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amir

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Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
3
hi, i have bought a new MusicMan Stingray a few weaks ago and i am thinking about taking the pickguard off.
I wonderd if i need to put the screws back in the guitar or can i leave the like they are?

cheers
 

KevinM

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Feb 24, 2011
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841
Location
SoCal
Welcome to the forum.

Leave 'em out but don't let any beer foam get in the holes. ;)
 

sanderhermans

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Nov 5, 2013
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belgium
What colour is your bass. Some people like clear pickguards. I personally wouldnt like a bunch of holes in my bas and i quite like the mm pickguards. But putting the screws back in or not is up to you... i think it would look a bit messy up close. But try it out.
welcome btw
 

amir

New member
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
3
What colour is your bass. Some people like clear pickguards. I personally wouldnt like a bunch of holes in my bas and i quite like the mm pickguards. But putting the screws back in or not is up to you... i think it would look a bit messy up close. But try it out.
welcome btw

First of all thank you. I want to take it off not only because the looks but also because the sound, i have heard from a few musicians it "opens" the sound of the guitar, i will see if it realy matters or not and how i looks like and than i'll decide.
 

Golem

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Aug 30, 2005
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.......... I want to take it off not only because the looks but also
because the sound, i have heard from a few musicians it "opens"
the sound of the guitar, i will see if it realy matters or not .......

Now I haven't met them and know not their names, yet I can assure
you that those who think it "opens" the sound are NOT musicians.

BTW if you wanna prove to yourself whether removing a PG "opens"
the sound of a guitar you might wanna do such an experiment on a
guitar not covered with a heavy gloss finish such as on a Sting Ray.
Do such an experiment on a nitro finished F3nder. Or, if you you'd
rather not waste your time on BS, skip the experiment entirely :)
 

amir

New member
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
3
Now I haven't met them and know not their names, yet I can assure
you that those who think it "opens" the sound are NOT musicians.

BTW if you wanna prove to yourself whether removing a PG "opens"
the sound of a guitar you might wanna do such an experiment on a
guitar not covered with a heavy gloss finish such as on a Sting Ray.
Do such an experiment on a nitro finished F3nder. Or, if you you'd
rather not waste your time on BS, skip the experiment entirely :)

They didnt say it in those exact words, english is'nt my first languge and i wasn't sure how to translate it...
anyway, i took the PG off and i like it more like looks now (i put the screws back in the holes, it looks better) thanks anyway/
 

Soulkeeper

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Aug 27, 2011
Messages
216
Location
Bergen, Norway
They didnt say it in those exact words, english is'nt my first languge and i wasn't sure how to translate it...
anyway, i took the PG off and i like it more like looks now (i put the screws back in the holes, it looks better) thanks anyway/

For all practical purposes, taking the pickguard off does exactly nothing to the sound.
 

Golem

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Aug 30, 2005
Messages
2,280
Location
My Place
They didnt say it in those exact words, english is'nt my
first languge and i wasn't sure how to translate it...
anyway, i took the PG off and i like it more like looks now
(i put the screws back in the holes, it looks better)
thanks anyway/

OK. I want you to know I wasn't criticizing the use or
misuse of that word "opens". It's a suitable word for
a desirable improvement in tone. So ... what I tried
to express is this: That persons who fuss over minor
silly little tweaks of tone, persons who believe in all
those crazy fables about what's important tone-wise,
those persons are unlikely to be musicians. An actual
musician is not likely to be distracted by trivia.

OTOH, way cool about putting the screws back into
the holes. Every time I've ever even casually thought
about removing a MM PG, I've always felt that all the
screws had to be in place ... to maintain a shadow of
the iconic MM trade dress, the oval shape, with no PG.
 
Last edited:

Kong

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Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
79
Location
Germany, Baden-Württemberg. South Germany, near to
I just purchased a SR 5 Classic in Tonacoburst finish with a flamed maple neck. The first owner bought it with a black pickguard. To get the Cliff Williams - look he purchased a clear pickguard. But this was only one reason.

The bass was shipped with both pg's, and I decidet to keep it with the clear one at first sight. As I like the oval pickguards, the trans finish is so beatiful, it would be a shame to put the black pg on that bass.

I would recommend getting a clear pickguard. It protects the finish if you are a pick player, and you don't see it at all. Think about the day you might decide to sell that bass, and there is massive wear because of the missing pickguard. Maybe.

There will be wear, because I do see marks on the black pg that was mounted original on that bass. The wear was the major point for changing the pg, and there was a clear one available, so what the f***k.... ;)

BTW, using no pg at all is fine for me. Just keep the screws on their places, so there is no searching around when you decide to get a pg on that bass in some day.
 
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