Replaced pickguard on my tangerine So Cal

[maltomario]

I usually don't mod guitars for aesthetic reasons but I couldnt get over the drab flat black pickguard and knob of death that came on my charvel So-Cal. Just seemed to clash a bit with the nice shiny paint i guess

So i ordered a warmoth pickguard - black/white/black glossy finish. I drilled out the volume and switch holes myself and put on a new dome knob.

I like the way it looks now. a little more classy i think. but to each his own. some pics

old pic:


new pic:


and for those of you looking to do the same, the cost was $25 for the pickguard. here are the options I ordered from warmoth's site for a near-perfect fit.

SPECS:
Strat, Black/White/Black, Right Handed, Neck Pickup: Fat Humbucker (w/ No Cover), Middle Pickup: None, Bridge Pickup: Fat Humbucker (w/ No Cover), Control 1: None, Control 2: None, Control 3: None, Control 4: None, Floyd TremoloBridge Cut, 11 Hole Mounting Holes, Standard,

[jmsaxon69]

Looks good!

[zakky_venom]

that does look really sweet, but i think ill keep the matte black one on my candy plum so cal

[quiksilver]

Looks good. Your photos are wonderful. I wish I could take pictures that well.

[john.w.lawson]

That looks cool but

[BenoA]

Very nice! Too bad they don't make that "tangerine" color anymore.

[triplehold]

Looks better, the D-Tuna looks sharp too!

[shreddermon]

That looks great. Huge improvement in looks.

[sully]

Pat, you have any updates to share?

[zakky_venom]

hey maltomario, do you use anything special in conjuction with the d tuna? like is your bridge blocked off, or do you have a tremolo-no?

[maltomario]

i installed a floyd rose trem-stop in the rear cavity. i usually have it backed all the way out so its floating. i had a spare d-tuna lying around so i installed it on this guitar, even though 90% of the time i don't detune the low E.

The trem-stop also is useful for maintenance / string changes. i can spin it with my finger and block the trem to set a stable reference point and then change strings easily without fear of damaging finish by wedging something under the bridge. when i'm done, just tune up and back out the lead screw and voila. can change all 6 strings in less than 10 min without fuss.

the trem stops are like $10 at axcessories.com - i put them on all my stage guitars that have floyds. worst case, if i break a string during a song i flip guitar around, engage the stop and finish song with trem more or less in tune.

this is not the same guitar but here's a pic of the trem-stop I installed on a buddy's kramer stagemaster. i leave the back cover off on my so-cal so i have easy access to the threaded screw part. i can spin it just by catching a fingernail on the tip portion (dont need an allen wrench)

[maltomario]

oh and i also wanted to point out that i got the idea of this pickguard color from a fellow forumite here on jcfonline. i was browsing and saw some guys guitar in same finish and thought to myself wow thats classy. so whoever owns a candy tangerine so-cal w/ a BWB glossy pickguard, thanks for the idea.

Eventually I may replace all the hardware with chrome and go with a White / pearloid pickguard. Think that would look pretty hot on this guitar.

[john.w.lawson]

If you go for the higher priced pickgaurds, they refect the color of your guitar! And that looks super cool. But there is only so much you can do with that color.But still that looks great.Where did you get that stop piece at?

[Rich#6]

It looks better glossy but I personally don't like the look of the white layer of the pickguard on these.

[zakky_venom]

i installed a floyd rose trem-stop in the rear cavity. i usually have it backed all the way out so its floating. i had a spare d-tuna lying around so i installed it on this guitar, even though 90% of the time i don't detune the low E.

The trem-stop also is useful for maintenance / string changes. i can spin it with my finger and block the trem to set a stable reference point and then change strings easily without fear of damaging finish by wedging something under the bridge. when i'm done, just tune up and back out the lead screw and voila. can change all 6 strings in less than 10 min without fuss.

the trem stops are like $10 at axcessories.com - i put them on all my stage guitars that have floyds. worst case, if i break a string during a song i flip guitar around, engage the stop and finish song with trem more or less in tune.

this is not the same guitar but here's a pic of the trem-stop I installed on a buddy's kramer stagemaster. i leave the back cover off on my so-cal so i have easy access to the threaded screw part. i can spin it just by catching a fingernail on the tip portion (dont need an allen wrench)

for string changes i usually either tape a few picks to them block, and take em out when im done, or just do one string at a time, but if i were to get a d tuna, id definitely do something like this. itd be kind of useless otherwise right?