Gibson Guitar Pickguards
Gibson is known for making some of the most iconic and popular guitars used in modern music. Many of their successful designs have heavily influenced hundreds of guitars made by other companies.
Most of Gibson’s guitars feature scratch plates including the iconic Les Paul and SG designs.
Scratch plates (otherwise know as pickguards) are designed to protect the guitar’s finish from being scratched by the pickwhen playing.
There are a number of things to consider when buying a new scratch plate:
- The style – What style of pickguard do you need for your guitar? Although it sounds obvious you need a pickguard that was designed for your specific guitar
- The material – Although the vast majority of pickguards are plastic now other materials such as metal, fabric and acrylic glass are also used to make scratch plates
- The finish – What colour and design pickguard are you looking for? Something simple and understated or something patterned and striking?
- Do you need a scratch plate? If you’re replacing a damaged pickguard or one you don’t like it should be an easy job. If you’re putting a scratch plate on a guitar that didn’t come with one however you will need to drill holes into your guitar.
It is worth noting that Les Paul guitars will need a pickguard bracket to install a pickguard.
Gibson manufacture scratch plates and make them available individually. The advantage of buying Gibson scratch plates is that you can guarantee they will be compatible with your guitar.
As a result of Gibson’s fame there are a number of other companies that make guitar parts that include scratch plates designed for Gibson guitars.
These will often be a more affordable alternative to Gibson scratch plates however there is always the possibility they might not fit your guitar as well.