Mirror pickguard replacement

Well it didn't take long. I scratched up my mirror pickguard (PG).
After toying with it, I can see the material is about $5 worth.(Plexiglass + aluminum fold) The cut adds another $5, the mark up doubles 3x from distributor to guitar company to music shop. By that time it cost $60 to the user.

It was my first mirror, and now I am looking for a replacement. I could buy another, but I am not there yet.
How about brass + chrome polished? Or are those a P.T.A. to keep clean? click me -> http://www.tone-guard.com/Tone_Guard_Customer_Reviews/Tone_Guard_Customer_Reviews.html

How about polished aluminum? Or is that another type of metal that is a hassle to keep shiny?

I emailed tone-guard and Wayne (thumbs) responded a few times on what I was looking for, but never finished the conversation. No Perfect authentic cadence, only a deceptive one. His phone # is a black-hole mystery. (go ahead and dial it).

What do you guy think is a good replacement for mirror PG?

if you want to play guitar and not shine the pg, you really don't have a great option. just leave the one you have on, they all will get scratched up unless you don't play it. it's the price of being a player, not a collector.

What do you guy think is a good replacement for mirror PG?

Isn't there some sort of clear coat you could have put on the mirror? It would not be as smooth and reflective but it would keep the prints off and protect it from scratches.......not perfect but a compromise that retains the mirrored look, as in illusion of mirror. You could experiment now that this one is damaged anyway. I cannot think of the name of the chemical but there is something you add to paint that keeps it from beading and separating on metal and glass.

Otherwise replace it with B L A C K

Thanks for the replies.

Black and using the original is still an option. I ordered a Black aluminum from Tone guard and when it arrives, we shall see.
On another note, I spoke to my friend who into hot rods and asked him about the shinny metal.
here is what he said.
1.) Polish aluminum is a royal pain to keep shinny, don't do it.
2.) Nickel is cool, but there is a better option
3.) Show room shine. That is metal, lets say typical steel, coated with copper, then nickel, then chrome. This is what they call Show room shine. California has environmental laws bla bla bla, better off shipping the metal to another state to get it done right.

He made no mention of brass. He doesn't see the point to chrome plate brass. Just use steel.

http://www.midlothianmusic.com/

ask for John, Lots of G&L Parts

I emailed tone-guard and Wayne (thumbs) responded a few times on what I was looking for, but never finished the conversation. No Perfect authentic cadence, only a deceptive one. His phone # is a black-hole mystery. (go ahead and dial it).

Wayne is a good guy(former Apple exec and long-time forum member). His business is first rate. He OEM's so a one-off is gracious... Here's my PG(used to be his header image too...):




Cheers,

Will

You must be Peter. Your guard was shipped on Thursday of last week. My phone is VOIP, sometimes a re-boot is required. We had several emails, one showing a lefty, then a righty. I was going to get back via email, then you ordered a guard from the website. Luckily, I had one G&L Legacy in stock, in black anodized. Mostly OEM these days. Sorry if you felt you didn't get the best service. You ordered a guard and it was shipped within 4 days. Please explain to me what is " No Perfect authentic cadence, only a deceptive one". Never heard that phrase before. The deceptive part offends me. How was I deceptive? I'm sure the rest of the board would like to know about your statement, as would I. You seem to complain about the cost of a plastic guard materials vs labor to make, etc. Yet you get an aluminum guard for only $79 with free shipping and you seem to not recognize the value in that either. You are a tough customer. I do hope you like the guard I sent you. It is backed by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. Did you know that your favorite guitar only costs approx. $375 in wood, pickups, and other materials, etc. Yet because of the labor, they transform that pile of materials into a fabulous guitar. BTW, the cost of a guitar stated does not reflect G&L's actual cost in anyway. I'm just saying, that for most guitar builders, the value add is the labor and know how. Enjoy!

You must be Peter. Your guard was shipped on Thursday of last week. My phone is VOIP, sometimes a re-boot is required. We had several emails, one showing a lefty, then a righty. I was going to get back via email, then you ordered a guard from the website. Luckily, I had one G&L Legacy in stock, in black anodized. Mostly OEM these days. Sorry if you felt you didn't get the best service. You ordered a guard and it was shipped within 4 days. Please explain to me what is " No Perfect authentic cadence, only a deceptive one". Never heard that phrase before. The deceptive part offends me. How was I deceptive? I'm sure the rest of the board would like to know about your statement, as would I. You seem to complain about the cost of a plastic guard materials vs labor to make, etc. Yet you get an aluminum guard for only $79 with free shipping and you seem to not recognize the value in that either. You are a tough customer. I do hope you like the guard I sent you. It is backed by my 100% satisfaction guarantee. Did you know that your favorite guitar only costs approx. $375 in wood, pickups, and other materials, etc. Yet because of the labor, they transform that pile of materials into a fabulous guitar. BTW, the cost of a guitar stated does not reflect G&L's actual cost in anyway. I'm just saying, that for most guitar builders, the value add is the labor and know how. Enjoy!

