The saga of my old supplier changing the spec of the Telecaster pickguards and my journey to sourcing new Fender compatible pickguards is fairly lengthy. You would not believe how long such a seemingly simple task can take!
Suffice to say that it took quite a while to get to this point. My new guards are made from drawings I had done (thanks Elliot), to ensure Fender compatibility. You can see from the pictures how well they fit – the picture of the parchment guard on a blonde body is a Fender body and Fender control plate.
Showing accurate colours in pictures is a feat in itself, and due to the different way different screens/monitors can display colours, rather frustrating. However the pictures on my monitor give a good representation of the colours.
The new “parchment” guards are a little different to my old supplier. Particularly the single ply, I find they are very similar to what is sometimes described as “eggshell”. Depending on lighting and background, they can look almost completely white or an aged white/cream. I’ve included photos on different backgrounds and on a blonde body, and a picture of white on parchment on blonde to show this variability.
The single ply guards are now 1.5mm thick, like back in the day.
The parchment and mint green 3 ply guards have a wider middle layer, for a bit of a vintage touch. It’s subtle, but I like it.
Both single and 3 ply guards are now routed rather than punched out, so don’t despair if the edges look a little fuzzy when they arrive – that’s just the clear protective sheet on top.
Currently the Esquire guards are still the previous stock and will change to new supply as and when they sell out.
Finally, I’ve reduced the price for this reintroduction. This price will be held through the new year at least.
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