Perfect comparison vid. I loved the slow E strums. I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I’m very glad you’re doing the UA-cam thing on a regular basis now
I can understand why there WOULD be a difference, to me there's got to be some difference in the shielding involved. However, through good headphones and with pretty good ears I couldn't hear a difference, even while watching and SEEING when it changed it sounded identical to me until the super isolated examples at the end.
Definitely a difference but not dramatic. The velocity of the notes is faster including the lower end punch, the midrange is hairier and louder, obviously more sustain, and slightly less air / treble. I wouldn't call it subtle either. Completely changes how that guitar responds
I’ve gotta tell ya, I first listened blind, so I couldn’t see which guitar you were playing. I could correctly identify when the pick guard was different, which suggests I could hear it well. I thought the gold pickguard to have less high highs and pushed upper mods. Course I was surprised that there was an audible difference at all. But thank you for doing this video, it was really instructive and I really really want a gold anodized pickguard now!
Would be interested to hear effect of a copper tape shielding on a pickguard vs. the alloy guard and alloy plate behind guard on noise. This video might have convinced me to go for an alloy scratchplate on my next build - I was wondering if the hum reduction effect is better than copper tape. One of my builds I used a carbon fibre scratchplate with Jaguar metal control plates - this is also superquiet with JM Pickups.
As always, THANK you for your time! (And as someone who reluctantly breaks out the usb “screwdriver” I’m glad you’re doing the lifting on these random queries that float thru my noggin.) I feel like the anodized was like a prescription for astigmatism. Not too bad but helped with the “focus”. Feeling better everyday about blowing the bread with Team Woody on the Mascis. May you never forget your Chapstick Sir!
I think the difference is so subtle that attack and strum position change the sound a lot more than the pickguard. listening from here, I didn't get a high end change, I could hear a difference in the lows, sometimes.
Ya, I noticed he's picking certain e chord strums in completely different spots between the two guards. I can still tell a bit of a difference between the ones whose strums are very close to the same position. The ones that are super different are exacerbated by the picking location for sure. I think the gold guard has a cool quality, or rather I like the sound of the demos using it more than the mint guard, but I don't like the aesthetic of the gold pick guard. Give me a beautifully complex and vintage looking red tinted Tortoise shell guard any day! Hopefully one day I can afford to splurge on a spitfire pickguard for my Jazzmaster.
I’m currently in possession of s couple of CS -JM One is a 59 Journeyman This has Tele style control knob’s and faded gold aluminium pguard. The other a 62 Relic with mint plastic guard. Another curve ball is the 59 is rocking the RSD bridge the 62 a Mastery. Acoustically they are worlds apart - the RSD rings like an acoustic guitar. Amp up and I hear similar to what a hear here - extra zing n ping from Ally guard. I can’t pick a favourite out of mine. Here in your vid I prefer the mint guard JM It also looks soo cool . Both mine are Sonic blue too the Relic having blue headstock like yours. I LOVE the Jazzmaster
I currently have a gold guard on a Ash jazzmaster with creamery Alnico 2 jazzmaster pick ups and yes, it does add that little bit of top end zing to the overall sound. This video perfectly explains and shows this difference. And you are absolutely right that the bodywood of the guitar also has it's influence with a goldguard. I feel that ash tends to be a bit brighter then alder so the gold guard accentuates this as well. I previously had the same gold guard on an Alder body Jazzmaster (with the same pu config) and it sounded just a tad less bright. After playing the Ash jazzmaster with the gold guard for a while now, I think I'm also gonna go back to a vinyl/plastic pickguard. Anyway thanks for taking the time to make this video! I've been watching your other stuff as well and being an offset guitar player for almost 20 years now, I'm still learning new things about these guitars thanks to guys like you! Oh and you should defenitly talk about old vs. new jazzmaster and Jaguar neck pocket depths and how these influence the setup of the guitar, string angle behind the bridge, etc... A bit nerdy, I know, but I guess that's what being an offsetguitargeek is all about :-)
I notice a difference on my Strat, the gold guard on it gives it some beautiful reverb-like quality with quick up-strokes or “Chiks” like in Motown and soul
Yep, I also heard "metallic" even before you described it. But I can't say that I miss it on the plastic guard :) I'd say it sounds like changing pot values, roughly speaking. Going in I was worried I'd end up having to buy a metal guard but now I don't. Thank you. (but I might shield mine fully with copper foil. normally I only add foil directly around pickup routs and over cables, but maybe it's wise to cover the hole area).
I listened with my eyes closed, and could not tell when the changes happened.... I only thought I heard a difference when I was watching the changes happen.....
Interesting! With my eyes closed I can definitely detect slightly more treble and that metallic sound in the low end that I mention. If you have another listen, try focusing on a certain frequency range.
I'm a firm believer that people listen with their eyes. Blind A/B test is the answer, but of course it's harder to do that. Of course as I'm typing this you're strumming the open chords and of course I think I hear a difference. But I don't really believe that either, I am susceptible to the same illusions as everyone else.
If there's a difference, it's not surviving UA-cam's compression, even through $1500 studio monitor headphones. Also some that are clearly different are likely due to you strumming closer to the bridge when using the gold pickguard. I suspect your expectation for it to sound brighter subconsciously caused you to do things to make it sound brighter.
Great video! I honestly can’t decide which I prefer, both look and sound great in their own way. I personally like the look of gold guards with black covers tho...
To me, gold guard definitely brighter and perhaps a bit grittier. I actually love the sound. Very glad I'm going to utilize a '58-correct gold anodized guard on my new-build. Also, '58 Novaks. Sooooo excited!
Where did you get that mint pickguard? I love the blue sticker too. Fucking small aesthetics that get me excited about guitars like that but I can never find info on where people got the stuff
Splitting hairs in terms of sound,not worth mentioning but the RF reduction is a lot more important. Unfortunately i hate the anodized look so i have a mint green plate over my ali guard!
I always thought my gold guard was slightly more scooped, which I guess tallies with increased top and low response. The Lollars def don’t need help on top, but I’d love to see a follow with more vintage voiced pickups... (59er-ize Pancake, hint hint)
I can confirm the twang and quiet. I went a bit further on a squier mini. I did a thin layer of copper leaf on the pickguard and then I put sheilded tape on the outside of the pickup covers. That made a real feriday cage. It was so twangy and crisp. That and a vintage capacitor 001 does it so nice. Squier becomes a fender now. Lol
The brightness of the ano guard was the most apparent to me when the Helix wasn't on - of course I watched it first thing this morning while still half asleep in bed so maybe I didn't have been listening ears on yet!
Ah cool! I just picked up a j mascis jazzmaster and saw in the interview for his original design where he said that the gold pickguards had a different sound, I've been wondering if there was any real weight to that. This was helpful bc I plan to have this bb set up to detune to open D and wanna use it for more distorted stuff so it seems like a perfect fit to have the gold guard :)
Between all the variables that might come into play when rewiring a JM pickguard (literally down to the length and gauge of wire used) and any possible inconsistencies in picking technique, I'm not sure you can chalk up the minimally audible differences to just the pickguard. Personally, I caught a couple of the transitions but by and large the two sounds matched up imo. Maybe the pickups were slightly higher up in one of the takes? Also, shielding absolutely affects tone. The interference frequencies that your unshielded pickups... Pick up... Will suck tone out of your signal at the corresponding frequencies.
Puisheen I just woke up but today is going to be totally amazing and I hope your day is the same! PS this video helped me decide not to put an anodised guard on my duo sonic until I get the SD pickups for it. It’s already brighter than the suns on Tattooine 😬😂 I’ll see what my wiring upgrade does first before I get too carried away.
