Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have searched the archives for information on 4001 pickguards, and there's lots of previous discussion about the various styles (1/2" & 1" neck spacing, random variations in screw hole alignment, custom options, 4003 pickguard differences, etc) and also about the various manufacturers (RIC, Pickguardian, Pickguard Heaven, forum members home-made, etc). I can't seem to find an answer to my most obvious questions which is:
Are all of the currently manufactured ones virtually the same, or are some better or worse?Who makes the most accurate replicas of the originals 60s/70s ones?
Are they distinguishable from the real ones in any way?

"Are they distinguishable from the real ones in any way?"

Thats a loaded question you cant just go buy a guard and it will fit your bass chances are anything pre-made the holes wont line up...,you will have to use your guard as a template and have one made,pickguard manufacturers[Pickguardian] will have the proper plastic.

If you want any mods to the guard you have to take measurements,start with Tony, at Pickguardian

Does anybody know the difference between a $35 Pickguard Heaven guard and a $50 Pickguardian one? Are these distinguishable from each other, or from a real 70s one? I still don't know what to look out for.

Pickguardian's are just like the real deal, he uses the correct material and if you have a pickguard you can send him, it will match perfectly.

I have read in various places that some of the other makers are not very good, mismatched sizes, holes, etc.

The nice thing about the 50s and 60s guards is that
they are hand cut, and a bit sloppy. The material is still
readily available. Generally don't trust any makers' template.
Make one from your old guard if available.

Go with pickguardian.

www.pickguardian.com

Pickguardian's are just like the real deal, he uses the correct material

I might disagree on this point a bit, if this is taken literally. None of us can get the "real deal" anymore as the original U.S. maker has discontinued producing the material. It all comes from offshore sources now and isn't exactly the same.

Close enough, anyway!

John that is certainly true. It seems that the older guards
from the 60s are a wee bit thicker.

It's kinda like how a 2x4 isn't 2x4 anymore....

It's only partially a matter of thickness, and normal production tolerances on extruded acrylic sheet pretty much negate this difference, anyway.

Once the guard it mounted to the guitar, it's more a matter of translucency.

RIC used to use a Rohm and Haas product (R & H owned the trade name "Plexiglas"--note spelling with one "s", until they left the market a number of years back amid severe price competition from Asian imports). That product was tightly-controlled to have a certain degree of opacity/translucency. A certain degree of "see-through-ness" looks just right; too much opacity looks a bit cheap, and too little opacity and you can see the control pots and wiring in the cavity under the guard.

Enter the Asian competitors, of which there are dozens, all fighting for market share. The average plastics distributor doesn't buy for QC these days (at least in this area), he buys for price, since most customers for this type of milky white acrylic are sign shops, and they are not terribly picky.

Result: The appearance of a certain stock number from one supplier (R & H used to have standard stock numbers for all their colors, and tight QC, and these are still somewhat standardized as the Asians have adopted the system to some extent) will vary from the same stock number from another Asian supplier. A specific stock number from one supplier may vary from batch to batch.

Result: It's impossible to get a consistent appearance in a pickguard--if you are really looking for total authenticity and replication of the old guard. You might find a perfect match to, say, '79 or '83 guard material, buy a sheet, and the next time you buy a sheet, the stuff is nowhere to be found.

All this is in addition to the thickness issue--although Asian acrylic sheet is manufactured to metric dimensions, thickness on 3mm (the gauge that is used on Rick guards) can vary by as much as 15% and still pass QC. Since 1/8" is only 4% thicker than 3mm, you can see how this is negated.

Further compounding the confusion is the issue of dealers and distributors labelling metric imported material in English dimensions. Of course, 3mm acrylic does run a bit shy, taking full advantage of the standard "wiggle room" in tolerances. Most often, believe it or not, 3mm imported acrylic measures .110", which is a full .015" short of the old American standard.

Old R&H acrylic, nominally 1/8" (.125"), usually ran a bit thick throughout most of a 4' X 8' sheet, with the edges measuring almost exactly on the mark at .125".

I have come up with a few tricks to replicate exactly the look of the vintage translucent white acrylic originally used in this guards for bass and guitar. RIC is currently using a more opaque acrylic than in the past, because it is consistently more available.

Tony at Pickguardian does outstanding work and is also a great guy.

I have some heavily guarded and sparingly used sheets of the correct stuff. It's thickness and opacity are perfect and I only use it when I want something special.

Bob, do these sheets have protective masking paper or poly?

If paper, the adhesive will have hardened and a special solvent will need to be used to soften it in order to use the acrylic.

If polyethylene, you're cool.

And that begs the question...Bob...are you cool?

Har.