I dunno. They came on the earliest Strats as far as I can tell and I think they look terrific. Maybe they make an unpleasant noise when scratched by a pick. To me this is the perfect Strat. The color, the fretboard wood and tint, and the gold anodyzed guard; perfect. Perfect color too.

The player is pretty perfect too.

If ever I can buy a great Strat, it will look like this.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Christoph from Los Venturas has one on his Jazzmaster. That's the only one I recall seeing at a surf show. But I dont have the surf show resume like JeffBTD or some of the other fellas here. Maybe they can add to that list?

I have a gold pickguard. Taken off the guitar, of course. I actually like the feel of it. 1 Ply, sturdy, very difficult to scratch. But it's gold. Blech! I dislike gold in general. I've always preferred silver or other metals to gold. It's just ugly.

Gold hardware on guitars makes me want to

Last edited: Jan 02, 2013 15:23:49

I have one on my Fiesta Red AVRI Jazzmaster. It shields hum better than the paper-thin aluminum shield that is under the plastic pickguards. I've swapped pickguards back and forth a few times and I just like the way it sounds better with the anodized guard in place.

I believe anodized guards aren't often seen on surf guitars is because they were last used on production Fenders (Precision Basses, Musicmasters and Duo-Sonics) by the end of 1959 and most of the young players who started playing guitar in the 1961-65 surf era probably thought the gold guards were "old fashioned". Same with the '50s tweed Fender amps which you rarely see in old surf music pictures or album jackets. Many modern era players have embraced the gear used in the '61-65 era and the gold anodized guards were passe' by the early '60's.

That's my take, anyway.

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

Last edited: Jan 02, 2013 17:45:50

If I ever replace the pick guard on my Jazzmaster, it will be gold anodized.

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

Surfbones wrote:

What are some good reasons this pickguard is so disliked in the world of surf?

Your premise is shaky at best.

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You and me both, Dane.

How's your digestion now?

josheboy wrote:

Christoph from Los Venturas has one on his Jazzmaster. That's the only one I recall seeing at a surf show. But I dont have the surf show resume like JeffBTD or some of the other fellas here. Maybe they can add to that list?

I have a gold pickguard. Taken off the guitar, of course. I actually like the feel of it. 1 Ply, sturdy, very difficult to scratch. But it's gold. Blech! I dislike gold in general. I've always preferred silver or other metals to gold. It's just ugly.

Gold hardware on guitars makes me want to

I have to admit, I also dislike gold things in general. For instance golden shower nozzles or even worse, golden necklace for men

Any way, in some cases I think it's kinda nice.
As you can see (on the picture below) I have a weakness for blonde and sunburst jazzmasters with a gold anodized pickguard. Just bought the blonde JM last month here on SG101.

There is a big difference between the gold on the blonde and that on the sunburst. The one on the blond has more color in it and looks more 'gold'. The one on the sunburst has a much softer tone, more towards platinum. I don't think the one on the blonde would looks nice on the sunburst, that would be too much tone

I don't like the ones the put on the Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, those are way to yellow. The ones on the Fender J Mascis Jazzmaster sparkles looks nice, more or less the same like to one on my AVRI sunburst.

I also like sunburst Precision Basses with gold anodized pickguards.

Los Venturas
The Hydrosonics (RIP)

CrashHardtop wrote:

I think the picture of Pee Wee Clayton's Strat and pickguard tell a big piece of the story of why the gold anodized guards fell from use. The gold layer wears off fairly quickly leaving the unsightly grey-silver "smear".

Of course, if you like that look and don't want to go the trouble of doing it yourself I'm sure Fender will be more than happy to "relic" one for you...for a price.

Looks like Pee Wee Crayton had a pretty rough style of played his guitar, even the pickup covers seem to had a hard time.

Los Venturas
The Hydrosonics (RIP)

Surfbones wrote:

What are some good reasons this pickguard is so disliked in the world of surf?

Since when? Also, you couldn't get repro gold anodized pickguards until a few years ago.

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Download (for free!) "Overhead At Darrington"--fiddle tunes arranged for surf-style electric mandolin--by Bruce Harvie and The Sandfleas here...

Last edited: Jan 09, 2013 21:47:29