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Old 09-09-2018, 04:34 AM
Mischief Mischief is offline
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Default Scratch plate height?

I’m new to Archtops and the only other one I’ve ever owned had no scratch plate on it.

My new guitar does not have much height clearance on the scratch plate. If I play near the bridge I hit the plate even while finger picking. If I play just behind the floating pickup (attached to the neck) it has enough clearance. But I feel limited to that one place for my right hand.

There does not appear to be a way to adjust the height of the guard.

The guitar is a Godin 5th Avenue Jazz.

I’ve tried to look this info up but I can’t seem to find anything regarding pickguard/scratchplate height adjustments and what’s desirable etc.

Any insight is appreciated.
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  #2  
Old 09-09-2018, 06:52 AM
Howard Emerson Howard Emerson is offline
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Originally Posted by Mischief View Post
I’m new to Archtops and the only other one I’ve ever owned had no scratch plate on it.

My new guitar does not have much height clearance on the scratch plate. If I play near the bridge I hit the plate even while finger picking. If I play just behind the floating pickup (attached to the neck) it has enough clearance. But I feel limited to that one place for my right hand.

There does not appear to be a way to adjust the height of the guard.

The guitar is a Godin 5th Avenue Jazz.

I’ve tried to look this info up but I can’t seem to find anything regarding pickguard/scratchplate height adjustments and what’s desirable etc.

Any insight is appreciated.
It really depends on how handy you are with tools, etc, but what I find curious is that on the few pictures of that model it appears that the pick guard is further away (deeper, or closer to the top) at the bridge than at the pickup/fingerboard end.

You could just take the whole thing off and save all the parts.

Other than that the mounting blocks would need to be thinned, but the one near the neck would be thinned from underneath to lower it, while the one with side bracket would need to be removed, and thinned from its top, then reattached.

It's a lot of work, but if you enjoy the look of the guitar with the pick guard then it is worth the effort.

What's desirable for YOU is the ONLY thing that counts, by the way.

Regards,
Howard Emerson
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Old 09-09-2018, 09:34 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Originally Posted by Mischief View Post
...If I play near the bridge I hit the plate even while finger picking. If I play just behind the floating pickup (attached to the neck) it has enough clearance. But I feel limited to that one place for my right hand.

There does not appear to be a way to adjust the height of the guard.

The guitar is a Godin 5th Avenue Jazz.

I’ve tried to look this info up but I can’t seem to find anything regarding pickguard/scratchplate height adjustments and what’s desirable etc. ...
Godin owner (5th Avenue acoustic and CW II electric) here...

In case you haven't discovered it already the pickguard bracket has a slot that allows adjustment closer to/farther from the strings, if you loosen the screw closest to the rim of the guitar...

The pickguard bracket can also be bent downward if you work carefully - a little bit goes a long way IME...

I've done this on both of my Godins as well as a good number of other instruments I've owned over the years that use a similar mounting system, and come away with a perfectly-positioned pickguard every time - and if you're uncomfortable with the idea of doing this yourself, it's only about ten minutes' time and a couple bucks for your tech to do the job...
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Old 09-09-2018, 04:06 PM
Mischief Mischief is offline
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Godin owner (5th Avenue acoustic and CW II electric) here...



In case you haven't discovered it already the pickguard bracket has a slot that allows adjustment closer to/farther from the strings, if you loosen the screw closest to the rim of the guitar...



The pickguard bracket can also be bent downward if you work carefully - a little bit goes a long way IME...



I've done this on both of my Godins as well as a good number of other instruments I've owned over the years that use a similar mounting system, and come away with a perfectly-positioned pickguard every time - and if you're uncomfortable with the idea of doing this yourself, it's only about ten minutes' time and a couple bucks for your tech to do the job...


Thanks.
I was thinking I could bend the rod a little to lower it.
And I had not discovered the pickguard bracket slot.
I’ll have a closer look later by loosening it off and see what happens.

Thanks so much.
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