TOM/AOM pickguard question

[glennleaguesny]

Here’s a weird one for you guys. So I currently have a Spitfire pickguard which is made for a classic player jazzmaster (routed for a TOM bridge). The guard is absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately I just ordered a color guard that clashes a bit with the color of my jazzmaster.

Fortunately, I’m in the process of painting a second Jazzmaster for myself in an Olympic white, which I know the pickguard will look great on. Is there any issue using the pickguard routed for a TOM bridge on a jazzmaster without one? I have a staytrem bridge for this JM, is there any issue with the bridge not sitting on top of the pickguard?

I’m obviously not going to let the pickguard go to waste, so I will refinish the TOM/AOM jazzmaster if need be, but I figured since I’m currently painting another in the oly white I was hoping just to use it on that and save myself the trouble of refinishing the current jazzmaster it’s on

[Embenny]

Is your TOM cutout the single long type, rather than two holes?

If so, should be fine. The main difference between TOM and traditional bridges is the post spacing, which wouldn't be an issue with the large cutout. The cutout allows a lower bridge/lower neck angle since TOMs are chunkier pieces of metal, so as long as you're OK with seeing the cutout beneath the bridge, there's no downside there either.

If the margins of your thimbles are just a little too big for the guard to lie flat, all you'd have to do is file away a bit of material to give it clearance.

[glennleaguesny]

Is your TOM cutout the single long type, rather than two holes?

If so, should be fine. The main difference between TOM and traditional bridges is the post spacing, which wouldn't be an issue with the large cutout. The cutout allows a lower bridge/lower neck angle since TOMs are chunkier pieces of metal, so as long as you're OK with seeing the cutout beneath the bridge, there's no downside there either.

If the margins of your thimbles are just a little too big for the guard to lie flat, all you'd have to do is file away a bit of material to give it clearance.

Thank you for the info! Yes, the pickguard is cut for the single long route, which allows the TOM bridge to sit against the guitar. I appreciate the info, I wasn’t sure if the staytrem bridge also sitting directly on the guitar would effect the break angle in a negative way. I guess I’ll have to see how the bridge looks with the cutout underneath. I actually never considered the aesthetic part of it haha. Thanks again

[Embenny]

Thank you for the info! Yes, the pickguard is cut for the single long route, which allows the TOM bridge to sit against the guitar. I appreciate the info, I wasn’t sure if the staytrem bridge also sitting directly on the guitar would effect the break angle in a negative way. I guess I’ll have to see how the bridge looks with the cutout underneath. I actually never considered the aesthetic part of it haha. Thanks again

Well, you'd probably never want to deck a staytrem against the body. When changing bridges, you'll have to completely redo the setup of the guitar, which may or may not involve shimming to change the neck angle. The cutout in the pickguard won't affect the setup in any way, but you will be able to see it.