Olaf has recently fitted an ebony pickguard to his Verythin. See below for details of the bracket-free fixing.
The guitar prior to having the pickguard fitted.
Olaf - "My Verythin Vintage does not have the standard "antique" violin finish but it has a beautiful violin burst colour and clear coated with 15 layers of hand polished shellac. This guitar is unique - a sort of prototype. You can see and feel the wood graining and pores! The guitar has a sustain block and the best tone I ever heard on a thinline guitar. Incredibly responding on fingers vibrato and flagolett tones, with "never ending" sustain."
Here is Olaf's short description how the pickguard was made and fixed:
- I cut a pickguard out of ebony (5 mm thick).
- I drilled 2 holes in the middle of the pickup cutouts (2 mm diameter, ca. 6 mm deep).
- I inserted 2 steel pins, cut from standard nails.
- I slitted 2 tiny hard rubber rings over the pins (cut from a cable mantle, see pics).
- I disassembled the pickup frames and drilled 2 mm holes into their sides.
- I simply pressed the frames onto the 2 pins of the pickguard. The rings serve as sealing against humidity and hide the pins.
- I re-assembled the unit without any problem.
Believe it or not, the pickguard has a tight and firm fit and does not touch the guitar's body. So the body can vibrate freely. The ebony is treated with fretboard oil only. Maybe, I'll rub it with wax and polish it to give a more shiny surface.
