco guitar, for sure. :D Or, a pickguard and a tap plate ;), so pickguard was the safe term to use to ensure these bassists don't have a fit, you know. :smug:
 
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#171
Bob_Ross said:
Or on a hollow-body acoustic instrument."
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The Everly Brothers "Pringles Guy Moustache" guitar always looked kinda cool, but I always assumed it wouldn't sound very good.

evb64.jpg
 
#172
Well, a pickguard is not a necessary thing, but cannot say if it affects tone....but I do know that a toilet seat lid is also not a necessary thing either and if you fart on it, it will definitely affect tone versus if it is up and out of the way when the wind blows. I find it puzzling. Is there a correlation? Jeez...I just don't know...........
 
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#173
phillipkregg said:
Some people have insanely sensitive ears.

There was a May 2000 issue of Guitar Player where Eric Johnson was talking about how he could tell differences in the tone of a pedal by what screws were used in it:
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I can confirm a noticeable difference in pedal sounds just by experimenting with different powerbanks.

I won't even start a discussion about changing instrument cables. Let alone just turning the cables around.

Sure, having a pickguard on or off or experimenting with the same cable doesn't make an oh my god difference by itself, but adding them all together they surely start to form a noticeable difference.

In music it's pretty much mostly about the small things.

And yes, a screw can make a big difference in a pedal sound especially if the shielding is bad for some reason.
 
#175
Bob E said:
I have a cheap stratocaster knockoff with a swimming pool route that I've used as a test bed for single coil guitar pickups. Unplugged the pickguard makes an audible tone when it's on there. It's not loud but it resonates, sort of like when you hold an unplugged electric instrument up against a hollow core door in your house. I've never used anything besides the pickguard it came with, but I do believe the vibrations are being transmitted to the pickups, and different materials will resonate differently... I imagine the pickguard wouldn't resonate as much if the guitar had nice tight pickup routes, and I can't believe the pickguard would make any difference if the pickups where mounted into the wood.
However I am mostly guessing and don't really care to test the theory. You're better off spending more time playing than tinkering imho.
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Put non magnetic strings on an electric bass and see what happens. I'm pretty sure a rattling pick guard won't alter your tone.

phillipkregg said:
Some people have insanely sensitive ears.

There was a May 2000 issue of Guitar Player where Eric Johnson was talking about how he could tell differences in the tone of a pedal by what screws were used in it:
Click to expand...

The moment he says this I'd do a blindfold test with the same pedal/screws twice pretending I swapped them.
 
#177
SteveCS said:
To be honest, first time around neither did I - I was certainly ready for some hard listening but that didn't prove necessary.
But it was subtle, not like changing EQ, and quite difficult to describe. I've been thinking of ways to get more objective data, for example fixing an Ebow at the nut to drive the string then doing spectral analysis, but that wouldn't capture the effect on dynamics - like a very mild and natural compression.
Like I said it was subtle, and maybe enhanced by the fact the the pickup used was an SDQP which has quite large magnets - perhaps it would be negligible with a more traditional pickup?
I don't expect to change anyone's mind and the idea of plastic pickguards having any 'ruinous' impact is laughable IMHO, but those brass surrounds are quite cheap - why not try for yourself? :)
Click to expand...

I will have to try it myself! I found I played differently when I put covers on my basses, so I guess my tone changed when I put them on. I was thinking that brass is non-ferrous, so I wasn't sure how it could have any influence on the tone of your bass. I guess there is the murky world of eddy currents with, for example, some Strat users claiming that the aluminum shield on the back of old pickguards changed the tone. I guess it is all very subtle. I remember years ago somebody told me that the pickup covers for Precision basses massively changed the tone, and they cited Roger Waters' overdriven tone on Live at Pompeii as an example of how the chrome cover imparts crunch somehow. I took that as gospel for a while, and then finally had a 'huh' moment.

Funny you mention compression, as I feel that the Badass II-style bridge on my Jazz bass somehow imparts a 'mild and natural compression', but I bet the data isn't there to support this theory.
 
#178
Axstar said:
I will have to try it myself! I found I played differently when I put covers on my basses, so I guess my tone changed when I put them on. I was thinking that brass is non-ferrous, so I wasn't sure how it could have any influence on the tone of your bass. I guess there is the murky world of eddy currents with, for example, some Strat users claiming that the aluminum shield on the back of old pickguards changed the tone. I guess it is all very subtle. I remember years ago somebody told me that the pickup covers for Precision basses massively changed the tone, and they cited Roger Waters' overdriven tone on Live at Pompeii as an example of how the chrome cover imparts crunch somehow. I took that as gospel for a while, and then finally had a 'huh' moment.

Funny you mention compression, as I feel that the Badass II-style bridge on my Jazz bass somehow imparts a 'mild and natural compression', but I bet the data isn't there to support this theory.
Click to expand...

Try looking up the Bill Laurence article - it explains things in a comprehensible way, and Bill knew his onions...
 
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