There's most certainly a tiny bit more oomph with the anodized guard. However, it doesn't surprise me if you think about the plate on a Tele bridge pickup (or heck, the bridge plate itself) or the claw on a Jaguar pickup. It definitely affects the magnetic field. Now if we could get tortoise bonded to an anodized aluminum guard... 🤔
Thank you for demystifying the would of offsets. It's overwhelming on my journey to find the right model, with the right configuration, for the right price. So overwhelimg. Which Lollar pickups are on your pancake jazzmaster?
I've wondered about that too. One of my strats is a 57 reissue and has a thin one ply pick guard. My other two have much thicker 3 ply. There has got to be a difference in tone. Thanks for doing that. I heard a difference too.
Great video and great channne!. I made the same experiment many years ago with a Stratocaster. The anodized pickguard does add a certain 'zing' to the sound and makes single coils quieter. However, with bright sounding pickups I think things get out of control and can get ugly very quickly. Certain frequencies really interfere with the sounds we love. I wish you made the comparison with a good tube amp. The guitar-amp interaction makes it even more obvious.
Noticed the same on my P-bass ('59 goldguard or '61 tortoise guard). Stuck with the tortoise guard, as the gold one had a somewhat "nasty" overtone to it I couldn't live with and couldn't EQ out.
@@Puisheen It's a personal taste. I like my bass to have a really pronounced midrange and less top-end to it. I could tame that brightness of the gold guard to a large degree with the tone-knob, but that somewhat muffled my sound by eating in that midrange as well. Plus it felt pretty weird on the fingers as well (it was a lacquered guard, but a lot of the lacquer already wore off).
It sounds to me like the anodized pickguard kind of shifts the focus higher in the range : more bite to the sound, and a little louder overall. Makes me think of the time I went from a bone nut to a Black Tusq XL on a strat. I couldn't believe the difference it made ; there was so much more treble.
Wow, this was really amazing. I heard more fullness and richness throughout the entire frequency range with the anodized guard, but especially in the low end, surprisingly. Didn't expect that at all, but maybe my highs are a little fried from too many loud gigs, lol. The difference in noise floor was truly remarkable - all those little things add up and possibly become more pronounced in certain circumstances, I would have to think (at louder volumes, for example). I was going to get a mint guard for my JM, but now definitely going with the gold. Great video, thanks!
If I understand correctly, a denser & more rigid material will move sound faster, starting at the low end. Nothing more dense & rigid than metal (compared to plastic and wood). The loss of highs is a shielding thing, I'm assuming
Jason Lollar says a brass pickguard changes inductance effecting the treble output, but if I remember correctly he said it darkens the tone. Softer wood should make the sound less trebly by attenuating the highs, while heavier denser body woods tend to increase the highs making them harder/harsher. I want a gold pickguard one of these days, maybe, if for no other reason than it looks good and offers extra shielding, along with the copper tape inside.
I think it’s that the upper harmonics are being accentuated. They really stuck out for me. It’s a hard, resonant plate and formidable shield. Of course there’s an effect. Nice experiment!
It does make a small but noticeable difference. Long time ago i bought a righthanded anodized gold guard for my lefthanded precision bass. It looked kind of 'meh' flipped (ugly finish, no countersunk screw holes) but when i put the original plastic pickguard on, thinking of returning the aluminum one, i missed some 'clang' in the bass sound, i went back to the aluminum and then the plastic to compare (i like that metal clang poking through a mix, playing with a plectrum on a precision) so i decided to keep the aluminum anodized gold one on it.
Oh I like that a lot, and I've had a similar experience with P-Basses myself, Kim! You know, you've given me something to think about with my own Precision: I was recently doing some bass tracks and for some reason couldn't get the clang out of it that I'd envisioned, and the black plastic guard never occurred to me as a factor. Thank you! I love this stuff
Do you know what Grade of Aluminum it is made of? I assume it is a 6061 variant? Then can you tell me how thick it is, and if they radiused or chamfered the edges? I ask because I am going to make 2 Jazzmaster one from a kit that I experiment different products with and the second will be my dream Jazzmaster. Now they don't make a Jazzmaster the way I want it, so I am going to have to have a Luthier build it for me. But I am a Mechanical Engineer, so with a few details I can adapt most anything to my purposes. Now my vision is more on the lines of a combination of the American Ultra Jazzmaster, Parallel Universe Volume II Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster, and a bit of Brian May Red Special. I have heard guys saying how it is a nightmare to wire some guitars. This thing is going to make those look like a walk in the park. Can you do a video on the differences between Phase circuits, Lead & Rhythm circuits, and Parallel switching? (sorry if this is a bit much. The things that go through a rocket scientist head.)
This is great! Thickness should be .0625" or .063" (14 gauge I believe) but I don't know the grade. Sounds like you have quite a project on your hands! I'm happy for those video suggestions and I may be able to tackle those down the road. I use and encounter phase switching so infrequently so I don't have that readily available. L&R is easy though!
I was wondering how much the big bridge plate on a tele affects the tone. And considering the opinions of many, the metal plate contributes to the so recognizable typical Telly sound. So my thoughts were directed to the possible effect of a metal pickguard. Thank you for this test! Definitely there happened something to the tone. Other tests also prove that it’s not to the bad. Mostly to the better, some times just different. Gives me the impulse to try it out myself. My guess is that the metal pickguard transmits vibrations of the wood more direct and intense into the pickup casings (or just different to plastics). If the pickups vibrate themselves in relation to the vibrating string, it has to affect the tone. I read about a known guitarist (forgot who), who was selling his 60-ies strat after replacing the old cracked pickguard with a new one. His guitar did not sounded the same, and he didn't like it. Go figure…
It's cool to see how much the noise was reduced just by using an anodized pickguard. I always found it strange that Fender chose not to use that chrome plate for the rhythm circuit on jazzmasters like they do on the jaguars.
The reason the rhythm circuit doesn't have a chrome plate is because the jaguar came out 4 years after the jazzmaster. Also the jazzmaster and jag bodies aren't actually the same, so a jag's chrome plates don't fit on jazzmasters. The thing is, it wasn't just an aluminum pickguard. The original run of jazzmasters (58-late 70s) had brass tubs and plates in all the body cavities. They were all soldered together, and everything was grounded to them. But the anodizing process was awful back then, the gold wore off after a few months, and people complained to fender. In 59, they began using plastic pickguards, but underneath them, there was a thin bare aluminum shield, the same size of the pickguard. All fenders had some sort of thin aluminum shielding. 50s strats had a shield just for the pots, but by the 60s the shield was the size of the pickguard. Fender stopped using aluminum sheet metal shields when aluminum tape came along, and the tubs disappeared when conductive paint became available. But when you have an aluminum anodized pickguard, you have to scrape/sand the underside around the holes for the pots, jacks, switches and rhythm circuit bracket, so everything makes proper contact with the aluminum. But once it's done properly, you can actually remove the ground wire from the volume pot going to the jack, since the pickguard is grounded, everything will be grounded.
If you have your car strereo on in the car park all the sound is there, you drive off and get the road noise, the road noise is bassy and now you cant hear the bass as it is out of phase with the road noise. You turn up the bass and volume to hear it. What noise is coming into the guitar circuit, 60 hz???? what note is that. It seems to hum. Really interesting the guitar sounded a lot loader with the new guard, like the car radio in the car park. A lot more detail and volume and clarity, even more bass which makes sense as there is some bass hum in the noise too. 60hz????? I love the sound of the hitmaker, and it has an aluminium pickguard, all the funky punchy tone is there. PS i love the look of raw scuffed up aluminium on guitars, with light cream pickup covers.
