#165911  by Jblue76
 
Hey all,
I’ve been contemplating a gold aluminum or brass pickguard for a G&L hardtail strat I have. As I was looking around for one, I read a bunch of posts with people saying how much they suck tone, especially high end... is this true? Seemed weird to me especially since our Jerry rigs are pretty focused on strong highs and our Jerry guitars have brass all around the pups. So what’s the teal deal?
 #165912  by milobender
 
It's not true.
The softer the material, the more high end it 'sucks up', and conversely, the harder/more dense the material, the more highs it passes along. So, using physics (yeah, I know, physics...) the plastic pickguard used by Fender, et al, would 'suck' the most 'tone', aka highs. I've made them with plastic, brass, stainless steel, and wood... haven't tried aluminum, but I hate working with aluminum anyway, very sticky stuff. The effect of the pup surround is mixed in with all the other variables of the guitar; it's subtle, but there. Every material has it's own sonic/vibrational characteristics. I like the 'soft' brightness of the brass myself.
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 #165920  by Josh S
 
Not true. Definitely the opposite in my experience. These guys make strat guards in copper, brass, and aluminum. I’ve been interested in getting a copper one myself. Metal also has the bonus of not needing a shielding plate.
http://www.tone-guard.com/
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 #165921  by Jblue76
 
Cool, thanks guys. I had read on the gear page an old thread with lots of people saying the metal sucks tone; they referenced similar conversations focused on jazzmaster forums since I guess the gold aluminum is more common on those guitars. Anyhow, I trust the expertise and advice of this community above all others when it comes to gear. I’ll think of the pickguard as being more or less an aesthetic issue from now on.
Thanks again!