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Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 2:42 pm
by sndansby
I just received a new tort pick guard for my 2008 MIJ Jazzmaster and it looks cheap. I did buy in on ebay from China on NYE while going from one party to the next so my judgement was not what is should have been. You live, you learn, you cry, weep, laugh and then decide to spend more money pretty much in that order. I did not pay much for it so I am thinking another to replace the replacement. The question is where would you guys source a nice not too expensive guard. I have looked at Reverb & Ebay.
Thanks
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 1:50 am
by NICQ
The Wd Music JM Tort guard with mint back looks quite good - cheaper than the Fender one which looks also ok
Other than that.. Tort is tricky - the cheap ones often just don't look good. There are ones from China that look ok though: I bought some red Tort blanks and they were similar to the colours Fender uses now (AVRI tort - if you're ok with that)... But it's hard to tell from the pictures and find the right seller..
Both can be found on ebay from time to time :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Prats-F ... Sw7qFboHEt
But there's a reason people pay Spitfire prices..
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:27 am
by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
Hey!
I hope I can help!
There is this guy from Glasgow. Brian.
Earl Pilanz at ebay. He offers a wide variety of tort and other funky colours. While it's still printed plastic - so surely won't keep up with Spitfire - I found them to be looking quite alright. Way better then the Squiers and likely as good as the Fenders. He also has different shades of tort.
https://www.m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid ... rue&_pgn=1
Due to non standard pickup cavities I had to cut my own and I was using one of his sheets. But I learned way more about tortoise after I already had it. Here is how they look.
You could always use some ways of "aging" or at least using a >400 grit sanding paper to get a little bit of that "shine" off. Tricked out guitar offer a few quite alright looking ones and if you don't mind cutting your own:
rothkoandfrost.com have some really good looking ones. Like the luthitec acrylic sheet. ButI think this specific one doesn't come with white and black layers underneath... otherwise I would have probably taken that one back then!
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:58 am
by TeenageShutdown!
NICQ wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 1:50 am
The Wd Music JM Tort guard with mint back looks quite good - cheaper than the Fender one which looks also ok
I have a brushed gold & a cream WD JM pickguards, and while they look great on the website, I was disappointed each time when they arrived. The quality is very good, but the colors are much darker than what appears on their website. Maybe this isn’t the case with all their guards, but just what I’ve experienced from them. For what it’s worth, the cream pickguard I bought from them has grown on me & I really like it now.
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:46 am
by Shadoweclipse13
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:27 am
Hey!
I hope I can help!
There is this guy from Glasgow. Brian.
Earl Pilanz at ebay. He offers a wide variety of tort and other funky colours. While it's still printed plastic - so surely won't keep up with Spitfire - I found them to be looking quite alright. Way better then the Squiers and likely as good as the Fenders. He also has different shades of tort.
https://www.m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid ... rue&_pgn=1
Some of those patterns he has look really fantastic!! Thanks for the link!!!
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:24 am
by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:46 am
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:27 am
Some of those patterns he has look really fantastic!! Thanks for the link!!!
Glad I could help Shadow.
I hope sndanspy finds the object of desire somewhere there as well.
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:25 am
by NICQ
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:24 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:46 am
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:27 am
Some of those patterns he has look really fantastic!! Thanks for the link!!!
Glad I could help Shadow.
I hope sndanspy finds the object of desire somewhere there as well.
I have bought some pickguards and necks from him a year ago, he's great to deal with but basically just resellinh chinese made stuff... But his pictures are very accurate and he has individual pictures for the necks where you can see the grain patterns and choose the ones you like.
Regarding pickguards and tortoise: his are the same as the ones I posted in ghe link. I have blanks I ordered from him and directly from china and they are 100% the same material. He is faster and reliable but thus pricier than ordering from china directly..
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:48 pm
by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
NICQ wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:25 am
I have bought some pickguards and necks from him a year ago, he's great to deal with but basically just resellinh chinese made stuff... But his pictures are very accurate and he has individual pictures for the necks where you can see the grain patterns and choose the ones you like.
I already thought so too. But could it be that most retailers out there sell more or less the same materials from probably the same let's say 5 producers somewhere far away (at least in that price range). Same with axes'r'us and probably Rockinger in Germany and probably most other luthier-suppliers too.
I didn't mind for the guard to be honest but I hesitated to buy a neck from him for that exact reason.
But yeah, definitely +1 for him being great dealing with and super helpful, he also supplies scans of the pickguards so you can easily check if they fit.
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:28 pm
by timtam
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:48 pm
I have bought some pickguards and necks from him a year ago, he's great to deal with but basically just resellinh chinese made stuff... But his pictures are very accurate and he has individual pictures for the necks where you can see the grain patterns and choose the ones you like.
I was under the impression that he makes pickguards too .. eg Renaldo JM made to order ... 3-5 days ...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jazzmaster-Pic ... 2609656835
He also says he does custom guards. If he re-sells Chinese pre-cut guards too, the added advantage to me is that he knows what he's selling - he lists what models they will fit, provides hole-to-hole spacings on his listings, and a scan too if you request it ... so that you can check before you buy. Buying from Chinese ebay sellers, as well as some other US and EU guitar parts sources (that could do better), is a lottery. Some provide diagrams with hole-to-hole spacings but others don't.
EDIT: Apologies if I misread your meaning.
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:16 pm
by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
timtam wrote: ↑Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:28 pm
I was under the impression that he makes pickguards too .. eg Renaldo JM made to order ... 3-5 days ...
He also says he does custom guards. If he re-sells Chinese pre-cut guards too, the added advantage to me is that he knows what he's selling - he lists what models they will fit, provides hole-to-hole spacings on his listings, and a scan too if you request it ... so that you can check before you buy. Buying from Chinese ebay sellers, as well as some other US and EU guitar parts sources (that could do better), is a lottery. Some provide diagrams with hole-to-hole spacings but others don't.
You quoted me/us wrong
But yes, he does (both know the stuff he's selling and custom guards)!
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 2:33 am
by indiedennie
Do you have a pic of your guard? I bought one from Aliexpress and it looks nice IMO
Re: Dudes Pick Guard Dudes
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 12:33 pm
by sndansby
Thanks all. I installed the guard and it does not look as bad as I thought it would. I will post picks soon. Thanks for all of your replies.