I first heard a gold guard about 14-ish years ago and, just like now, I immediately heard a difference. It’s subtle; a little bit of high end accentuation in an oldschool hi-if (modern lo-fi) kind of way. You know what I mean, you just played it. ;) I wonder if that’s why Leo altered the pickups later on...to get some of that zing back that the black bobbins don’t seem to have without the gold guard??? Just a theory...could be way off. ;)
That's an interesting idea. I always chalked the lower output, brighter grey bobbin sound up to two things: a shift in materials and Leo finally accepting that folks weren't using Jazzmasters for jazz, but rather surf music. Seems to me the model was altered to fit its unintentional niche. All I know is I'll take a black bobbin over grey any day!
Puisheen Could well be. By chance, do you know the average Kohms of the original grey pickups? The blacks have always been 8k +/- but the greys...I’m unsure. S.Duncan’s antiquities, be they black or grey, are about the same. I’m collecting info on vintage era specs so that’s why I’m asking.
@Puisheen Thank ye, methink ye made my mind up about an old vintage "Jazzmaster" I have. I got it a while ago as a 70$ cheapo project to do later. It's a Jazzmaster copy made in Japan in the 80's (at latest, I think). There is no identification marks on it other than a "Concert Quality Guitar" label in white script on black background, except for the letter "C" which is in red. There's a plain "JAPAN" stamped on the neck plate. Other than the fact it had hung in the seller's beachside open air garage for 30+ years after his uncle has died. It was purchaed new by the uncle. Thats all I know about it. If you or anyone else know anything about it, I'd appreciate hearing what ye know about it. It has 2 sliding on/off switches, 1 for for each pup. 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Thats it for controls. The pups are trapezoidal chrome units with black top, they have a strong similarity to those found in some Matsumoto strats from the 80s. The magnet slugs are unique _square_ pole pieces that are arched in the smooth modern stagger (vs the vintage stagger with a lower G pole). The guitar came with a 1-piece neck/headstock made of vertically laminated wood similar to those used on the Martin LX1 "Little Martin" which looks really cool on an electric guitar! The fretboard is rosewood. The body _was_ white, but the decades of exposure in Hawai'i has aged the finish to a light cream color, but there are some areas where the finish has degraded to the point of flaking off, exposing a white undercoat. Everyone who has seen it has urged me to leave the existing finish as is, one even went as far to threaten to skin me alive if I were to refinish this one! In the interest of retaining my skin, I'm going to only replace the hardwares. The worn tuners, incomplete saddles and broken bridge with missing whammy bar and associated mounting hardwares all will be replaced with modern relic'd Fender-spec parts. I'm gonna keep the original pups, even tho they're unpotted thus are quite microphonic and picks up RF like an antenna! They're cool looking and has an unique sound thats VERY different from any other guitars I have (and I have plenty...30, not counting the acoustics and ukes). I'm also going to retain the original vintage knobs because they're also unique and still useable. The trick is finding new _quality_ pots that are compatible with the knobs. But where I live, there's a lot of RFI, so shielding is absolutely essential, but due to the mikey pups, I suspected that just foiling the cavity won't be of any good vs RFI coming in from the front. I already knew that metal pickguards will be very effective at reducing the induced hum. I have several other old guitars with metal pickguards that also has mikey pups and once I've added copper foil to the cavities, have majorly quieted them down. FYI: They are a Kingston Swinga, an "Artisan" cross between a LP and an offset, and a beautifully well preserved vintage "Western Electric Guitar." The latter two are also completely unknown offsets to me, but has wierd unusual shapes. Anyway I digress. I've been debating whether to go ahead and duplicate the original 2-piece white/black/white pickguard in metal or not. I just wasn't sure how they'd look on the existing body. The other option is to shield the entire back of the original pickguard which is still in excellent but dirty shape. Thanks for providing me a glimpse of how a jazzmaster would look like with gold pickguard! I don't see many jazzmaster/jaguars here. I think I will go ahead and go metal too. But I've as yet to decide between gold or natural aluminum, or even use brass pickguard. I do not know anything about this "Concert Quality Guitar," but have decided to restomod it and keep it. You're one of two UA-camrs to make me decide to do so, so thank ye, Mike! I've just subscribed and will keep an eye on ye for more info in Jazzmaster! Mahalo nui loa kakou! (Thank ye very much)!
Wow. The with the anodized pickguard the tone is noticeably brighter and scratchier. I prefer it. Crazy that a pickguard can affect the tone like that On the bridge pickup the anodized took it perhaps a bit too bright but on the middle and neck settings the extra brightness was 👌
it's very similar what happens with the thin aluminium/aluminum shield that they put under the Strat ones in the 60s i have them on my Strats ...... and yes, even they make Strats lounder ;)
Hi....anodized pickguard definitely makes a certain change of sound....I use it on my strat and from my point of view more noticable diference is just on strat pickguard...
Maybe this might be placebo but, in a Fender interview, Kevin Shields said that he feels that the anodised pickguard makes the sound "zingier." I feel like I know what he's talking about. For me, at least, the anodised pickguard made the sound a bit punchier and increased the higher frequencies. In contrary, the mint guard dulled the sound a bit. Again, it might all be placebo and it is barely noticeable. But that's what I hear :)
Great video, the guitar when anodized guard was on appeared to have different resonant frequencies when strumming the E chord. Was there any difference accoustically between the 2 guards? Wondering if that had anything to do with the sound difference.
Indeed there was, and I took video of it but it was really tricky to make both recordings perfectly identical. The Anodized guard was much louder, almost as if it turned the body routs into resonant chambers. Really interesting.
@@Puisheen I would imagine the 2 guards have different acoustic properties and may affect or amplify the resonant in the frequencies produced by the guitar. This is a bit of speculation for fun, obviously. I was very interested in the noise reduction, I may need to pick up an anodized pick guard to quiet down my Jazzmaster. Happy 4th of July
This experiment lines up with exactly what my senses assumed. However, it's different from what I have actually read, at least in one article (by Lollar), where it's mentioned the gold guard is warmer... doesn't make sense to me, but I've never played a gold guard until very recently. In your experiment, the gold guard sounded "glassy." I picked up one of those Chicago Specials two days ago. With those 250K pots, I'll take the extra sparkle of the gold guard. I'm coming from vintage voiced bright Strat (that I love) and I find the Jazzmaster not as bright. I was expecting the opposite. It definitely sounds bigger, but not brighter than my Strat. Still trying to bond with it, not sure what to make of it yet. It's an adjustment.
You can find Anodized guards in a range of colors including black, silver, and some specialized suppliers can do other colors as well. Anotone was a good source for that stuff but I haven't worked with them personally.
Being the jazzmaster pickguard a "big" part of the upper surfrace area of the guitar (and tightly appied to it) is not a surprise the change it will make to ... have you ever deal with the copper shield made by Rothstein Guitars ?
I have, it's a fine thing to get. Dunno that I'd say it's better or worse than the stock aluminum shields, or rather, that the noise benefit is miles different.
