I've tried not to post/brush my pinkie/ring finger on my black topped MT's top, simply because I didn't want to damage it. (I sold my first MT at a giant loss because I wore through the finish and then the wood!)

But I've discovered that having a reference point for my right hand really helps with fluidity and tension and whatnot. I usually would just let the right hand float, or maybe just slightly brush the bridge with the palm. But I found that, especially when just starting to play that day, or if I jumped right into a jam or whatever, my right hand would be jerky and tense, and I found that if I posted/brushed on the top, that helped. Thought I'd try a pickguard.

So I contacted Doug Edwards at Hill Country Stringworks (he made me a really nice ebony armrest last year), I and asked him to make me a plain-jane ebony pickguard.

A couple of days later, it arrived in the mail, and I installed it last night. I really like it. It gives the pinkie/ring fingers on my right hand a nice point of reference and I don't feel I have to control the pick as much, or think about hand position. It knows where to go. There is trust, if that makes sense.

Installation was pretty easy. A couple of pins come with the guard, and I needed to drill a couple of holes in the guard and also in the mandolin, between the fingerboard and the cantilevered piece under it (does that have a name?). Kind of scary, but I've swapped tuners, slotted bridges and done other modifications on my guitars in the past, so I wasn't too freaked out.

I like the subtle look, too. In fact, you have to look closely in a couple of the pics, or you can't even see the pickguard, it blends in so nicely.

It's a nice mod, too, because it's not permanent. The pins are glued into the pickguard, but not into the mandolin (just a pressure fit), so I can just pull it out if I find I don't want it in there anymore.

Thanks, Doug! Super fast service and a great price.

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