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Main Description
This is the pickguard we all normally associate with the Telecaster®, the standard design encompassing the lipstick in the neck, height adjustment either side, and the eight hole mounting pattern. If you own a Tele®, chances are that this is the plate that matches up to your guitar. Pickup wise this is very much the norm, routed out for that classic neck pickup which is going to give you that woolly warmth that you only get from a Telecaster® - and in this day and age, when the Tele® is being used with such versatility, it’s always worth considering the lipstick as a viable option when modifying your guitar. Hole configurationThis is a relatively new take on a design that’s been with us since around 1959, when the eight hole mounting came into force – however those height adjustment bolts are the key here. Prior to 1988, all Telecaster® lipsticks were mounted using wood screws which were concealed under the plate; this required the removal of the plate to make adjustments, and sponges to be packed under the pickup, so that was certainly far from ideal. Thankfully, with the arrival of the AM standard, the height adjustments made things a whole lot simpler, and this specification of plate has taken over on most guitars now. It is noteworthy however that if you are working on an older guitar, or are looking to make some historically inspired modifications, that those height adjustment bolts might not be the best choice for your guitar. RoutingThe routing here is as standard; everything follows a similar vein to the neck pickup, and the bridge section is cut out to accept both Modern and Vintage style Telecaster® bridges. The control plate is cut out to 32mm, which will take a Fender® control plate or the Axesrus® Control plate with no problems what so ever.
Fender®, Squier®, Telecaster® and Tele® are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Axesrus® has no affiliation with FMIC
Other Part Compatibility
For some unfathomable reason, the humble Tele® has seen more "factory" modifications then any other guitar i can think of - from the glaringly obvious, like dual humbuckers fitted with locking tremolos, to the frustratingly subtle (different size control plates or bridge routes!) - so, just as a little bit of re-assurance, its probably worth listing a few of the common parts that interact with the pickguard here, that'll commonly turn up on the same guitars
Tortoise Shell Explained
You’ve probably noticed with the pickguards, we do A LOT of different variations in tortoise shells – and even then, we barely scratch the surface when it comes to completing the line-up.
Basically, Tortoise shell, originally, way back when, when it first started (long before the electric guitar was a thing) was just that – pieces of a tortoises shell, fixed together into a shape, and polished until semi-transparent (some of the early acoustic pickguards were actually made this way)
Now, obviously, none of us want to see a return to those practises, but seemingly, everyone liked “the look” – so with the advent of plastic in the early part of the 20th century, science found a cheaper way (it wasn’t until the seventies when trade in hawksbill turtle (the main source of Tortoise shell) shells became illegal!)
The first “plastic” Tortoise Shells were made from Nitrate plastics, usually Celluloid – and, frankly, it’s pretty gorgeous! Its semi-transparent, it’s got a sort of leopard skin look to it, and it soon worked its way onto guitars (again, most acoustics)
The problem is – Celluloid plastics are astonishingly flammable – they have a low point of combustion, and once they’re burning, they don’t go out until the fuels gone, or they flame is deprived of oxygen. As you can imagine, no one really liked working with Celluloid. It was risky to use (cutting = friction = heat) it was dangerous to store, and it wasn’t really suitable for the job at hand ( it changed colour when exposed to sunlight, it warped, it shrank, it was generally, pretty badly behaved!)
Never the less, it did eventually find its way onto electric guitars by the late 50s and early 60s, but was soon replaced for something more suitable and much safer.
Nowadays, you see Tortoise shells in either Polyoxymethylene (more stable as a material, but still very flammable) or PVC (which is fairly bomb proof, but does give off toxic fumes if burnt)
Now, getting to the modern day – Tortoise shell comes in 5 “variants” for us (ignoring the Celluloid offerings, they’re still out there, and great for historical accuracy, but just be VERY careful with them – not only in buying them/storing your guitar once its fitted, but also in actually sourcing the stuff, we’ve yet to find a factory who will even consider making a plate with it (too big a fire risk) and even when we do, its very cost prohibitive (more expensive to buy the things then we could ever dream of selling them for!) – there are guys out there making them though – but as a rough guide, expect to pay upwards of £150+)
Pearls Explained
Pearloid plates are similar to the tortoise shells, but theres a little less subtly between them, and they dont really have anything overly interesting in their history - as far as i can tell, they're always been PVC, and the variations in colour and pattern are pretty easy to follow.
So lets take a closer look.
"Whites & Creams" Explained
Ok, even i'll conceed that this isn't the most thrilling of toics at this point, but there is actually plenty of confusion when it comes to the "off white" pickguard colours, so seeing as we're ticking off pearls and tortoise shell varients, we might as well address the parchments, mints and creams too.
So lets get stuck in
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