It does not! The Anodize is not conductive but the aluminum is, so just like the early days I sanded off the gold to reveal bare aluminum at the mounting points for the electronic components.
this video made me appreciate the gold pickguard due to its history i was thinking of swapping my stock one out but i guess ill keep it i dont hear a difference but im sure it would help with shielding :U
You 100% can hear a difference I wasnt looking at the screen and I heard it... btw I have R2's brother exactly the same color scheme except a jaguar... and yeah I totally bought a mint guard to replace the stock white one after seeing yours lol theres something about those colors that make me stay gold like pony boy
@@Puisheen ur channel is legit I've been an offset fiend since my 3rd guitar it was a mustang and before that the few years trying to learn on a strat and then an Ibanez RG was fun but soon as I picked that stang up to this day thats the body I consider a guitar lol
So in your case is the plastic pickguard purely a plastic guard or is it a plastic guard with an aluminium shield underneath it? If it has a aluminium shield, try comparing the guitar without the aluminium shield and the gold anodised pickguard. It’s completely different on my Stratocaster. I played and recorded the guitar with the plastic guard and then the anodised guard. The highs on the anodised guard were slightly less and the mids and bass were bigger. I suspect the reason my results differing from your results is the size of the Jazzmaster pickups, the lines of magnetic flux aren’t as affected by the aluminium as the narrow Strat pickups.
My theory is that the anodized pickguard dampens the vibrations of the body less than the plastic one. On some instruments you can hear a difference between tightly screwing down the pickguard vs. loosening all the screws a bit. Eric Johnson is also known for removing the back plate of his strats for the same reason. Anodized pickguards on Strats or Tele's are not necessarily a good idea though, since the pickguard will affect the magnetic field of the pickups. This is not really an issue on Jazzmasters, as the poles are far away from the edges of the pickguard.
That's the result of the anodizing process. I don't know of a 'smooth' anodized guard, but there have definitely been times where I couldn't deal with that feeling
I took my gold pickguard off my 40th anniversary Squier Jazzmaster and put a white pearl on it and I'm keeping it that way. Looks so much better without that gold thing.
I just bought a 2018, 60th Anniversary, '58 re-issue Jazzmaster. It has, of course, a gold-anodised, aluminium pickguard. What it also has is the most musical resonance I have ever heard in a solid-body electric guitar, plugged or unplugged. Upper harmonics accentuated? Well, that's where electric guitars live. I've had JMs with mint and "tortoise" pickguards, and nothing of the kind existed with them. They were fine guitars, but this JM is special in the best, most unique way. It zings. So why is this so? We ought to understand that Strats and JMs are actually chambered solids. There are lots of nooks and crannies which all have air in them. Accordingly, these are potentially resonant places that inform the guitar's sound. Covering these chambers with a substantial piece of aluminium instead of plastic naturally creates a special kind of resonant place, now with this aluminium fourth side, producing a special kind of sound and, voila, this JM becomes a different thing. Like you, I expected to hear the difference, and like you, I did Cheers, mate
The metal pickguard gives slightly less lower mids as far as I can hear. My strat with a plastic pickguard is so much noisier than my squier jazzmaster with the gold anodized aluminum pickguard, so I'm going to change it on the strat for less noise, hope it doesn't get too trebly, but I can compensate it with the tone controls and eq. Noise is killing the sustain on heavily distorted sounds, when recording directly to a computer without a real amp (a real amp would add more sustain because of the subtle feedback but it's not practical at my apartment building)
Mike, Toneguard is horrible for making custom aluminum pickguards. Do you know any American companies that make custom aluminum guards? Any referrals are super appreciated. Peace 🖖🏻
Yeah this is a really tough one. Toneguard used to be great but boy howdy did their service drop off. For US based makers I’m stumped, but Herad on Reverb is great and affordable
Well-made video. I thought the premise was just some ridiculous guitar-geek myth, but you're right, the aluminum had a little metallic brightness to it. Which I preferred to the other.
Hey, thanks for giving the video a shot! I'm also leery of that same kind of video you mention, so I'm glad I defied your expectations. The mint guard went back on Artoo the very same day, haha.
i guess i shouldn’t be as surprised as I am that, while subtle, there is a difference. Other than an audible difference, i wonder if there was a difference in feel.
@puisheen Your strumming was noticeably stronger during the gold anodized E chord strums, especially when your hand reached the unwound strings, thus increasing the brighter sound. You can visibly see more pick resistance each time you pass a string than when you strummed with the plastic guard. Overall great video!
awwwww.my dream guitar in all its glory...had one...got home invaded..now ..well now i have a list in my heart where this guitar once held realastate.oh and along with my jazzmaster they also guitar napped my 1967 bronco..if by chance it was you along with 4 of your bad buds..you are all on my list.
Perfect comparison vid. I loved the slow E strums. I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I’m very glad you’re doing the UA-cam thing on a regular basis now
Thank you Brady!!!!
duuuuuude i love these videos. also, oddly enough, my custom shop JM came with a gold guard AND a shield - and it's suuuuuper quiet, haha.
This was so well done, thanks! I really appreciated that you went totally dry/direct - I wish more comparison demos had that.
I don't know what made me want to do that, but I'm glad I did!
I can understand why there WOULD be a difference, to me there's got to be some difference in the shielding involved. However, through good headphones and with pretty good ears I couldn't hear a difference, even while watching and SEEING when it changed it sounded identical to me until the super isolated examples at the end.
Interesting! The change is super apparent to me over here.
@@Puisheen it's probably much more noticeable in the room and you've probably looked after your ears better than I have mine 😂
@@pierrederesistance Well that's probably not true at all!
@@pierrederesistance I could ear a difference too to my surprise
Didn't expect there would be any difference ahah
Definitely a difference but not dramatic. The velocity of the notes is faster including the lower end punch, the midrange is hairier and louder, obviously more sustain, and slightly less air / treble.
I wouldn't call it subtle either. Completely changes how that guitar responds
I really enjoyed the slight complexities that the gold guard added. Glad I have a J. Mascis with the gold guard!
I’ve gotta tell ya, I first listened blind, so I couldn’t see which guitar you were playing. I could correctly identify when the pick guard was different, which suggests I could hear it well. I thought the gold pickguard to have less high highs and pushed upper mods. Course I was surprised that there was an audible difference at all. But thank you for doing this video, it was really instructive and I really really want a gold anodized pickguard now!
Would be interested to hear effect of a copper tape shielding on a pickguard vs. the alloy guard and alloy plate behind guard on noise.
This video might have convinced me to go for an alloy scratchplate on my next build - I was wondering if the hum reduction effect is better than copper tape.
One of my builds I used a carbon fibre scratchplate with Jaguar metal control plates - this is also superquiet with JM Pickups.
As always, THANK you for your time! (And as someone who reluctantly breaks out the usb “screwdriver” I’m glad you’re doing the lifting on these random queries that float thru my noggin.) I feel like the anodized was like a prescription for astigmatism. Not too bad but helped with the “focus”. Feeling better everyday about blowing the bread with Team Woody on the Mascis. May you never forget your Chapstick Sir!
I think the difference is so subtle that attack and strum position change the sound a lot more than the pickguard. listening from here, I didn't get a high end change, I could hear a difference in the lows, sometimes.
Ya, I noticed he's picking certain e chord strums in completely different spots between the two guards. I can still tell a bit of a difference between the ones whose strums are very close to the same position. The ones that are super different are exacerbated by the picking location for sure.
I think the gold guard has a cool quality, or rather I like the sound of the demos using it more than the mint guard, but I don't like the aesthetic of the gold pick guard. Give me a beautifully complex and vintage looking red tinted Tortoise shell guard any day! Hopefully one day I can afford to splurge on a spitfire pickguard for my Jazzmaster.
I’m currently in possession of s couple of CS -JM
One is a 59 Journeyman
This has Tele style control knob’s and faded gold aluminium pguard.
The other a 62 Relic with mint plastic guard.
Another curve ball is the 59 is rocking the RSD bridge the 62 a Mastery.
