Pickguard
A pickguard (also known as a scratchplate) is a piece of plastic or other (often laminated) material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to protect the guitar's finish from being scratched by the nails of the picking hand, as it was included on guitars not played with a plectrum. The pick does not normally contact that part of the guitar when used correctly.
For eyeglasses worn by chickens, see Chicken eyeglasses.
As well as serving a practical purpose, the pickguard may also be used for decoration and is often made in a contrasting color to that of the guitar body (popular variants are white pickguards on darker guitars and black pickguards on lighter guitars). As well as plastic, other pickguard materials can include acrylic glass, glass, plywood, fabrics, metal, and mother-of-pearl/pearloid varieties. Expensive guitars may have luxury pickguards made from exotic woods,[1] furs, skins, gems, precious metals, Mother of Pearl and abalone pearl.
The pickguard is a very common site for an autograph, since the signed pickguard can easily be detached and moved to another guitar or sold separately as a piece of memorabilia.
While custom pickguards are made from variety of materials, most mass-production manufacturers use various plastics. The following are the most common:[3]
Custom designs[edit]
The pickguard on a solid-bodied electric guitar is a popular item to be modified (modded) by enthusiasts wanting to add creative designs or use different materials. Several businesses now offer custom-made replacement pickguards to give an instrument a unique look.
The pickguard is sometimes deliberately omitted from a guitar's design. For example, superstrats with neck-thru designs aim for maximum sustain and tend to have no plastic parts, pickup frames or plastic potentiometer handles. Anything that it is imagined might dampen the sound is stripped off the guitar.