We always tacitly accept pickguards as a core part of a guitar, whether acoustic or electric. While we understand their impact on a guitar’s aesthetics, we don’t often question their purpose. Some guitars don’t even have pickguards, so it might be easy to assume that they don’t serve much purpose, particularly on an acoustic guitar.
Acoustic guitars need pickguards as they protect the finish of the guitar from your pick. Pickguards are especially useful if you’re an aggressive strummer. But if you don’t strum hard, you might not need a pickguard. Classical guitars typically don’t need them because you play them with fingers.
In this article, I’ll explain the nitty-gritty of pickguards and what they do on a guitar. You’ll quickly find out whether or not your guitar really needs one.
Related: is guitar tonewood real, or is it a myth, 14 ESSENTIAL guitar bridge types, and 10 best locking tuners for guitar.
If you want to find out what my recommended guitar gear is, then here is what I recommend on Amazon:
- Fender Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle (MY FAVORITE GUITAR)
- Snark SN-8 Super Tight All Instrument Tuner (Easiest Tuner I’ve Used)
- 6 String Acoustic Guitar Capo (Best CAPO for quick changes)
- Dunlop Max Grip 1.0mm Nylon Picks (Thick Guitar Pick So You Don’t Lose Grip!)
- Universal Guitar Stand (Cheap & Minimalist Guitar Stand I Recommend)
- Levy’s 2″ Wide Quick Adjust Guitar Strap (Best Guitar Strap For Any Level)
What Is a Pickguard?
A pickguard or scratchplate is a piece of plastic (or other material) that protects your guitar from getting damaged while playing. It also serves a decorative purpose and can be easily customized for the guitarist’s self-expression.
If you play with a pick, particularly if you strum fast and aggressively, your pick will inevitably hit the guitar just below the sound hole.
Even if you’re really careful (and I don’t doubt you are), you’ll still occasionally hit the wood. Over time, this can lead to your guitar being scratched and battered, especially if you play very often.
For that reason, it’s necessary to have a pickguard on your acoustic or electric guitar. The pickguard is made from the same material as the pick, which is plastic, so it can’t be easily damaged by it. Even if it gets scratched, replacing it is easy and cheap.
Another reason for adding a pickguard is aesthetics. For example, many guitars, such as the Stratocaster, have a recognizable design owing in huge part to their pickguards.
Adding an original and unique pickguard to your guitar is a great way to make it stand out and capture the eyes of many potential players.
Pickguards are also occasionally used for autographs. It’s an amazing feeling to play a guitar signed by your favorite guitarist, and you also get some bragging rights in that case. In addition, a signed pickguard can be easily removed and sold as memorabilia for a decent amount of money.
Does an Acoustic Guitar Really Need a Pickguard?
An acoustic guitar needs a pickguard for protection. However, this largely depends on how you play. A pickguard might not be necessary if you play with great accuracy and don’t strum too hard. If you have an aggressive playing style, it’s better to have one.
A pickguard on an acoustic guitar has a practical purpose that should not be neglected. It will protect your acoustic guitar from getting scratched, saving you some money in the long run since you won’t have to get it repainted and fixed.
This is especially true if you play fast-paced music and like to go ham on your guitar and strum hard and fast. You probably do, as it’s kind of hard to sit still and play with the utmost care when you get to a particularly catchy passage. You should use a pickguard if you like to go wild and don’t want to see your guitar scratched.
On the other hand, if you prefer slow-paced music and have great control of your strumming hand, then the chances of scratching your guitar with the pick are minimal. In that case, you might do just fine without a pickguard. As a matter of fact, many acoustic guitars come without pickguards installed, probably because you’re expected to play them slowly and calmly.
However, no matter your playing style, it’s best to have a pickguard even if it doesn’t seem necessary. It’s better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes, and it’s particularly true here. Don’t take any chances, especially if you’ve got a particularly pricey guitar.
Why Are Guitars Scratched Easily?
The wood that guitars are made of should be resonant but light. This lightness makes it easily scratchable because it means that the wood will be relatively soft. Unlike the wood, the pick is made from hard plastic, so it’ll damage the guitar easily.
When building a guitar, you need resonant wood. Resonant types of wood are usually lightweight but strong, such as spruce. These qualities, unfortunately, make it more easily scratchable, unlike, for example, maple.
Sadly, tough, durable wood like maple is not resonant enough for an acoustic guitar. This means that manufacturers have to stick to less tough wood to preserve the resonance of their guitars. We can choose between resonance and durability, and resonance is much more important when making an acoustic guitar.
Pickguards are typically made from plastic, just like picks. This prevents picks from scratches or significant damages, which makes pickguards a great way to protect your acoustic guitar from pick-induced damage.
Classical Guitars
You may have noticed that classical guitars typically don’t have pickguards. While there are some exceptions, most classical guitars generally don’t have pickguards. This is because pickguards are simply not necessary on a classical guitar.
Unlike an acoustic guitar, a classical guitar is almost exclusively played with fingers. The flesh on your fingers is soft, so it won’t damage the guitar even if you somehow hit it when strumming. Even a guitarist with long fingernails won’t be able to damage a classical guitar.
In addition to that, classical guitar playing doesn’t require fast, aggressive strumming. Most of the time, it’s relatively slow-paced and calm. This playing style lowers the chances of the guitar getting scratched even further.
Flamenco Guitars
Unlike classical guitars, flamenco guitars have a special kind of pickguard called the golpeador. This may seem unusual because the flamenco guitar is also played with fingers. However, the style is much more fast-paced and aggressive than using a classical guitar, so some protection is necessary.
In flamenco, there is a lot of aggressive, passionate strumming, and a lot of percussive strumming, so a golpeador is necessary to protect the guitar. Some would say that it is not a pickguard as such, but it serves a similar purpose, so we can include it under the umbrella.
In fact, flamenco guitarists seem to be the first to adopt a pickguard in the 19th century. The style was later copied by other guitarists until the first real pickguard was patented by Gibson in 1909. Since then, pickguards have been an indispensable part of the guitar.