Pickguards

[terryj]

Hi guys, I'm thinking of putting a pickguard on my bass that has never had a pickguard and I don't want to go drilling holes in it, I've seen some pickguard material that is self adhesive, has anyone ever used this? I'm just concerned that if I take it off it could have ruined the paint. Thanks in advance.

Terry G

[Kiwi]

It depends on what kind of finish you have on your bass.  I've found nitro cellulose can be fairly reactive with even the EVA foam rubber in guitar stands!  If your bass is finished in poly eurathane (aka poly) then it should be relatively safe. 


I would suggest using carpet tape because it contains a textile weave which allows it to be pulled off in one piece.  Luthiers use it all the time for sticking down routing templates. 

[Cato]

I've never tried using an adhesive to secure a pickguard but I have changed a few and I would say that they don't always sit flush to the body prior to being screwed down.

 

It may need to be fairly strong adhesive to stop the edges rising up over time.

Edited yesterday at 13:20 by Cato

[synthaside]

So , it will depend on the finish of the bass itself , Poly / VS  Nitro  ... i would avoid trying to stick anything on Nitro finishes ...  that way lies ruin.

I've had pretty good results with this Clear mounting tape  then cleaning off any residue with Isopropyl alch but  this was on THICK Glossy 90's Poly on an old Aria ....  I think kiwi's carpet tape solution looks like it might work pretty well too ...  Again clean off residue . with Iso or non acetone based nail polish remover

 

 

WHOOPS its removed the link it was Clear Gorilla Double-sided mounting tape from Amazon.
 

Edited 23 hours ago by synthaside

[Geek99]

Clear nano tape? 

[tauzero]

Scratchplates are evil.

[Acebassmusic]

46 minutes ago, tauzero said:

Scratchplates are evil.

Especially tort.....🤣 Double sided tape is a good idea for trying / changing plates without lasting damage to a bass. As others have said this may not be the best if it isnt a poly finish. I used double sided tape on a Lull I had. Both looked good but I decided "why have a lovely quilt finish and then cover it with a £10 piece of plastic?"

 

If you're just looking to protect the finish then one cheap alternative I use on the backs of all my basses is a screen protector (these) which I cut to shape. Dont buy the tempered ones....they just shatter when trying to cut.....guess how I know?  I've also used it on the front of my old Ritter. The one in the photo had been used for quite a while so did show some lifting on the lower edge, but its easily replaced. The Lakland shows the protector on the back. I don't know if they would be OK on a nitro bass finish.

 

Just a random thought....has anyone used vinyl wrap for a scratchplate?

 

Edited 23 hours ago by Acebassmusic

[synthaside]

13 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said:

Just a random thought....has anyone used vinyl wrap for a scratchplate?

Yup , works a treat ... I had a jazz bitsa with a rather weird layout scratchplate and it was white on white pearl 😐 not for me ... wrapped it black worked a treat.

From this 

 

To this
 

Edited 22 hours ago by synthaside

[Acebassmusic]

Have you tried the vinyl wrap on its own, just cut to the shape of a plate and attached direct to the bass body?

[Burns-bass]

What’s the scratch plate for? If it’s for the look then I can’t see why you wouldn’t screw it on. If it’s for protection, then you risk doing more damage by adding one (so why bother).

 

If you’re going to keep the bass forever then do whatever you want. If not, but a bass you will keep forever (with a scratchplate maybe!)

[synthaside]

1 hour ago, Acebassmusic said:

Have you tried the vinyl wrap on its own, just cut to the shape of a plate and attached direct to the bass body?

This would probably be fine if the wrap was over a bass that wasn't cut for a scratchplate ...  that Bitsa's  body had  a blooming great swimming pool sized rout underneath the scratchplate  which was great for weight relief considering im sure the body was MDF ... but one assumes the maker used the same jig for  Soapbars ,  P's  etc ... so i left the plate on for support it ..

If you had a solid body / no scratch plate i'd expect it to be fine ..... It was more hard wearing than i thought it would be ...

[terryj]

Thanks guys that's given me a lot to think about.  No wonder I love this site.x

[NancyJohnson]

A few years back I bought a Hamer Cruisebass; it was a series 1 model and didn't have a scratchplate (others did).

 

After a bit if jiggery-pokery, a member of the Hamer Discussion Group scanned his plate, I sent the schematic to Gig Ink, they made up the plate (without holes) and I attached it to the body with some strategically placed strips of 3M double sided tape.

 

[Kiwi]

21 hours ago, Acebassmusic said:

Just a random thought....has anyone used vinyl wrap for a scratchplate?

I used mirror wrap for an entire guitar last year.

[BigRedX]

21 hours ago, Acebassmusic said:

Have you tried the vinyl wrap on its own, just cut to the shape of a plate and attached direct to the bass body?

 

I used a piece of holographic sticker cut to shape stuck to the front of the guitar I made in the late 70s:

[fath446y5]

Hi Terry,

Adding a pickguard sounds like a fun idea! Self-adhesive pickguards can be a good option since they don’t require drilling.