Les Paul pickguard on Telecaster?

[gimmethelute]

Some may call heresy (which is fine!) but I'm thinking of putting a Les Paul style pickguard on the Telecaster I'm building (my first guitar build). My quandary is that I just finished a sunburst dye job on a beautiful flame maple 1/4" thick maple top and cringe at the thought of covering up any of that beautiful grain! I could of course go with no pickguard, but it struck me last night going to bed that since Les Pauls often have sunbursts, and a pickguard which is pretty modest, so why not add that style of pickguard to my telecaster? I would probably cut it myself (perhaps from brass sheet) to accommodate the non-humbucker pickup in the bridge. What are your thoughts?


First time poster, incessant reader. You guys have all the best info!

 

[mexicanyella]

Sounds like a cool idea to me; of the various alternate pickguard shapes I’ve seen, the Telecaster shape still makes it look like a Telecaster...to my eye anyway. Are you thinking of having it lay flat on the body, or have the lower edge actually up a bit on a little standoff bracket like an LP?

 

[Freeman Keller]

Why put a pick guard on it at all (once you drill the holes you are committed)? Put a ring on the neck pickup and a control cavity cover over the hole and call it good. FWIW I didn't put a pick guard on my lester either

Nice job on the burst, BTW.

 

[gimmethelute]

Sounds like a cool idea to me; of the various alternate pickguard shapes I’ve seen, the Telecaster shape still makes it look like a Telecaster...to my eye anyway. Are you thinking of having it lay flat on the body, or have the lower edge actually up a bit on a little standoff bracket like an LP?

I think I'd go with the bracket, if I went this route. As long as everything lined up nicely.

 

[gimmethelute]

Why put a pick guard on it at all (once you drill the holes you are committed)? Put a ring on the neck pickup and a control cavity cover over the hole and call it good. FWIW I didn't put a pick guard on my lester either

View attachment 974430


Nice job on the burst, BTW.

Yes exactly! You can't make those screw holes disappear once drilled. I did order a neck pickup ring from Armadillo Guitar (brass, along with a brass pickup cover I ordered), though I was tempted to fabricate one myself since brass is easy enough to cut on the bandsaw and file to fit. I think I'll go sans-pickguard for now.

And thanks! I like your back-routed tele by the way. The pots and switch are very clean looking.

 

[Si G X]

I'd probably go cab-style if you don't want to cover so much

maybe even a slightly altered cabronita where the lower 'horn' part is more like a tele custom.... kind of like this.

 

[Si G X]

 

[gimmethelute]

View attachment 974447

I like how that's much more conservative. My mind went to the Cab too but couldn't find any evidence of "chopped" horn on the guards. Did you make these renders yourself? (I'm guessing there is a kind of pickguard render engine on Warmoth?)

 

[Si G X]

I like how that's much more conservative. My mind went to the Cab too but couldn't find any evidence of "chopped" horn on the guards. Did you make these renders yourself? (I'm guessing there is a kind of pickguard render engine on Warmoth?)

yeah, it's just a very amatuer chop job on some warmouth screen grabs.

 

[Si G X]

I added the pickup cut in too..

 

[Mark617]

Some may call heresy (which is fine!) but I'm thinking of putting a Les Paul style pickguard on the Telecaster I'm building (my first guitar build). My quandary is that I just finished a sunburst dye job on a beautiful flame maple 1/4" thick maple top and cringe at the thought of covering up any of that beautiful grain! I could of course go with no pickguard, but it struck me last night going to bed that since Les Pauls often have sunbursts, and a pickguard which is pretty modest, so why not add that style of pickguard to my telecaster? I would probably cut it myself (perhaps from brass sheet) to accommodate the non-humbucker pickup in the bridge. What are your thoughts?


First time poster, incessant reader. You guys have all the best info!

No !
Look at that flame. You did a fantastic job. Don’t cover an inch.

 

[Peegoo]

"Heresy?" You're only about 30 years late

Fender did it on a production Telecaster back in 1983: their Elite model line. Here's an example:

They lasted about a year in production because they were not popular at all. Their humbucking pickups, weird switching, and on the Strat version--a craptacular vibrato bridge--made them a real dog's breakfast in the market.

 

[gimmethelute]

"Heresy?" You're only about 30 years late

Fender did it on a production Telecaster back in 1983: their Elite model line. Here's an example:

They lasted about a year in production because they were not popular at all. Their humbucking pickups, weird switching, and on the Strat version--a craptacular vibrato bridge--made them a real dog's breakfast in the market.

Wow that's an interesting setup. I was not aware these existed, thanks for sharing! The guard looks almost like it shrank in the wash!

 

[Peegoo]

The guard looks almost like it shrank in the wash!

It's virtually identical in size to the Gibson version.

You can use a bracket, Gibson style. However, on a flat-top slab body it puts the plate at a sort of odd angle due to there being no carve/arch on the body like a Les Paul has.

 

[Freeman Keller]

As I mentioned I often don't put a pick guard on a les paul style guitar, particularly if I have pretty wood

And when I do feel a need to put a pick guard on a guitar I usually make it out of a wood that contrasts or compliments the other wood(s). Both these have rosewood pick guards to match the f/b, bridge, and all.

I need to replace that shiny bolt with a dark one so it doesn't stand out so badly

 

[Les Paul lover]

Some may call heresy (which is fine!) but I'm thinking of putting a Les Paul style pickguard on the Telecaster I'm building (my first guitar build). My quandary is that I just finished a sunburst dye job on a beautiful flame maple 1/4" thick maple top and cringe at the thought of covering up any of that beautiful grain! I could of course go with no pickguard, but it struck me last night going to bed that since Les Pauls often have sunbursts, and a pickguard which is pretty modest, so why not add that style of pickguard to my telecaster? I would probably cut it myself (perhaps from brass sheet) to accommodate the non-humbucker pickup in the bridge. What are your thoughts?


First time poster, incessant reader. You guys have all the best info!

Crikey, with such an incredible top, putting a guard on of any shape would be criminal imo.

Great job there. Show it off!!!

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Idea: 1983 Telecaster Elite. Hmmm...

 

[hwallen48]

Some may call heresy (which is fine!) but I'm thinking of putting a Les Paul style pickguard on the Telecaster I'm building (my first guitar build). My quandary is that I just finished a sunburst dye job on a beautiful flame maple 1/4" thick maple top and cringe at the thought of covering up any of that beautiful grain! I could of course go with no pickguard, but it struck me last night going to bed that since Les Pauls often have sunbursts, and a pickguard which is pretty modest, so why not add that style of pickguard to my telecaster? I would probably cut it myself (perhaps from brass sheet) to accommodate the non-humbucker pickup in the bridge. What are your thoughts?


First time poster, incessant reader. You guys have all the best info!

Gorgeous!

 

[Otisblove]

G&L has this. The Telecaster Elite reminded me of it.