Pickguard or no pickguard? (Discuss amongst yourselves.)

**couchpicker** · Nov-30-2011, 7:38pm

My prior mandos had none, my newest addition, an amazing TOPE TF-5 has one. Do I leave it on or take it off? I don't really want anything standing between me and that wonderful tone...

**mandolirius** · Nov-30-2011, 7:44pm

The tone thing is a myth. I've proved it by taking mine off and recording the same thing I just played with it on. Absolutely no difference to my ears or those of several other mandolin players.

Also, it's not a pickguard even though it looks like one. It's actually called a finger rest and the name is a literal description of its purpose. Some folks like to use it because it improves their technique. That's why I have one.

**Willie** · Nov-30-2011, 7:57pm

If Monroe didn`t want or need one than neither do I....

**couchpicker** · Nov-30-2011, 7:58pm

I don't mean to be contrary, but wouldn't that just prove that the finger rest does not affect the way the mandolin records? How does one determine how it affects the ambient sound?

BTW -- to dumb old guitar players like me, they'll always be pickguards. I was always taught in guitar that you DON'T rest your fingers.

**Mike Bunting** · Nov-30-2011, 7:59pm

I have a Collings w/o a finger rest and now I play a Stanley with one. When I first got the Stanley, I thought I might remove the rest but I heard no difference in tone and since I don't post, that aspect is pretty irrelevant to me.

**8ch(pl)** · Nov-30-2011, 8:22pm

I believe that my Flat top Mid Missouris (2) need a pickguard. I beat up the top of my M-4 quite badly and wound up refinishing it.

For carved tops. I think it may be less important for 2 reasons. The fist is that the strings on a carved top are normall higher off the instrument's top than they are on a flat top. The second reason is that a carved top instrument has a top that curves away from the pick action, whereas a flat top is level. These 2 factors make it less likely that the pick will contact the top.

I have fabricated wooden pickguards for both my Mid Missouri Mandolins.

**metamando** · Nov-30-2011, 8:40pm

I always take 'em off, just don't like the way they look...

**mandolirius** · Nov-30-2011, 8:54pm

Not at all. The recording quality was very good and any difference would have shown up. This is supported by the fact that no one noticed any difference acoustically. This has been gone over time and time again in this forum and pretty much anywhere mandolins are discussed and the conclusion is always the same. No difference. Tone come far more from your right hand than anywhere else. You want good tone? Look down and slightly to the right. The secret is right (no pun intented) there.

Unless your right arm is totally floating with no part of it touching the top (very rare), you're going to rest your fingers or your wrist. Wrist-resters seem more common, coming into contact with the strings just beyond the bridge.

**mandroid** · Nov-30-2011, 10:21pm

Deja Vu on this topic.. to review... ..Suture yourself..

.. not an orthodox BG type, No Peer group pressure to satisfy,
(or any gig to lose.) , so..
I fitted several for my preferences, except my Flat top , a Djangolin.

**JeffD** · Nov-30-2011, 10:25pm

Its entirely an aesthetic issue. On my mandolins that came with, I leave it on. On those without I don't get one.

**jschall84** · Dec-01-2011, 12:11am

I have taken them off my archtop instruments (including guitars). I tend to get a lot of noise from my pick hitting the guard. On a flat top, it is no issue.

**afhusband** · Dec-01-2011, 1:50am

When I bought my BRW the "pick guard" was off. I put it on after 6 months or so, it improved my techinque greatly, just more comfortable. And I can't hear a difference at all.

**AlanN** · Dec-01-2011, 6:03am

I had Charlie D. build me a small one, out of a special material. Simply gorgeous. I had it on for a month.

**pickloser** · Dec-01-2011, 7:11am

When I play my mandolin, it's a thing that looks good and doesn't seem to affect the sound either way. When I let somebody else play my mandolin, the thing is definitely a pickguard. I you care about pick scratches and want to let others try out your amazing TOPE TF-5, then I think you'll want to keep it on.

**Givson** · Dec-01-2011, 7:26am

Try it both ways. I definitely could hear a difference when I removed the small pickguard on my Duff F5. In my opinion, removing the pickguard let the high notes sustain longer, and they had a crisper tone.

**Jeff Budz** · Dec-01-2011, 9:16am

What, do some people rest their fingers on the pick guard? How does that help anything?

I though the pick guard was for keeping the top scratch free...

