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Pickguard position question


rtbrick

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My son and I are building a guitar for him for his High School senior project. Details are below so I don't bore you now. My question conerns the position of the pickguard. When the neck and body are assembled, there is a small space between then end of the fretboard (the last fret near the body) and the body. Sort of a gap that is, maybe, 1/8" or 3/16" or so. Should the neck area of the pickguard slide UNDER/INTO this gap? Meaning, the pickguard would rest under the very end of the neck. During our test fits it seemed really really tight. I actually had to force the pickguard under the neck and with the pickups added in I may not be able to work it correctly without possibly scratching the finished body. If I trim that area will I end up creating a noticeable gap at the point?

 

Guitar parts:

MM strat body - swamp ash

MM neck

Genesis Mr. Browney humbucker

2 Genesis single coils

Wiring harness with push-pull pickup switching

used Fender Deluxe tremolo

Schaller locking tuners

MM tortoise shell pickguard

Body will be stained (shaded actually) a sort of amber color, nitro finish

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I can't claim any particular expertise in this area, but I think I would trim the pick guard so it would fit without being forced - particularly on a strat. I don't understand exactly where the gap you're describing is. It almost sounds like the fret board is overhanging the body, and I've never seen a fender neck made with an overhanging board I don't think. But, if you have that large a gap between the end of the neck and the bottom of the body pocket, that's not good.

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The pickguard should be under the neck overhang. Quite often the neck has to be loosened or removed to get a pickguard off. So you're on the right track with the build as it should be a tight fit. This will hide any goofs in that area as well. Go ahead & take the neck off when putting your loaded pickguard in place. It's alot easier and, as you've noticed, will cause less damage. Mike has seen differentt guitars as I've never seen one without an overhang. My tele & my strat both have some overhang.

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do you mean a gap between the body and the neck when the neck is bolted on? then your pickguard will cover that gap?

 

if so, you don't want that. the neck will shift and it will not intonate properly. the heel of the neck should fit right into the body neck pocket with no gaps. and the pickguard should pretty much just lay into place without much effort. if anything trim the pickguard. whatever you do don't mess with the neck.

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Just checked fender necks, and Customtele is correct - most overhang. I still don't understand having to force an empty pickguard into place. Sounds like the guard could shim the neck away from the pocket if it's that tight.

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Mike42 you're correct. Most setups require a bit of shim at the heel of the neck to get it in the right plane anyway. So this isn't a bad thing. Any strat/tele that I've seen are like that. Not saying this is always the case. But I always try to avoid trimming anything. I hate saying, "I cut it twice & it's still too short!".

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Thanks for all the responses. So if I mount the pickguard first, then mount the neck I think the pickguard may not allow the neck to fully seat. Would this not throw off the -initial- geometry too much. I expect that the minimal neck adjustment that is common starts with a well seated neck. I cannot gauge the fit again right now because I have the body out getting the finish applied. Though, like I said, I can force the pickguard under the neck overhang, so maybe when I attach the neck it will just tighten down on the pickguard while being seated properly.

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Just to add something. I watched a guy on Youtube replace a pickguard on a Fender Strat. After the screws were removed he lifted it right off with no effort. So it appears that the pickguard did not even slip under the overhang.

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You should probably get your neck on, put some strings on & get any shimming done to get your action correct. Then measure the gap between the body & the neck overhang & the thickness of your pickguard to see how they compare.

As previously stated you may need to put a thin shim under the heel of the neck, either at the front (bridge side) or the back. Front is the most common.

I'm glad you're asking questions now. I also think it's cool that you & your son are doing this project. Not many fathers will even take the time nowadays.

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If its a strat build, and the pickguard overhangs the neck pocket as it sounds to me, It sounds like the bridge isnt positioned properly leaving too small an area for the pickguard to fit between the neck and bridge.

 

If its an issue of the neck overhang, you need to shim the neck so you dont torque the neck down onto the pickguard.

This can crack the overhang and also prevent the neck from tightening down properly.

 

If theres a gap between the heel of the neck and the end of the pocket, you should get the neck properly seated.

You can have major tuning issues otherwise due to neck flexing. If the gap has to stay there it should be filled.

 

I would enlarge the holes in the body in this case for the neck mounting screws a littel and move the neck in tight.

 

 

If you dont get the distance between the bridge and 12th fret correct, you'll never get the intonation right

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I think the issue is fairly clear now - there is not enough clearance between the fretboard overhang and the body to allow the pickguard to slide into place without forcing it. Seems to me there are three possible options: (1) thin the pg a little (maybe sand the back down a little in that area; (2) take a little bit off the bottom of the overhang; or (3) shim the neck a little to increase the gap. It might be just a couple of high spots on the bottom of the overhang that wouldn't be a big deal as is, but if it were my guitar I would probably want to be able to at least slide a thin card or some such between the guard and the overhang with everything torqued down. i think my biggest concern would be the possibility of splitting the glue joint between the neck and fret board.

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Thanks for running down all the possibilites. This really helps. I have enjoyed this project, and my son will hopefully have something he can hold on to for a long time.

 

Mike, I will check the validity of each option you list, and maybe the shimming will alleviate the problem altogether.

 

The body is still out with a guy who is spraying the finish, so I will not be able reassess for another few days. I'll post back with the results soonest.

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Just to add something. I watched a guy on Youtube replace a pickguard on a Fender Strat. After the screws were removed he lifted it right off with no effort. So it appears that the pickguard did not even slip under the overhang.

 

 

If you have a Mighty Mite neck it will be a 22 fret neck with a fretboard overhang, this is normal. Fender make 21 and 22 fret necks for different model Strats. 21 fret necks do not have a fretboard overhang, hence the pickguard lifting strait off on the vidio you saw.

I wouldn't shim a neck unless it needed it to set the action required, or there was a risk of the neck not tightening down fully, or the presure damaging the fretboard/neck glue joint. You'll have to decide just how much to thick the pickguard is for the available space and make adjustments if necessary. The suggestion to sand down the underside of the fretboard overhang (if we are only talking about a mil or so) is a good one, personaly I'd prefer that to neck shims, but that's just a personal thing, I don't shim necks unless I really have to.Just do as recommended in other posts and put the pickguard on them re fit the neck.

It only needs a mil. or so of difference in neck pocket depth, or fretboard thickness, or pickguard thickness, to make the difference between a pickguard sliding under the fretboard overhang or not quite fitting under.

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I'd be against trimming the overhang. I has one break off once during a refret. The cut for the last fret doesnt leave much meat left there. A shim the best way to go. If the fretboard is that low you not only wont have the clearence for the pickguard but the bridge and pups are going to be too low as well.

 

I found the best way to shim is to take numbers of thin washers and put them on the back screws till you get the height correct with the strings on and bridge height adjusted. Once you get that, put some masking tape over the nut so you can remove the neck with the strings still on there, and they wont come unwound from the tuners.

 

Next you can fill the area in the neck pocket with epoxy putty like a wedge up to the height of the washers. Put a piece of celophane over the soft putty and wang the neck down tight on it. Make sure the neck is aligned properly again. After it hardens you can remove the neck and celophane and sand ot smooth or fill any gaps.

 

This will give you solid resonance between the body and neck. Any squeeze out at the edges of the neck will reduces the possibility of the neck shifting side to side later when its transported in a guitar case etc.

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