Acoustically they are worlds apart - the RSD rings like an acoustic guitar.
Amp up and I hear similar to what a hear here - extra zing n ping from Ally guard.
I can’t pick a favourite out of mine.
Here in your vid I prefer the mint guard JM
It also looks soo cool .
Both mine are Sonic blue too the Relic having blue headstock like yours.
I LOVE the Jazzmaster
Awesome comparison! It literally sounds like the pickguard material!
HA!
I currently have a gold guard on a Ash jazzmaster with creamery Alnico 2 jazzmaster pick ups and yes, it does add that little bit of top end zing to the overall sound. This video perfectly explains and shows this difference. And you are absolutely right that the bodywood of the guitar also has it's influence with a goldguard. I feel that ash tends to be a bit brighter then alder so the gold guard accentuates this as well.
I previously had the same gold guard on an Alder body Jazzmaster (with the same pu config) and it sounded just a tad less bright.
After playing the Ash jazzmaster with the gold guard for a while now, I think I'm also gonna go back to a vinyl/plastic pickguard. Anyway thanks for taking the time to make this video! I've been watching your other stuff as well and being an offset guitar player for almost 20 years now, I'm still learning new things about these guitars thanks to guys like you! Oh and you should defenitly talk about old vs. new jazzmaster and Jaguar neck pocket depths and how these influence the setup of the guitar, string angle behind the bridge, etc... A bit nerdy, I know, but I guess that's what being an offsetguitargeek is all about :-)
Ahhhh I love Ash bodied Jazzmasters, congrats on a cool guitar! And I've mentioned the pockets quite a few times!
I notice a difference on my Strat, the gold guard on it gives it some beautiful reverb-like quality with quick up-strokes or “Chiks” like in Motown and soul
Oh interesting!
Yep, I also heard "metallic" even before you described it. But I can't say that I miss it on the plastic guard :) I'd say it sounds like changing pot values, roughly speaking. Going in I was worried I'd end up having to buy a metal guard but now I don't. Thank you. (but I might shield mine fully with copper foil. normally I only add foil directly around pickup routs and over cables, but maybe it's wise to cover the hole area).
I listened with my eyes closed, and could not tell when the changes happened.... I only thought I heard a difference when I was watching the changes happen.....
Interesting! With my eyes closed I can definitely detect slightly more treble and that metallic sound in the low end that I mention. If you have another listen, try focusing on a certain frequency range.
Oh and yeah it's SUBTLE for sure
I'm a firm believer that people listen with their eyes. Blind A/B test is the answer, but of course it's harder to do that. Of course as I'm typing this you're strumming the open chords and of course I think I hear a difference. But I don't really believe that either, I am susceptible to the same illusions as everyone else.
Actually you may be on to something with the shielding. If there is a real difference I'll bet that's the reason. Good catch.
If there's a difference, it's not surviving UA-cam's compression, even through $1500 studio monitor headphones. Also some that are clearly different are likely due to you strumming closer to the bridge when using the gold pickguard. I suspect your expectation for it to sound brighter subconsciously caused you to do things to make it sound brighter.
Great video! I honestly can’t decide which I prefer, both look and sound great in their own way. I personally like the look of gold guards with black covers tho...
Oh I hear that! It's the old prototype/catalogue look. It's bad ass
To me, gold guard definitely brighter and perhaps a bit grittier. I actually love the sound. Very glad I'm going to utilize a '58-correct gold anodized guard on my new-build. Also, '58 Novaks. Sooooo excited!
I closed my eyes and tried to hear when the gold pickguard came in over the mint one, and I just couldn't tell.
Where did you get that mint pickguard? I love the blue sticker too. Fucking small aesthetics that get me excited about guitars like that but I can never find info on where people got the stuff
Mint guard is from Jimi at Fenderparts, and the Chakotay decal is from a '90s pack of Star Trek Voyager trading cards!
Thank you!
Was it a sticker or a “temporary tattoo” cause I see a 1995 temp tattoo that looks just like it
I tried it. It's much quieter and a little more "zingy" in the high end. I really like it.
Heck yeah, Josh!
The gold pickguard was definitely slightly brighter and cut through more! I watched the video over and over and I am convinced of it.
Yeah it's true, even more sustain at some point to my ears
Splitting hairs in terms of sound,not worth mentioning but the RF reduction is a lot more important. Unfortunately i hate the anodized look so i have a mint green plate over my ali guard!
I always thought my gold guard was slightly more scooped, which I guess tallies with increased top and low response. The Lollars def don’t need help on top, but I’d love to see a follow with more vintage voiced pickups... (59er-ize Pancake, hint hint)
I can confirm the twang and quiet. I went a bit further on a squier mini. I did a thin layer of copper leaf on the pickguard and then I put sheilded tape on the outside of the pickup covers. That made a real feriday cage. It was so twangy and crisp. That and a vintage capacitor 001 does it so nice. Squier becomes a fender now. Lol
The brightness of the ano guard was the most apparent to me when the Helix wasn't on - of course I watched it first thing this morning while still half asleep in bed so maybe I didn't have been listening ears on yet!
Oh totally, I think the amplification makes it even more subtle. I was actually shocked by the dry comparison and how bold the difference was
Seems as thought the aanodized p/g makes that J-master sound just a little clearer. Makes me think (again) about getting one for my '07 SB AVRI.
Ah cool! I just picked up a j mascis jazzmaster and saw in the interview for his original design where he said that the gold pickguards had a different sound, I've been wondering if there was any real weight to that. This was helpful bc I plan to have this bb set up to detune to open D and wanna use it for more distorted stuff so it seems like a perfect fit to have the gold guard :)
Between all the variables that might come into play when rewiring a JM pickguard (literally down to the length and gauge of wire used) and any possible inconsistencies in picking technique, I'm not sure you can chalk up the minimally audible differences to just the pickguard. Personally, I caught a couple of the transitions but by and large the two sounds matched up imo. Maybe the pickups were slightly higher up in one of the takes?
Also, shielding absolutely affects tone. The interference frequencies that your unshielded pickups... Pick up... Will suck tone out of your signal at the corresponding frequencies.
Oh I didn't rewire, that's the same harness and pickups and everything. Pickups did not come out or change height.
Woooooo I finally got over to your UA-cam. Star Wars and guitars are two of the best things ever. Have a beautiful day!
Saraaaahhhhhh thank you!! Hope you're well!
Puisheen I just woke up but today is going to be totally amazing and I hope your day is the same!
PS this video helped me decide not to put an anodised guard on my duo sonic until I get the SD pickups for it. It’s already brighter than the suns on Tattooine 😬😂 I’ll see what my wiring upgrade does first before I get too carried away.
There's most certainly a tiny bit more oomph with the anodized guard. However, it doesn't surprise me if you think about the plate on a Tele bridge pickup (or heck, the bridge plate itself) or the claw on a Jaguar pickup. It definitely affects the magnetic field.
Now if we could get tortoise bonded to an anodized aluminum guard... 🤔
Copper tape on back of tortoise 'guard, if it's shielding you want....?
@@pharmerdavid1432, I replaced that exact setup with an anodized guard and the anodized guard was significantly better at rejecting noise.
Thank you for demystifying the would of offsets. It's overwhelming on my journey to find the right model, with the right configuration, for the right price. So overwhelimg. Which Lollar pickups are on your pancake jazzmaster?
Pancake has Novaks, the JM-V and Fat. Love them!
I've wondered about that too. One of my strats is a 57 reissue and has a thin one ply pick guard. My other two have much thicker 3 ply. There has got to be a difference in tone.
