Put the original mint green guard back on my MIJ Traditional II Telecaster Custom

[gwjensen]

I still like tort on the right finish. My P Bass is ocean turquoise and came from the factory with a tort guard. I won’t be changing it. That color and that guard with the maple fretboard gets more compliments than anything else I’ve ever taken to a gig. It’s beautiful.

I hear @boris bubbanov on the mint with orange or yellow, but that’s currently working for me as well. My Strat is a two color 50’s style. I got it used. It hung on the wall for a year at my local GC. At first I went “Ew”. But every time I saw it I liked it more. It’s a JV modified 50’s, that left the factory with a. HSS setup and a single play white guard. By the time I found it a previous owner had installed a EMG DG20 system on a mint guard.

Finally one day I had them pull it down, and had to have it.

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Thats a great looking Strat! These new JVs are great. I had the HSS one (I think you have one, too?) but stupidly sold it...

 

[Jakedog]

Thats a great looking Strat! These new JVs are great. I had the HSS one (I think you have one, too?) but stupidly sold it...

This is that one. It originally had the HSS setup. Whoever owned it before I did made the swap to the EMG Gilmour setup. It’s a very versatile and fun guitar. I still can’t stand sunburst, but it’s too good a guitar to get hung up on the paint job.

 

[badinfinities]

This is that one. It originally had the HSS setup. Whoever owned it before I did made the swap to the EMG Gilmour setup. It’s a very versatile and fun guitar. I still can’t stand sunburst, but it’s too good a guitar to get hung up on the paint job.

I'm not a sunburst fan either, but your two color burst is an exception. It looks great!

 

[JSMac]

When I got this a few months ago, I replaced the original guard with a white pearl one which I really liked, but I was always kind of hemming and hawing about whether to put the original one back on. Decided to go for it today and forgot that I hadn’t even removed the plastic from it yet. I like it better.

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That looks great! That's the perfect shade of mint. Fender's mint guards are the best.

I used one on this partscaster.

 

[Alaska Mike]

When it comes to sunbursts, it really depends on the burst and the shade of pickguard. The clown-ier or more modern they get, the less mint green looks good. With a vintage-looking, subdued burst that just throws off an aged vibe, a Fender-shade mint green can be a nice accent. I usually opt for parchment or an aged white shade, but I can respect the subtle flair it provides.

 

[Kentelecaster]

That’s the way you do it! I agree wholeheartedly!

 

[Dadzmad]

To me there's something about a sonic blue Tele with a mint guard. In the right lighting the guard looks like smoked glass.

 

[TeleTucson]

I love mint green. I once put a pearl guard on an ocean turquoise strat. I thought it looked amazing and I was super proud of it. Then my wife saw it. She said “It’s really pretty except for that stupid Roy Rogers looking pickguard. You should change that.” After that, I couldn’t unsee it. Took it off and haven’t used one since. To this day all I can think of when I see one is cheesy over the top Hollywood cowboy accoutrements. Never thought of them that way before, but that one comment just killed them for me.

Your wife has an opinion just as you do. Sometimes the glitz should carry the day ...