Yes or No ?

[Electric Al]

This may be a dumb question , but I have not seen it asked recently !

What is the advantage of a pick guard on a bass ?

Other than the obvious , possible scratches !

I do not use a pick !

 

[two fingers]

Cheaper routing. It's harder to route a body to hide all of the control cavities on the back.

 

[Glazenn]

YES

 

[Glazenn]

NO

 

[Michael B]

Yes

 

[48thStreetCustom]

Some people like less space between the body and the strings. Particularly when slapping.

 

[Vinny_G]

Yes, except to hide the routing on the front, possible scratches when playing wildly with a pick (it may happen ). And the cool factor, for some.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Pickguards give us something to talk about on TB. Other than that, I don't know what good they are.

 

[Crater]

Leo Fender invented and then expanded the use of pickguards to mount the electronics. It simplifies the manufacturing of basses and guitars. On a modern P-bass or stratocaster, almost all the electronics can be pre-assembed on the pickguard, the only connection that need to be made is the bridge ground, and then the pickguard with all the electronics can be installed onto the bass body.

Short answer --> it's cheaper to make a bass that way.

 

[ESPweasel]

No.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

the only connection that need to be made is the bridge ground

You might want to consider connecting the pickups, too.

 

[Joedog]

Maybe......

 

[BassDaddy77]

I started a thread a few years back (that ultimately went nowhere) with a similar topic. My big question is: Why don't pick guards protect the portion of the body where most pick players actually play? Seems to me most pick users play closer to the bridge than the neck, relatively speaking (the area where the pick guard ISN'T located LOL).

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Aesthetics

 

[Crater]

You might want to consider connecting the pickups, too.

I think you missed my point...on a P-bass, the pickup, volume and tone controls and the output jack can all be assembled and soldered together while mounted to the pickguard. The only connection left is the bridge ground.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I think you missed my point...on a P-bass, the pickup, volume and tone controls and the output jack can all be assembled and soldered together while mounted to the pickguard. The only connection left is the bridge ground.

Okay, fair enough. I usually think of the electronics as separate from pickups with pickups being an input device to the electronics. But, I can understand including pickups in the electronics package.
Do you think they do it that way? I don't know.

 

[mikefromchurch]

How else would you get all that tort on the front?

The configuration is nice. A friend has an american standard strat. He wanted some pickups with more punch. So he ordered a drop in made by and identical to the one a popular guitarist uses, swapped it out in a matter of minutes. This way, he can keep the old set in case he ever wants to sell it as an original. (I know guitars have a function for the pick guard outside of pickup replacement, but the same thing could be done with a bass)

 

[DigitalMan]

They also (jazz bass example) prevent my thumbnail from scratching the paint above the E string when I dig in around the neck pickup.

 

[Chico Ruger]

This may be a dumb question , but I have not seen it asked recently !

What is the advantage of a pick guard on a bass ?

Other than the obvious , possible scratches !

I do not use a pick !

Depends.

 

[Eidolon0274]

Yes