Thanks for doing that. I heard a difference too.
Great video and great channne!. I made the same experiment many years ago with a Stratocaster. The anodized pickguard does add a certain 'zing' to the sound and makes single coils quieter. However, with bright sounding pickups I think things get out of control and can get ugly very quickly. Certain frequencies really interfere with the sounds we love. I wish you made the comparison with a good tube amp. The guitar-amp interaction makes it even more obvious.
Noticed the same on my P-bass ('59 goldguard or '61 tortoise guard). Stuck with the tortoise guard, as the gold one had a somewhat "nasty" overtone to it I couldn't live with and couldn't EQ out.
Ah that's super interesting that the change wasn't positive for you
@@Puisheen It's a personal taste. I like my bass to have a really pronounced midrange and less top-end to it. I could tame that brightness of the gold guard to a large degree with the tone-knob, but that somewhat muffled my sound by eating in that midrange as well. Plus it felt pretty weird on the fingers as well (it was a lacquered guard, but a lot of the lacquer already wore off).
It sounds to me like the anodized pickguard kind of shifts the focus higher in the range : more bite to the sound, and a little louder overall.
Makes me think of the time I went from a bone nut to a Black Tusq XL on a strat. I couldn't believe the difference it made ; there was so much more treble.
Wow, this was really amazing. I heard more fullness and richness throughout the entire frequency range with the anodized guard, but especially in the low end, surprisingly. Didn't expect that at all, but maybe my highs are a little fried from too many loud gigs, lol. The difference in noise floor was truly remarkable - all those little things add up and possibly become more pronounced in certain circumstances, I would have to think (at louder volumes, for example). I was going to get a mint guard for my JM, but now definitely going with the gold. Great video, thanks!
If I understand correctly, a denser & more rigid material will move sound faster, starting at the low end. Nothing more dense & rigid than metal (compared to plastic and wood).
The loss of highs is a shielding thing, I'm assuming
Jason Lollar says a brass pickguard changes inductance effecting the treble output, but if I remember correctly he said it darkens the tone. Softer wood should make the sound less trebly by attenuating the highs, while heavier denser body woods tend to increase the highs making them harder/harsher. I want a gold pickguard one of these days, maybe, if for no other reason than it looks good and offers extra shielding, along with the copper tape inside.
I think it’s that the upper harmonics are being accentuated. They really stuck out for me.
It’s a hard, resonant plate and formidable shield. Of course there’s an effect. Nice experiment!
Same here.
Great video man. Maybe a bit brighter with the gold anodized guard but nothing too drastic. Where’d you snag your gold guard from?
It came off of a recent Fender Chicago Special (CS) that I worked on. That was a fantastic guitar.
It does make a small but noticeable difference. Long time ago i bought a righthanded anodized gold guard for my lefthanded precision bass. It looked kind of 'meh' flipped (ugly finish, no countersunk screw holes) but when i put the original plastic pickguard on, thinking of returning the aluminum one, i missed some 'clang' in the bass sound, i went back to the aluminum and then the plastic to compare (i like that metal clang poking through a mix, playing with a plectrum on a precision) so i decided to keep the aluminum anodized gold one on it.
Oh I like that a lot, and I've had a similar experience with P-Basses myself, Kim! You know, you've given me something to think about with my own Precision: I was recently doing some bass tracks and for some reason couldn't get the clang out of it that I'd envisioned, and the black plastic guard never occurred to me as a factor. Thank you! I love this stuff
@@Puisheen It won't sound like an aluminum neck travis bean bass ( like on shellac records
@@kimrosez haha nothing sounds quite like those TB necks, but I'll be damned if I don't try to get close. Thanks for watching!
LOVE the color of that Jazzmaster!
Do you know what Grade of Aluminum it is made of? I assume it is a 6061 variant? Then can you tell me how thick it is, and if they radiused or chamfered the edges? I ask because I am going to make 2 Jazzmaster one from a kit that I experiment different products with and the second will be my dream Jazzmaster. Now they don't make a Jazzmaster the way I want it, so I am going to have to have a Luthier build it for me. But I am a Mechanical Engineer, so with a few details I can adapt most anything to my purposes. Now my vision is more on the lines of a combination of the American Ultra Jazzmaster, Parallel Universe Volume II Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster, and a bit of Brian May Red Special. I have heard guys saying how it is a nightmare to wire some guitars. This thing is going to make those look like a walk in the park. Can you do a video on the differences between Phase circuits, Lead & Rhythm circuits, and Parallel switching? (sorry if this is a bit much. The things that go through a rocket scientist head.)
This is great! Thickness should be .0625" or .063" (14 gauge I believe) but I don't know the grade. Sounds like you have quite a project on your hands! I'm happy for those video suggestions and I may be able to tackle those down the road. I use and encounter phase switching so infrequently so I don't have that readily available. L&R is easy though!
I was wondering how much the big bridge plate on a tele affects the tone. And considering the opinions of many, the metal plate contributes to the so recognizable typical Telly sound.
So my thoughts were directed to the possible effect of a metal pickguard.
Thank you for this test! Definitely there happened something to the tone. Other tests also prove that it’s not to the bad. Mostly to the better, some times just different.
Gives me the impulse to try it out myself.
My guess is that the metal pickguard transmits vibrations of the wood more direct and intense into the pickup casings (or just different to plastics). If the pickups vibrate themselves in relation to the vibrating string, it has to affect the tone.
I read about a known guitarist (forgot who), who was selling his 60-ies strat after replacing the old cracked pickguard with a new one. His guitar did not sounded the same, and he didn't like it. Go figure…
It's cool to see how much the noise was reduced just by using an anodized pickguard. I always found it strange that Fender chose not to use that chrome plate for the rhythm circuit on jazzmasters like they do on the jaguars.
The jag was the update and had to have a new feature ;)
The reason the rhythm circuit doesn't have a chrome plate is because the jaguar came out 4 years after the jazzmaster. Also the jazzmaster and jag bodies aren't actually the same, so a jag's chrome plates don't fit on jazzmasters.
The thing is, it wasn't just an aluminum pickguard. The original run of jazzmasters (58-late 70s) had brass tubs and plates in all the body cavities. They were all soldered together, and everything was grounded to them.
But the anodizing process was awful back then, the gold wore off after a few months, and people complained to fender. In 59, they began using plastic pickguards, but underneath them, there was a thin bare aluminum shield, the same size of the pickguard. All fenders had some sort of thin aluminum shielding. 50s strats had a shield just for the pots, but by the 60s the shield was the size of the pickguard.
Fender stopped using aluminum sheet metal shields when aluminum tape came along, and the tubs disappeared when conductive paint became available.
But when you have an aluminum anodized pickguard, you have to scrape/sand the underside around the holes for the pots, jacks, switches and rhythm circuit bracket, so everything makes proper contact with the aluminum.
But once it's done properly, you can actually remove the ground wire from the volume pot going to the jack, since the pickguard is grounded, everything will be grounded.
@@rebeccabailey527 wow, that's some good info, thanks!
If you have your car strereo on in the car park all the sound is there, you drive off and get the road noise, the road noise is bassy and now you cant hear the bass as it is out of phase with the road noise. You turn up the bass and volume to hear it. What noise is coming into the guitar circuit, 60 hz???? what note is that. It seems to hum. Really interesting the guitar sounded a lot loader with the new guard, like the car radio in the car park. A lot more detail and volume and clarity, even more bass which makes sense as there is some bass hum in the noise too. 60hz?????
I love the sound of the hitmaker, and it has an aluminium pickguard, all the funky punchy tone is there. PS i love the look of raw scuffed up aluminium on guitars, with light cream pickup covers.