**KennyE** · Dec-01-2011, 10:13am

Originally Posted by Jeff Budz

What, do some people rest their fingers on the pick guard? How does that help anything?

I though the pick guard was for keeping the top scratch free...

Guess that would depend on whether it's a pick guard or a finger rest, wouldn't it?

I've always called them pick guards. Then while on our yearly pilgrimage to Heritage guitars, it was brought up, quite emphatically, that they are finger rests. This from people that have been in the guitar biz since the late '50s (not H guitars, the owners) ... so, I now call them finger rests. With a "sir, yes sir!!".

**allenhopkins** · Dec-01-2011, 11:33am

Play your mandolin with the pickguard on; then take the pickguard off, and play your mandolin. Notice a difference in tone, picking hand comfort, speed, weight, blood pressure, general feeling of well-being? Then go with the one that suits you best.

No overall consensus on the issue, so keep it subjective. Only thing to think about: you may well get more pick wear on the top with the pickguard removed. Or, as I found with my Eastman mandola, fingers resting directly on the top (yeah, I plant my fingers, so sue me!), rather than on the finger-rest, can wear the finish away.

**JeffD** · Dec-01-2011, 11:50am

Originally Posted by Jeff Budz

What, do some people rest their fingers on the pick guard? How does that help anything?
I though the pick guard was for keeping the top scratch free...

Well it protects the finish of the top, from scratches sure, but also from constant finger contact, for those of us who plant or brush or whatever.

On some instruments the pickguard is just part of the look. A vintage Lyon and Healy A model, asymmetrical two point with that violin scroll on the peg head just looks better with its jet black pick guard. It just looks incomplete without it. The Gibson Army Navy pancake mandolin with that beautiful tortoise shell pick guard, it just looks right. The mandolin looks naked without it.

F5s I could go either way. I kind of like seeing the two F holes, but I also think the pick guard on is a nice assymetrical balance to the scroll on the other side.

**ilovemyF9** · Dec-01-2011, 12:32pm

I have always preferred no pick guard on my Mando & on my Les Paul’s as well. I like to have my fingers on the instrument & not on a raised surface. I have tried many Mandos & LP's with the pick guard & it just does not feel right to me.

**mandolirius** · Dec-01-2011, 3:39pm

Originally Posted by Jeff Budz

What, do some people rest their fingers on the pick guard? How does that help anything?

I though the pick guard was for keeping the top scratch free...

Nope, that's not what it's for. I actually knew a guy who wouldn't teach anyone unless they had a finger rest.He believed it was part of proper technique. The way I use it is kind of like a depth guage. The finger rest, in combination with an arm rest, helps me maintain a consistent position for my right arm. My fingers brush across the rest as I move my wrist back and forth. From my observation most people who firmly plant a finger, like Adam Steffey, don't use finger rests.

**woodwizard** · Dec-01-2011, 4:30pm

Originally Posted by Willie

If Monroe didn`t want or need one than neither do I....

Bill's probably just fell off and he lost it is why he played without one probably.

**Loudloar** · Dec-01-2011, 5:04pm

One person says having a pick guard (finger rest) on or off makes no difference in tone. Someone else says they hear a noticeable difference. Could they both be right? Maybe it depends on the characteristics of the individual instrument?

On my 1924 F-5 there is an undeniable muting of the E and A strings with the finger rest attached. I'm convinced that it has nothing to do with the finger rest covering the F-hole, but it is because of the extra weight attached near the end of the fingerboard. However, the tone difference is not tremendous and I think it looks cool, so the finger rest is back on my mando after being off for many years. (See avatar to the left.) I don't doubt that there are other instruments with different construction where attaching a finger rest makes no noticeable difference in tone.

Concerning terminology: The Gibson Handbook has "picks" but no "pick guards". So if you want to be "correct" it's "finger rest", but we all know know what the P-word means.

Steve

**pickloser** · Dec-02-2011, 8:47am

Some folks call it a sling blade. I call it a Kaiser blade. Mm-hmm.

**mandobassman** · Dec-02-2011, 9:27am

Originally Posted by mandolirius

Nope, that's not what it's for....

Well, for many people, that's exactly what it's for. Lots of players use it to protect the finish. I've never had a mandolin with a pickguard/finger rest so every time I play a mandolin with one it feels awkward to me. There is no right or wrong. It's what works for each individual player. I have always had the feeling most players are comfortable with what they they learned with. If your first mandolin had one or didn't have one then generally that what most stick with.