Wood for a new pickguard?

Wow! that bass looks nice and broken in! I think it looks great the way it is. Maybe before you make another pickguard, try and salvage that one by taking all the controls off it and gluing it back together. You could sand it down and clean it up a bit and I bet it'd get a little lighter.
Looks to me like rosewood or walnut......but who knows.

However, if you want to make your own, I'd suggest getting some thin backing material and laminating a sheet of whatever wood veneer you want to the top of that. You could even set it off by putting a piece of maple veneer inbetween the backing material and top veneer.

I bought a strat pickguard from these guys:
http://edenhaus.com/Scarpelmbrlpgrd.htm
I dunno if they make jazz bass pickguards or not, but it would definitely be a fun project to do yourself.

 

You do not want to use veneer, it will be too thin.

Assuming the original cannot be repaired (does not look that bad, some gel superglue and sandpaper could fix it), use two layers, alternating the grain orientation, and pick a wood you like the look of. A panel sander should be able to take the layers down to 1/16 or so, then glue them up.

 

That is definately the most beautiful jazz bass, I've ever seen.... And it's fretless too, my, what a perfect little bass you have! I would suggest first, trying to salvage what you have now, I understand you're eager to modify and build, but you've got time to do that, take your time with this project, prove you don't always need something new. I think being able to fix this would say more than being able to build a new one. Second, if you do infact decide to make a new one, I suggest a walnut or even perhaps wenge. I think that darker wood contrasts best with your body wood.

~Ryan

 

Though totally irrelevent (-vant?), I also think that is the best looking J I've ever seen.

 

I'd also weigh against a lighter wood, the darker wood complements the fretboard really well. Maybe if it was bound with something lighter, or JSP's suggestion with the maple inbetween the backing and top piece.

If I may so bold as to make some suggestions for future modifications?
Either:
- replace the gold knobs in favor of some purdy wood ones;
- make some wood covers for the pups (dark for back, lighter for front);
- replace the bridge with custom wooden number.
(Mmm, organic woody-woodiness)

Or:
- replace the bridge with a shiny gold one.
(The gold looks hot against that darker wood)

Just my $0.02. Which is probly worth closer to like $0.015 (with exchange rates and such).

Josh D

 

I've had success making wood laminates with different colored layers using veneers and a press. By laying them up in opposing directions and using an epoxy as the glue, you can make a laminated sheet that will cut and finish on the edges very much like a regular pickguard. Stack up some walnut and maple and you can make a nice 3 or 4 layer look when it's beveled. The epoxy is important because when I've used water based glues, I've had problems with warping.

You can sand quartersawn hardwoods down pretty thin - certainly thin (and thick) enough to make a good PG. Even some woods will flatsawn but you run the risk of more warpage as you get thinner. I've laminated a thin pretty veneer on thicker more inert stock to avoid this. Believe it or not, you can use masonite with a veneer on top and it looks great. Start with the thin stuff and then you might have to sand it a little thinner after laminating but the unremarkable masonite acts like a nice plain border around the prettier top veneer.

If you use oilier woods like rosewood, ebony, or cocobolo, you won't have to finish it with anything. Just sand and polish to a nice sheen and then maybe an occasional touch up to keep it that way. Those woods are also tough so they'll stand up pretty well under the rigors of play.

And I like this look a lot too. I almost don't expect a "Jazz" sound to come out of it because it looks so earthy and organic.

 

+ 1 on wooden knobs... Matching Rosewood would look stellar!!!

You know, I think that perhaps spruce would make a nice contrast to your bass. I played my friend's Fender Dreadnought today, with a spruce body and rosewood side and back lams, absolutely beautiful IMO.

Just a ponder.

~Ryan