Best places for a cheap custom pickguard

[Jack]

Hi all,

 

I need a pickguard making with a slightly non standard route. Nothing too crazy, just one cut different and in a plain black/white/black. Where is good these days? I know you can get a pickguard for £10 or spend £250 so rather than waste 10 businesses' time by asking for quote I thought I would ask where has been good for you guys in the past. And how much they cost!

 

Thanks

Jack

[Buddster]

I used these a couple of years ago and they were excellent. They needed a template to work from (i was after a white version of a black one i had), but don't know if that's normal. All in cost was £51.

You'll obviously need to check they can do what you want, but I can definitely recommend them. 

 

https://tinytone.co.uk/

Edited January 27 by Buddster

[Gank Bass]

EarlPilanz on eBay is your guy👌 great value and incredibly easy person to work with 

[Lozz196]

Would be my recommendation too

[Jack]

Good recommendations all, thanks. I'll update the thread for posterity when I get something. 

[wheredragonsdwell]

Earlpilanz on ebay did my dingwall recently,turned out pretty nicely. Had to send my old one in as they didn't have a template but was a pretty quick turnaround once they got it 

[three]

I’ve used tinytone and the results were quite good but not perfect – really quite expensive too. Tinytone and Jack’s instrument repair services (two branches of the same organisation I think) have been unresponsive in the recent past. I’m just waiting for two guards from Earl Pilanz now. I’ll be back with more when they arrive. Very easy process and all facilitated with enthusiasm by Brian - he seems very good to work with for custom guards and turnaround is very reasonable 

 

 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Another vote for Brian Pillans - I've had a few from him and the pickguards and service have been second to none.

[tinytone]

On 30/01/2026 at 11:07, three said:

I’ve used tinytone and the results were quite good but not perfect – really quite expensive too. Tinytone and Jack’s instrument repair services (two branches of the same organisation I think) have been unresponsive in the recent past. I’m just waiting for two guards from Earl Pilanz now. I’ll be back with more when they arrive. Very easy process and all facilitated with enthusiasm by Brian - he seems very good to work with for custom guards and turnaround is very reasonable 

 

 

I'm really sorry to hear this, but it's super helpful to see honest feedback, so a heartfelt thank you for posting it!

 

Unfortunately the drawback of and being effectively a one-man business* and making everything entirely by hand is that we do need to charge a little more than some other business models do in order to cover our labour costs. Just as a bass made using hand tools will take more time and therefore cost more than one made using a CNC machine, so does a scratchplate.

 

For anyone interested, here's a short video showing how we make each pickguard by hand

 

As it's mostly just me here, at busy times (over xmas and new year in particular) I do have to prioritise making scratchplates over responding to emails- however, we do have a direct order form on our website now, so the old system of needing to message us directly to request a price is obsolete for all but the most awkward of jobs.

(Basic modifications are free of charge when ordered via our builder)

Despite setting up the order form, I still get a vast number of emails and quote requests a week, but also need to actually fulfil orders, so it can be a difficult balance to strike during busy periods! However, I do personally respond to every single email and enquiry that reaches me as soon as I am able to.

 

The advantage of making everything by hand though, is that in addition to being able to make pretty much any shape imaginable from over a hundred materials, we also offer a 'perfect fit guarantee' and are always super keen to rectify any errors where possible.

 

@three -If you haven't already, please do get in touch if there's anything I can do to correct the 'not perfect' bits you mentioned 🙏

 

For anyone else interested in giving us a go, we do offer a one-off 20% discount to BC'ers- just drop us a message via our website for a price

A typical bass pickguard from us will currently set you back around £55-70 plus shipping, (pre-discount), lead time is approx 10 working days once I have both payment and your original guard/template(there are no standard guards!)

 

Appreciate this is a bit of a long response, hope this is helpful..!

 

Huge thanks also to @Buddster for the kind words! 

 

Cheers,

Steve

 

 

 

*just for clarity- Jack's Instrument Services and Tiny Tone are separate companies- Tiny Tone was set up in 2020 to handle all pickguard orders separately- this way Jack can focus on his luthier work at JIS, and as his sole employee at TT, I handle all pickguards, pedals and wiring here.