Question about jazzer pickguards

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Author Message Harry (Harry) Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 4:06 am:    Hello all! I just bought a beautiful pre-serial Ibanez Jazzer (kind of ES 175, but with the 3-way switch on the sharp treble horn) but unfortunately the pickguard is gone. So I want to make a replacement myself. I have found various pictures that show that these guitars were equipped with turtoise-shell pickguards with white edges. The turtoise plate will not be the problem, but can anybody tell how these white edges were "done"? Were they painted, is some kind of tape glued on? Thanx for helping me out in advantage! Harry Smooth (Smooth) Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 9:07 am:    I know a guitar tech in the Netherlands (Brabant) who can make you this piece, not original but very nice handcraft.. Johns (Johns) Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 4:56 pm:    Harry: Solid colored guards, like those on LPs and cheaper model ASs, are usually made of multiple layers of black/white/black/white/black plastic. After the basic shape is cut, the edges are beveled back to reveal a small amount of each layer. On the tortoise shell guards there is a separate binding material (similar to that used on the guitar) glued to the outside edge of the guard. Obviously, the edge is not beveled, but flat. And the binding has to be the same thickness as the guard material. When the binding goes around a sharp corner or comes to a point, it has to be mortised like a picture frame. Much more work to make one of these. Harry (Harry) Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 3:39 am:    John and Smooth: Thanks for the input. So it seems to be impossible to make such pickguard myself since I don't think to have the proper tools to do so. Is there perhaps a parts-company that offers these pickguards as replacements (Allparts, Boston)? And Smooth: do you have an (e-mail)adress from that guy in Brabant? By the way: the guitar is a 2455, until now I only knew it was listed in catalogues and pricelists from 1976 and 1977. But hey, another new discovery: my guitar has no serial number! So it has been in production way earlier. Strange thing: I discovered more guitars that were produced in various years, but they were not to be found in catalogues or price lists of that year. That's so nice about digging into the old Ibanez history from the seventies: there are so many riddles to be solved and it kicks ass when you discovered something new. Anyway: I think I'll try to make a temporary replacement pickguard myself, and paint a white strip along the edges and from that point on start looking for maybe an original one or a better replacement. At least the looks will be upgraded...... Thanks for the help: this site is really THE source for all your questions and requests for help!!! Keep up the good work, John! I really would not know what to do without the great support of all the visitors/contributors on this site. Greetz, Harry Harry (Harry) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 2:50 am:    Hi John! Okay, I just laid my hands on a beautiful dark turtoise plate of pickguard-material so I can start the job. Just one final question, because I have not been able to find a clear photograph of it: is the binding around the pickguard a one-layer white one or is it multiple-layered (white-black-white)? Is there anyone else who can answer this question because he ownes such a jazz-guitar himself and might give me the answer just by taking a look at "the real thing"? I would like to copy the original as closely as possible. Thanx Harry Smooth (Smooth) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 7:20 am:    Harry, I have a back/side-picture of my pre lawsuit 2355. It is not a good pic. but it shows the sides of the pickguard. If I succeed to make a decent scan and I'll mail it to you. regards, Mike Johns (Johns) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 7:49 am:    Harry: My AF200 and AS200 pickguards have the following binding layers. Working out, towards the edge: thin white, thin black, thin white, thin black, *thick* white. Blues (Blues) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 1:30 pm:    Guys, Does anybody know of a source for the type of TORTOISE SHELL picture below? regards, BLUES Johns (Johns) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 1:51 pm:    Harold: Have you heard of Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc.? They have a site www.lmii.com but the pickguards and materials are only shown in the "paper" catalog. Their number is 800-477-1823 (707-433-1823) Smooth (Smooth) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 6:36 pm:    C:\Mijn documenten\Mijn afbeeldingen pickguard.jpg Smooth (Smooth) Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 6:40 pm:    As you can see (?) in the picture above. The pickguard of my 2335 consists of 4 layers, white(bottom)-black-white-black(top) The entire bottom is white as the top is black. Sixvsix (Sixvsix) Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 7:23 pm:    Re: Harry's 2455 Just picked up on this thread. I have just bought a 2455 here in the UK. If you haven't already made one, I can probably send you a pic of the scratchplate if you wish. JohnS’s description of the scratchplate and the binding layout is very accurate. There is also a strip of binding between the two pups and three small black felt rings below the screw that attaches to the top of the guitar. The whole plate is 3mm thick. Six Munch (Munch) Posted on Saturday, August 10, 2002 - 11:58 pm:    Harry, Stewart MacDonald guitar supplies carries laminated pickguard material which has Wh/Bk/Wh/Ts layers. This would be perfect for your needs. Simply cut out the correct shape, and bevel the edges to reveal a lovely bound appearance. Regards, Mark Harry (Harry) Posted on Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 6:15 am:    Hi Mark, Six Thanks for the advice. I figured out a (temporary?) solution myself which is pretty close to Mark's idea: I got the right material in Wh/Bk/Wh/Ts, cut out the right shape and beveled the edges so that from a distance it looks somewhat like a bound pickguard. But yet...it's not the real thing. I hope I will find such a pickguard somewhere in time... Thanks anyway! Greetz, Harry

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