I first heard a gold guard about 14-ish years ago and, just like now, I immediately heard a difference. It’s subtle; a little bit of high end accentuation in an oldschool hi-if (modern lo-fi) kind of way. You know what I mean, you just played it. ;)
I wonder if that’s why Leo altered the pickups later on...to get some of that zing back that the black bobbins don’t seem to have without the gold guard??? Just a theory...could be way off. ;)
That's an interesting idea. I always chalked the lower output, brighter grey bobbin sound up to two things: a shift in materials and Leo finally accepting that folks weren't using Jazzmasters for jazz, but rather surf music. Seems to me the model was altered to fit its unintentional niche. All I know is I'll take a black bobbin over grey any day!
Puisheen
Could well be.
By chance, do you know the average Kohms of the original grey pickups? The blacks have always been 8k +/- but the greys...I’m unsure. S.Duncan’s antiquities, be they black or grey, are about the same. I’m collecting info on vintage era specs so that’s why I’m asking.
I see you've been getting a lot out of that Helix...and you make it sound pretty damn good!
@Puisheen Thank ye, methink ye made my mind up about an old vintage "Jazzmaster" I have. I got it a while ago as a 70$ cheapo project to do later. It's a Jazzmaster copy made in Japan in the 80's (at latest, I think).
There is no identification marks on it other than a "Concert Quality Guitar" label in white script on black background, except for the letter "C" which is in red. There's a plain "JAPAN" stamped on the neck plate. Other than the fact it had hung in the seller's beachside open air garage for 30+ years after his uncle has died. It was purchaed new by the uncle. Thats all I know about it. If you or anyone else know anything about it, I'd appreciate hearing what ye know about it.
It has 2 sliding on/off switches, 1 for for each pup. 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Thats it for controls. The pups are trapezoidal chrome units with black top, they have a strong similarity to those found in some Matsumoto strats from the 80s. The magnet slugs are unique _square_ pole pieces that are arched in the smooth modern stagger (vs the vintage stagger with a lower G pole).
The guitar came with a 1-piece neck/headstock made of vertically laminated wood similar to those used on the Martin LX1 "Little Martin" which looks really cool on an electric guitar! The fretboard is rosewood.
The body _was_ white, but the decades of exposure in Hawai'i has aged the finish to a light cream color, but there are some areas where the finish has degraded to the point of flaking off, exposing a white undercoat. Everyone who has seen it has urged me to leave the existing finish as is, one even went as far to threaten to skin me alive if I were to refinish this one!
In the interest of retaining my skin, I'm going to only replace the hardwares. The worn tuners, incomplete saddles and broken bridge with missing whammy bar and associated mounting hardwares all will be replaced with modern relic'd Fender-spec parts.
I'm gonna keep the original pups, even tho they're unpotted thus are quite microphonic and picks up RF like an antenna! They're cool looking and has an unique sound thats VERY different from any other guitars I have (and I have plenty...30, not counting the acoustics and ukes).
I'm also going to retain the original vintage knobs because they're also unique and still useable. The trick is finding new _quality_ pots that are compatible with the knobs.
But where I live, there's a lot of RFI, so shielding is absolutely essential, but due to the mikey pups, I suspected that just foiling the cavity won't be of any good vs RFI coming in from the front.
I already knew that metal pickguards will be very effective at reducing the induced hum. I have several other old guitars with metal pickguards that also has mikey pups and once I've added copper foil to the cavities, have majorly quieted them down.
FYI: They are a Kingston Swinga, an "Artisan" cross between a LP and an offset, and a beautifully well preserved vintage "Western Electric Guitar." The latter two are also completely unknown offsets to me, but has wierd unusual shapes. Anyway I digress.
I've been debating whether to go ahead and duplicate the original 2-piece white/black/white pickguard in metal or not. I just wasn't sure how they'd look on the existing body. The other option is to shield the entire back of the original pickguard which is still in excellent but dirty shape.
Thanks for providing me a glimpse of how a jazzmaster would look like with gold pickguard! I don't see many jazzmaster/jaguars here. I think I will go ahead and go metal too. But I've as yet to decide between gold or natural aluminum, or even use brass pickguard.
I do not know anything about this "Concert Quality Guitar," but have decided to restomod it and keep it. You're one of two UA-camrs to make me decide to do so, so thank ye, Mike!
I've just subscribed and will keep an eye on ye for more info in Jazzmaster!
Mahalo nui loa kakou!
(Thank ye very much)!
I'm about to possibly inherit a strat with an aluminum pickguard and love teles. Would this be the ultimate then? lol
Wow. The with the anodized pickguard the tone is noticeably brighter and scratchier. I prefer it. Crazy that a pickguard can affect the tone like that
On the bridge pickup the anodized took it perhaps a bit too bright but on the middle and neck settings the extra brightness was 👌
it's very similar what happens with the thin aluminium/aluminum shield that they put under the Strat ones in the 60s i have them on my Strats ...... and yes, even they make Strats lounder ;)
Hi....anodized pickguard definitely makes a certain change of sound....I use it on my strat and from my point of view more noticable diference is just on strat pickguard...
I think the gold guard gives the guitar a bigger sound, myself. A little more resonant. Almost boomy. Super cool.
Maybe this might be placebo but, in a Fender interview, Kevin Shields said that he feels that the anodised pickguard makes the sound "zingier." I feel like I know what he's talking about. For me, at least, the anodised pickguard made the sound a bit punchier and increased the higher frequencies. In contrary, the mint guard dulled the sound a bit. Again, it might all be placebo and it is barely noticeable. But that's what I hear :)
Great video, the guitar when anodized guard was on appeared to have different resonant frequencies when strumming the E chord. Was there any difference accoustically between the 2 guards? Wondering if that had anything to do with the sound difference.
Indeed there was, and I took video of it but it was really tricky to make both recordings perfectly identical. The Anodized guard was much louder, almost as if it turned the body routs into resonant chambers. Really interesting.
@@Puisheen I would imagine the 2 guards have different acoustic properties and may affect or amplify the resonant in the frequencies produced by the guitar. This is a bit of speculation for fun, obviously. I was very interested in the noise reduction, I may need to pick up an anodized pick guard to quiet down my Jazzmaster. Happy 4th of July
the gold guard definitely adds a bit of brightness
This experiment lines up with exactly what my senses assumed. However, it's different from what I have actually read, at least in one article (by Lollar), where it's mentioned the gold guard is warmer... doesn't make sense to me, but I've never played a gold guard until very recently. In your experiment, the gold guard sounded "glassy." I picked up one of those Chicago Specials two days ago. With those 250K pots, I'll take the extra sparkle of the gold guard. I'm coming from vintage voiced bright Strat (that I love) and I find the Jazzmaster not as bright. I was expecting the opposite. It definitely sounds bigger, but not brighter than my Strat. Still trying to bond with it, not sure what to make of it yet. It's an adjustment.
All ive learned from this video is now i need a 59 purple pickguard JM. Gold guards are cool but i think the white guard sounded better.
I think the alu guard give the tone a gnarly edge to it.
Wow that makes a surprisingly big difference. Do know of a company that makes black anodized pickguards?
Is there an alternative if you just can't live with gold?
You can find Anodized guards in a range of colors including black, silver, and some specialized suppliers can do other colors as well. Anotone was a good source for that stuff but I haven't worked with them personally.
Wasn't expecting much of a difference but even with my eyes closed there was a subtle change to the brightness
same. i closed my eyes the first go round and thought it was just a tiny tiny bit more bright
Do anodized pickguards require shielding, or is sanding the anodized material away where the jack, pots, and switches mount sufficient enough?
