Source for blue abalone pickguard material?

[TimBosby]

So I'm thinking of changing the pickguard on my Drake reverse double P. Right now it's black bakelite, which is cool:

While I love the black bakelite guard I was thinking of maybe changing it. Recently I had a Squier/Warmoth P-bass (now sold) that had the sweetest blue abalone pickguard and looked amazing with the color of the bass. Here's a picture:

Granted the P has a butterscotch finish over maple, more yellow hued than clear over ash like the double P but I still think that same color guard may look great. Especially considering that the blue abalone has a lot of flecks of gold in it which would kind of match the gold MOP fingerboard inlays on my Drake double reverse P.

Anyway, that particular blue abalone guard came from Chandler. It was ordered by a previous owner but I've worked with Chandler several times before and they do nice work. So I checked with Chandler and they are out of that material...permanently. They literally had one sheet left a month ago and now they're out.

So now I'm wondering if anyone knows where I could get similar blue abalone material. I want it to be blue, not the more common black abalone. I had the same color pickguard on a fretless EBMM Bongo briefly...

So we know the folks in San Luis Obispo have access to blue abalone pickguard material. How to get my hands on it: I know not.

Thoughts? Opinions? Leads?

 

[TimBosby]

Maybe WD? Although theirs looks a bit different.

 

[spiritbass]

I've bought a precut (precision) guard and a blank in WD's black abalone for sonic blue basses. It's a wonderful combination! I don't know if they offer a blue...

 

[TimBosby]

That actually DOES look kind of close to blue, although dark blue.

I guess it's subjective but I suppose what I'd like to avoid is black pearloid. What I DO want = multicolored flecks like yours has.

I've bought a precut (precision) guard and a blank in WD's black abalone for sonic blue basses. It's a wonderful combination! I don't know if they offer a blue...

View attachment 2980624

 

[TimBosby]

I will probably see if I can get a sheet from WD. Any other suppliers?

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Check Pickguardian

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I did a search for different kinds of abalone recently as well and all I could find was black abalone like the ones seen above. I had an abalone one made for a Stingray 5 many years ago that was just stunning and more blue like you are looking for.

Here is black abalone on a pearl blue Stingray:

It looks good, but various lighting can make it look different and I wish it had a bit more colour to it.

Here's the abalone (more blue) on the Stingray 5 I had:

I don't know if it has been banned or hard to source, but you don't see it like this anymore.

 

[spiritbass]

I found this blue abalone from axetreme a few years ago, but it doesn't seem to be available any more...

WD's black abalone (still available) is sweet:

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Have't spotted anything that large yet, (9.5"x5.5" Is the largest I've seen on a quick search) but "bluer" material seems to be out there if you search on paua shell (assuming you're looking for laminated shell, not all-plastic faux-shell) even though some of what comes up describes itself as "paua/abalone"

 

[TimBosby]

Zombie thread! I ended up using Pickguardian black abalone on the bass in the original post but I sold that bass a few years ago. I do have WD black abalone on this parts fretless though:

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Zombie thread!

I did use the search function to revive it!

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

It seems there is a lot of variance in the examples of black abalone that I have seen. It sometimes appears more like black pearloid in some pictures I have seen and has more texture and colour in others. I was under the impression that it was a man made pattern, but seeing that each piece seems to be individual, it may be actual shell. Does anyone know?

 

[T_Bone_TL]

I did use the search function to revive it!

Just looking for braaaaiiiiinnnnzzzzz...

The stuff I found (in small sheets) when looking was real shell laminated to a plastic backing. I don't know if that's also what the larger pickguards are made from or if those are in fact a pure-plastic simulation (which should be a lot more affordable...)

 

[TimBosby]

It seems there is a lot of variance in the examples of black abalone that I have seen. It sometimes appears more like black pearloid in some pictures I have seen and has more texture and colour in others. I was under the impression that it was a man made pattern, but seeing that each piece seems to be individual, it may be actual shell. Does anyone know?

I just figured all pickguard material was man-made. As long as it looks cool and is durable, I don't really care. I've become kind of obssessed with pickguards lately and my tastes run a little toward the more unique. I wanted to do black abalone on the butterscotch EBMM Stingray Old Smoothie I just acquired because I find "plain old black" kind of boring. But when the bass arrived, it looked perfect, so I decided not to mess with it. The stock pickguard is a 4-ply black/white/black/white and it looks great.

 

[APs Gear]

My boyfriend had this black abalone on pearl blue Stingray which I sold. I'm doing taxes and need to report what it was worth when bought, do you mind sharing with. me what you paid for it? II know the neck and things may look different. I just need a ballpark if possible by tomorrow. 'm attaching the photo...

Here is black abalone on a pearl blue Stingray:
View attachment 4609269

It looks good, but various lighting can make it look different and I wish it had a bit more colour to it.

Here's the abalone (more blue) on the Stingray 5 I had:
View attachment 4609271
I don't know if it has been banned or hard to source, but you don't see it like this anymore.

 

[TimBosby]

Zombie thread, wow. I don't have any abalone pickguards at all, at the moment, but I do think the blue abalone looks really nice, though basically impossible to find.

 

[APs Gear]

Zombie thread, wow. I don't have any abalone pickguards at all, at the moment, but I do think the blue abalone looks really nice, though basically impossible to find.

Sorry I thought I was replying to Smallmouth_Bass who posted the exact one in response to your thread. I actually found my boyfriend on this site after doing a reverse image lookup of an original Grover Jackson fretless bass that took me to his profile! I so enjoyed reading all of his posts. Thanks for replying, I clearly don't know my way around this site.