Does a 5 hole pickguard fit ok onto an 8-hole body?

[Dazed and Confused]

The title explains itself. :P

[jdimitri]

Pretty sure it does, JB uses a 5hole on an 8hole guitar

[yegbert]

Interesting subject, thanks for bringing this up!

In theory, yes. Five of the eight holes should be in the same position.

In practice, it depends on whether the manufacturers of the pickguard and guitar used the same standard, and how accurately their products were produced following that standard.

My '98 and '99 CII Squier Standard Teles had an 8 hole pattern that was consistent between the two of them, but unlike any of my other Teles.

I had one Affinity CIC Squier Tele black pickguard I bought loose with a different hole pattern than any of my Teles.

An 8 hole guard I got from StewMac has a different hole pattern than any of my Teles.

My '03 MIM Classic Series '50s Tele has a 5 hole guard. Its 5 holes align perfectly with the 5 on my '05 CII Squier Standard Tele, a friend's '83-ish '52 RI, my son's '04 CIC Squier Affinity Tele, and an 8 hole guard I picked up used.

All 8 holes match between my '05 CII Squier Standard Tele, my son's '04 CIC Squier Affinity Tele, and that 8 hole guard I picked up used.

My guess is that:
1) Current production MIA and MIM Standard Fender Teles with 5 and 8 holes are made to a common standard, and this is the Fender standard spec;
2) Current production AllParts pickguards are made to this same standard;
3) Current production CII Squier Standard Teles and CIC Squier Affinity Teles are made to this same standard for the 8 screw holes. The CII control plate is slightly wider and so the half-circle cutout for it is larger. I don't remember the CIC control plate and its cutout size.

I'd welcome any other observations on these and other Teles regarding the compatibility of their pickguards. What about MIK and CIJ Teles?

The great thing about standards, is that there are so many from which to choose.

[editorjuno]

Originally Posted by Dazed and Confused

The title explains itself. :P

As long as both body and pickguard follow Fender specs, yes -- my partscaster has what was originally a 5-hole Fender JD Tele b/w/b 'guard on its 8-hole Fender California Fat Tele body, and the screw holes lined up just fine. I eventually drilled and countersunk the other three holes in the 'guard when it started warping away from the body and the extra screws fixed the problem -- the tendency of three-ply 'guards to warp is probably why Fender went from five screws to eight in the first place.