Taylor 724CE - Pickguard Removal

[SWL72]

I purchased it new from the Sweetwater gallery a few weeks ago. I love the figuring and bookmatching. However, I wasn't happy with the maple pickguard. It was lifted slightly on the corners when I took delivery. That alone made me research removing it. After planning and gaining courage, I decided to give it a try. I applied a brief amount of low heat and pulled up slightly on the lifted corner. Once I confirmed there wasn't a visible stain from the adhesive I continued on. It came off without any issues after about 15 minutes of light slow pulling. Here are a few photos.

[Dave Abrahamson]

Shame to cover that up with a pickguard to begin with. Beautiful figuring.😍

[Rev Roy]

Good for you! Gorgeous guitar. Congrats!

[scotchnspeed]

Marvelous upgrade!

[KevinH]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm with ya. Most guitars look much better w/o the pick guard.

[SWL72]

I agree. Thanks for the feedback!

[FOG01]

Taylor’s glossy finish makes the pick guard unnecessary and there’s no sense covering that beautiful wood up.

[TBman]

Good job. I'm not a fan of pickguards.

[bendandsnap]

Nice job! Taylor should keep their pickguards as optional in the case. They look super clean without them.

[ribsareyummy]

Marvelous!

[1neeto]

Wow that’s a looker!

[jontewright]

Some guitars just look nicer without a pickguard. Yours is one of them.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by bendandsnap

Nice job! Taylor should keep their pickguards as optional in the case. They look super clean without them.

I’ve often thought that builders should do that with the pickguards, but I wonder if the reason they don’t is to avoid the appearance of their instruments being spoiled by owners installing them ‘wonky’? Maybe they regard installing the pickguard at the workshop/factory as the better option from that point of view - after all, a pickguard is easy-enough to remove if you don’t like it?

[nikpearson]

…and the book-matching of the koa top is really nice on this instrument.

A tip I’ve found useful when removing pickguards is to slide a length of dental floss/tape under a corner after warming the guard up with a hairdryer and then using a gentle sawing motion to break the adhesive contact with the soundboard. The tape is strong yet soft so won’t cause and finish damage.

Did the guard leave any adhesive residue? If so some naptha (petroleum spirit) on a a soft cloth will remove it.

Those koa 700 series guitars are very elegant.

[SWL72]

Thanks for the tips. It actually came off relatively easy. I simply just pulled up slow and easy. There was no staining or residue left behind. I was nervous about that. The guitar only being a few months old probably helped my case.