They do not! They are their own huge shield. Curiously, this came off of a CS Jazzmaster and Fender still put the thin aluminum shield under it. lol
To my experience, with a Strat, yes absolutely. It affects the magnetic field and tames the high frequencies.
Being the jazzmaster pickguard a "big" part of the upper surfrace area of the guitar (and tightly appied to it) is not a surprise the change it will make to ... have you ever deal with the copper shield made by Rothstein Guitars ?
I have, it's a fine thing to get. Dunno that I'd say it's better or worse than the stock aluminum shields, or rather, that the noise benefit is miles different.
Hi Mike! Does this gold pg have a shield foil in the back? Anodized aluminum is non conductive, right?
It does not! The Anodize is not conductive but the aluminum is, so just like the early days I sanded off the gold to reveal bare aluminum at the mounting points for the electronic components.
another great video mike!
Very subtle sizzle on the high end with the aluminum guard
this video made me appreciate the gold pickguard due to its history i was thinking of swapping my stock one out but i guess ill keep it i dont hear a difference but im sure it would help with shielding :U
Sounds like some light distortion added on the high end with the anodized guard.
You 100% can hear a difference I wasnt looking at the screen and I heard it... btw I have R2's brother exactly the same color scheme except a jaguar... and yeah I totally bought a mint guard to replace the stock white one after seeing yours lol theres something about those colors that make me stay gold like pony boy
I always wanted the matching Jag for Artoo. Maybe someday!
@@Puisheen ur channel is legit I've been an offset fiend since my 3rd guitar it was a mustang and before that the few years trying to learn on a strat and then an Ibanez RG was fun but soon as I picked that stang up to this day thats the body I consider a guitar lol
So in your case is the plastic pickguard purely a plastic guard or is it a plastic guard with an aluminium shield underneath it?
If it has a aluminium shield, try comparing the guitar without the aluminium shield and the gold anodised pickguard.
It’s completely different on my Stratocaster. I played and recorded the guitar with the plastic guard and then the anodised guard. The highs on the anodised guard were slightly less and the mids and bass were bigger.
I suspect the reason my results differing from your results is the size of the Jazzmaster pickups, the lines of magnetic flux aren’t as affected by the aluminium as the narrow Strat pickups.
No, what? The thin aluminum shield isn't going to have an effect on sound, it's just there for shielding and secured to a thick piece of plastic.
@@Puisheen Magnetic lines of flux will not pass through aluminium, I doubt thickness makes a difference.
I think the answer may be a 'mint tinted' anodised pick guard?
best of both worlds
My theory is that the anodized pickguard dampens the vibrations of the body less than the plastic one. On some instruments you can hear a difference between tightly screwing down the pickguard vs. loosening all the screws a bit. Eric Johnson is also known for removing the back plate of his strats for the same reason.
Anodized pickguards on Strats or Tele's are not necessarily a good idea though, since the pickguard will affect the magnetic field of the pickups. This is not really an issue on Jazzmasters, as the poles are far away from the edges of the pickguard.
wondering if all anodized pickguards have that scratchy feeling. Can anyone shed any light on this?
That's the result of the anodizing process. I don't know of a 'smooth' anodized guard, but there have definitely been times where I couldn't deal with that feeling
Puisheen ... Do you think sheilding the backside of the stock plastic pickguard would achieve the same noise reduction?
Hey Floyd! Shielding the guard would probably be similar to the original setup on this guitar: pickguard with a full shield under it
I took my gold pickguard off my 40th anniversary Squier Jazzmaster and put a white pearl on it and I'm keeping it that way. Looks so much better without that gold thing.
To me the gold sounded like maybe something was loose like springy sounding
I just bought a 2018, 60th Anniversary, '58 re-issue Jazzmaster. It has, of course, a gold-anodised, aluminium pickguard. What it also has is the most musical resonance I have ever heard in a solid-body electric guitar, plugged or unplugged. Upper harmonics accentuated? Well, that's where electric guitars live. I've had JMs with mint and "tortoise" pickguards, and nothing of the kind existed with them. They were fine guitars, but this JM is special in the best, most unique way. It zings.
So why is this so? We ought to understand that Strats and JMs are actually chambered solids. There are lots of nooks and crannies which all have air in them. Accordingly, these are potentially resonant places that inform the guitar's sound. Covering these chambers with a substantial piece of aluminium instead of plastic naturally creates a special kind of resonant place, now with this aluminium fourth side, producing a special kind of sound and, voila, this JM becomes a different thing. Like you, I expected to hear the difference, and like you, I did
Cheers, mate
I like how you put that: chambered solids. Thanks for watching!
Excellent. Thank you.
Do they make grey anodized pickgaurds? I think that would cool on artoo
Grey, I dunno, but some companies offer regular silvery aluminum and that might be fun
I didn’t think it would matter but there was a distinct difference and I liked the gold much better.
The metal pickguard gives slightly less lower mids as far as I can hear. My strat with a plastic pickguard is so much noisier than my squier jazzmaster with the gold anodized aluminum pickguard, so I'm going to change it on the strat for less noise, hope it doesn't get too trebly, but I can compensate it with the tone controls and eq. Noise is killing the sustain on heavily distorted sounds, when recording directly to a computer without a real amp (a real amp would add more sustain because of the subtle feedback but it's not practical at my apartment building)
Use that guard to build the most '58 Jazzmaster you can :)
And the feedback with high gain or fuzz?
Mike,
Toneguard is horrible for making custom aluminum pickguards. Do you know any American companies that make custom aluminum guards? Any referrals are super appreciated. Peace 🖖🏻
Yeah this is a really tough one. Toneguard used to be great but boy howdy did their service drop off. For US based makers I’m stumped, but Herad on Reverb is great and affordable
Is there such a thing as a mint anodized guard?
Gold sounds slightly brighter to my ears. A lovely little lift 😍
Do u think because of the colour or material? Maybe another tone for colour as well 😃
Well-made video. I thought the premise was just some ridiculous guitar-geek myth, but you're right, the aluminum had a little metallic brightness to it. Which I preferred to the other.
Hey, thanks for giving the video a shot! I'm also leery of that same kind of video you mention, so I'm glad I defied your expectations. The mint guard went back on Artoo the very same day, haha.
@@Puisheen haha, yeah, I saw that. I get it. I hope you're going to share your "special build" with us. Sounds interesting.
@@SD_Marc Someday, all shall know about that one special guitar!
definately a tad more bite with my ali guard than my old plastic guard!
Liked this upload a lot. 🤘🏼
I agree. Its very subtle but the aluminum definitely adds a twangy metallic tone.
PIckguards schmickguards, that riff was ::string of fire emojis::
Why do jazzmasters use 1meg potentiometers? Wouldnt 250 or 500k pots sound better?
i guess i shouldn’t be as surprised as I am that, while subtle, there is a difference. Other than an audible difference, i wonder if there was a difference in feel.
@puisheen Your strumming was noticeably stronger during the gold anodized E chord strums, especially when your hand reached the unwound strings, thus increasing the brighter sound. You can visibly see more pick resistance each time you pass a string than when you strummed with the plastic guard.
Overall great video!
What’s the weight difference between the two?
Is it something wrong with me or it sounds louder with an anodized?
awwwww.my dream guitar in all its glory...had one...got home invaded..now ..well now i have a list in my heart where this guitar once held realastate.oh and along with my jazzmaster they also guitar napped my 1967 bronco..if by chance it was you along with 4 of your bad buds..you are all on my list.