Now theres a nice example!!!

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Now that's a hot guitar. I have always been a fan of mint green pickguards, but have yet to own one. This picture is the deal maker. So any suggestions on a pickguard source? I will also want to replace the foil backing for the pickguard. The one on it currently has this, and i would not want to compromise the noiseless setup. Thanks again to Ceri and Blertles for the help/support!

Why not go for the real deal? Fender I mean...

I have a sneaking suspicion that body came from a CP 60's Strat (sonic blue)

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Hi Blertles: though I think the CP 60 comes with a two-point trem, doesn't it? Did Casey say this bod had been converted from six-screw to two-point?

Wracking my brains: the only other Sonic Blue body I can think of from the recent catalog would be the Highway One - is that right? Perhaps this is a buffed up HWY-1 - but I wouldn't know the tell-tail signs to look for to confirm that. What would the pickup routing be? And the six-screw spacing?

...Of course, if it is a HWY-1 it will be nitrocellulose, rather than urethane or polyester. If Casey wants he can test for that by putting a tiny dot of cellulose thinner (nail varnish remover from the girlfriend's makeup bag is a handy source of acetone) in an inconspicuous place, such as in the contol cavity. If it dissolves the finish then it is nitro and so probably a HWY-1.

Move over, Sherlock!

(BTW Blertles: I don't recall seeing your Deluxe before. That is very pretty - the abalone dot markers with the MOTO 'guard are a tasty combo. )


Hi again Casey: the one in the picture was a ready loaded mint green pickguard with matching covers and knobs I bought from BareKnucklePickups (.co.uk). The pickups happen to be their "Sultans" set.

The bit you are interested in is that they turned out to use an Allparts pickguard to build that setup. Those come as standard with foil shielding on them, which is what you want. However, Forum user Mr Bill once mentioned that he found issues with the fit of Allparts pickguards, and I can confirm that I had to do a touch of re-shaping around the neck pocket to get it to fit the butt of the neck perfectly. Just something to be aware of.

WDmusic.com (or .co.uk) are another excellent source for pickguards - and there's many more out there.

Cheers - C

I will order a pickguard from Allparts. They only ask $22 for a foil lined mint pickguard. A Fender pickguard was $29,plus another $18 for the foil liner. Ceri and Bertles, i noticed allparts sells a sonic blue strat replacement body. HMMM??? Interesting. I will also do the acetone finish test tommorrow to try and rule out the Highway 1 as a body source. Thanks again guys for the help and suggestions. This is why i like the Fender forum.

HA! And Allparts were one of the few sources I could find for that unusual model bridge. It all starts to fall into place, doesn't it?

Odd edge to that pickguard (as has been noted earlier). Now if you could find that one at Allparts too then I think we've worked out the story...


It's neat, isn't it?

Cheers man - C

Good spotting... I think in that case it may be allparts, I allways thought hiway1's had a transparent finish to them, although I dont really pay much attention to that model. I must ask however, and I have allways wondered- can they be buffed to a gloss? I mean, a gloss that you would never tell if it used to have a matte finish? Hmm, Id love a sonic blue if that was the case...

Yeah I have allways wanted a strat with a pearl guard ever since I first saw one as a kid, I thought it was cool- I love it to bits

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