Pick guard for Rainsong Shorty
 

I have an older (7-8 years) Rainsong Shorty with the textured body that I would like to add a (smooth, untextured) pick guard to.

I have never liked the feel or sound of the pick against the weatherproof, textured body and figure that somebody else has felt the same way and has successfully done something about it.

I am looking for brands and adhesive/techniques for their installation on the textured body, permanent or otherwise.

Thank you in advance,

Russ
Down to three Martins...and the above mentioned Rainsong!:)

Russ, Stewart-MacDonald sells self-adhesive pickguards in the Martin teardrop shape in three colors: black, clear and tortoiseshell. Personally, I think a tortoiseshell plastic pickguard on a carbon fiber guitar would look a bit odd, but either black or clear should look fine.

They’re good quality pickguards, and inexpensive, each under $10. I’ve put the tortoise pickguards on a couple of guitars, and been pleased with them.

If I was on my desktop computer I would provide a link to them, but since I’m on my phone I’ll just suggest you go to stewmac.com and look for their pickguards.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thank you, Mr.Miller
 

Wade,
You have *got* to be the most helpful guy on AGF.
Though I only participate in the forum once every couple of years, you seem to always have something constructive to contribute.
Thank you,

I had a on-line graphics shop make these. I can give you the job number and you can order some for yourself. It is static cling and is designed to fit a 12 fret RainSong exactly. You will get a few bubbles that under the right light can be seen, but generally it looks great from a few feet away. I change the strings once a month and I remove it to clean the guitar. They seem to last about a year the way I use them. I took a worst-case photo with a flash but the other photo is what it will look like.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vue...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lgZ...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x9y...ew?usp=sharing

Here's a shot out in the wild:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Uw...HXt9e2kLdqvsWY

Are any of the respondents giving thought to the fact that the OP mentions his RS has the "super fine texture" finish. I think this would be an important factor in adhesion but nobody mentions it in their response.

Just thinking out loud.

Sean, I actually did take the Rainsong’s textured surface into consideration, but didn’t mention that because I wanted to be succinct (for a change!) My guess is that putting one of those self-adhesive Stew-Mac pickguards onto the Rainsong’s textured surface will be like putting a sticker onto the textured Tolex material on the outside of a guitar case; it should work just fine.

But you raise a valid point, and Russ can call and ask the folks at Stewart-MacDonald if he wants to be completely certain on this aspect before he proceeds.

Russ, I’m glad to be of some help.


Wade Hampton Miller

That graphics shop also has a "weak adhesive" option which is tackier than a post-it but definitely removable. Their real business is window stickers for advertising. I used to use it on an old "fine texture" RainSong I long ago eBay'ed and a Taylor T5z.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_...3Nna2Rjajg2OXc

I have a RainSong Concert OM 12-fret, very similar to your Shorty.

I used these guys to get a pickguard for mine. 30+ shapes and several different materials to choose from. And you can specify a soundhole radius to make sure it fits perfectly.

I chose gloss black in a Taylor shape. I think it looks perfect. I've gotten two pickguards from them. Very happy with both.

I'm looking for one for my CH-OM, which I believe has the same specs as your Shorty, so I think I'll let you be the guinea pig and post a photo of the one you end up with. I'm hoping that you find a pickguard that doesn't require any modification.

NoodleFingers: I think the Taylor shape would probably look good on the CH-OM. What did you specify for the radius? Can you post a photo?

Mine's a Concert, so I picked the radius to match up to the abalone rosette. I don't know if it would be just the same as your black rosette. I think it would probably be better to just measure what you need from your own guitar. They can match it.

I do have some pictures, but I haven't posted one here in a long time, and I don't remember the username or password of the Flickr account I used then. And I'm not a sponsor. But I seem to remember that the procedure (and possibly the rules) for posting pictures has changed.

Can I post or PM it without being a sponsor? If so, do you remember where the instructions are?

I believe that, if you aren't a charter member of AGF, you need to post a link to an external photo sharing site (I use Imgur).

Here's the AGF thread that shows the details:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=231872

+1 on the clear pickguards from stewmac!

Here you go. The top is a little distorted by the lens, but this should give you a pretty good idea.

I tried to post the image directly into this post, but it didn't work. I know Flickr used to work here, but maybe it doesn't any more.

Many thanks to all.
 

I ended up getting some of the Stew-Mac pick guard (black) adhesive backed material that Wade had in suggested in his first response.
I had some "static cling" clear type pick guards from a Taylor I once had and they definitely did not work on the textured surface of the Rainsong Shorty.
I finally cut a guard to shape and adhered it to the guitar this afternoon and am really surprised at how well it worked and how happy I am with both how it looks and how it works!

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice.
All the best,