that is a musical term, not meant as an insult. an authentic cadence musically means a strong resolution to the piece, a sense of ending, closure.
a deceptive cadence leaves the listener with a hanging, suspended feeling like the piece is not really over. it is also called interrupted cadence, he is referring to the conversation not being completed, left with a feeling of incomplete closure. he is in no way suggesting you deceived him, he is just describing the feeling in a musical term, perhaps thinking that on a music related forum the readers would understand this form of expression without taking offense.
i think it would be best just asking what he meant by that if you don't understand, and leaving it at that until clarification, instead of responding to a perceived slight that was not there.
a little music education can go a long way. btw, i am not suggesting that you are any less of a person for not understanding the phrase, nor that you should have, it is most commonly used in classical music. i am just trying to shine a light on what the op was saying, and hoping to resolve a misunderstanding. i am also sure meow is a difficult customer to please, needing to replace a pickguard that is very high maintenance after the first imperfection would indicate that. i do hope you are both happy after the pickguard arrives.

Hi Wayne.

The Pickguard came in today. It looks and feels great.


A few minor adjustments and all set to go.

Overall, my initial impression is positive.

From our email chain. You stated you might have some one-off shiny powder coated. Being the weekend, I figured you really couldn't answer that until during the work week. In the meantime, I ordered the black and was thinking of getting another, but I needed to hear what you had. With no response, I tried using the phone a couple of times when I should have sent another email. Sorry about that.
I used the phrase D.C. to describe how the email chain ended. It had a sense of incompleteness. The V - VI at a cadential point. I wasn't referring to you personally as deceptive. Again, sorry about that, it was a poor choice of words.

After hours of research on the shiny metal pick guards, I realize how much of a pain it is to keep things shiny. Maybe the mirror pick guard is the best option. Maybe getting a sheet of metal with copper, nickel and chrome coating would cost hundreds. I don't know, I am still gathering all data I can at the moment.

Everything is marked up. I have no qualms about that. The point I was making is the mirror pg is plexiglass with a sheet of aluminum foil, not much to it. You could buy a sheet for $15, but then you would have to make the cuts. The plexiglass was damaged easily. A metal pg would be more resilient.

i am also sure meow is a difficult customer to please, needing to replace a pickguard that is very high maintenance after the first imperfection would indicate that. i do hope you are both happy after the pickguard arrives.

I didn't want to tell you guys what I did to the pg. It is embarrassing.
It looks nothing like my avatar now.
First I put aluminum tape on the back. Ok, no problem. Then I had to cut the tape for the holes. The idiot in me used a blade on the back. I ended up putting these cuts in the mirror. It doesn't look bad, I could live with it.
After failing on trying to remove the hum, I tried gluing a copper sheet on the back. (Never again) Dumber move. The copper was cut to accommodate the holes, but the ends were frayed. When I placed the pg back on, I scratched the finish to where a small chip fell off next to the screw hole. This is when I gave up of the copper sheet. I did my best to remove it by pealing it off the pg, but I managed to damage the pg even more. By this time, all the screw holes needed wood filling. That was the only thing I done right so far. The pots were removed and added back on countless of times which caused more scratches. Adding and removing caps and replacing wire were not a problem, other than when I dropped tools on the pg which added more dents.
The pg looks beat up. Ordered from Wayne, it came in today, put it on. Life is so much easier this way. I don't recommend the copper sheet thing.

this is why the aluminum sheet that you put on as a shield instead of using tape is so much better. no harm to anything, and it protects the mirror finish. ones you add the pots, those hold the sheet in place and nothing can damage the mirror finish.

like this.

this is why the aluminum sheet that you put on as a shield instead of using tape is so much better. no harm to anything, and it protects the mirror finish. ones you add the pots, those hold the sheet in place and nothing can damage the mirror finish.

like this.

Thanks Louis.

I did see that before, but as far as I know, they won't work with G&Ls. Only a few companies have G&L matching parts, and only tone-guard has aluminum.

Hi Guys,

Louis, thanks for the music lesson. I'd be dipped if I didn't have egg on my face. lol Obscure references can cause confusion.

Peter, glad the guard got to you quickly. It looks darn fine on that guitar. Glad you like it, thanks for your business. BTW, aluminum is used because it has no ferrous metals and is not subject to magnetic fields. Steel is used in bridges, as a pick guard it is subject to magnetic fields.

FYI, I did make and offered the G&L shields made of thin aluminum, similar to the Fender type under guard shield shown in the pic. To this date, the factory has not ordered one part from me, they won't even list it as an option. I have almost every model of G&L pick guards in a CAD file ready to go. I made the Leo 100th B'day guitar parts and that was it. Paul got the last Legacy guard that was made from the original run. I have a few S-500 (4 bolt) guards in aluminum and some other (H/S/S & H/H) pickup combos. I also have a few ASAT Classic (3 bolt models) original aluminum guards that are RAW original stampings) and a few that have been anodized. After these are gone, no more will be made by me for stock. I'd be open to doing a group (G&LDP members) run of guards at a special price. If anyone here is interested in these items, contact me thru this site or at http://www.tone-guard.com. This was not meant to be an ad; just informational.

You really would have had continual problems with the mirror. That thing would have constantly flashed light in everyone's eyes. It looks great under ideal conditions but it is not practical.

This looks AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME.....

Meowmix, that new pickguard is awesome!-- Darwin