I don’t know if this would be the deciding factor for you, but I’m not a fan of loading the top of an acoustic guitar with anything that doesn’t have to be there. A quick Google search showed me that this has been a religious discussion, and the subject of many other threads here on the AGF, as well as YouTube videos and probably countless blog posts.
My reasoning for not putting one on, particularly on an expensive, custom made guitar, is that you probably paid for a very high quality top set, mostly because of the better sound that you’d get out of it. To then essentially nullify part of the benefit provided by that high-end top by gluing a piece of plastic to it seems counter-productive.
Placement is another consideration. The upper bout is much less important for tone and volume than the lower, so if there has to be a pickguard, that’s probably the best place for it.
That said, if you need it, you need it. I don’t use metal fingerpicks a lot, but when I do, I like to use them either with my resonator (over the cone cover), or with one of my guitars that has a pickguard. I sometimes get sloppy, and those metal picks can do some damage...
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