Is the thin plastic material found on the pick guard and back plate intended to be removed? Or is it intended to be one slight additional protective feature?

Yes. It's meant to be removed.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

It's a protective film meant only to be used to protect the plastic bits during the initial shipping and storage from the company from scratches. Meant to be removed after purchase.

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'08 Fender Am. Std. Jazz bass, maple fretboard, charcoal frost metallic finish
'10 Squier VM Jazz bass, maple fretboard, natural finish
Ampeg BA115
'09 MIM standard Strat, maple fretboard, sunburst finish
Fender Super Champ XD

Not too many things irritate me more than seeing that plastic film on a scratch plate. Especially when the person has had that guitar for a fair amount of time and it still has that round sticker on it. Please, people, remove the film....especially if it has a sticker on it.
MULLY

Also make sure you remove all the little bits that invariably get stuck around the screws. The tiny bits of plastic look very tacky sticking out as they tend to do.

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Bill

That's one of my pet peeves also,seeing that plastic left on a guitar with the stickers...and the bits sticking out from under the screws....I don't know why people do it.

but....but.......ok just for fun.....not to bug ya....but the Pickguard concept on Electrics IS kinda wacky....to protect the wood......which you never see consequently...so is leaving the plastic on (to protect the pickguard) all that farfetched? :O)

ok ok....I admit that even after I started here (before those internets!) that I my own self unknowingly left the plastic on the pickguard of an acoustic....had all these nice transparent Fender logos on it....nice!!.....then one day i saw that the logos were flaking off.....*Smackshead* protective plastic on Pickguard....bwaaa hhaa (idiot)

I stand (sit) humbled before you. Yeh....take it off.

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rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

When I peel off the protective plastic I'm amazed by how much the tone opens up.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Oh stop!

Gridlok

I leave mine in the box. That way I don't get anything but cardboard dust on the headstock.

Actually the pickguard on a strat looks like a cost cutting measure. It allows someone to assemble the electrics while the guitar is drying and minimal work to be performed on the guitar once its finished. I see some manufacturers put protective plastic on the outside of the paintwork. The plastic of the pickguard has got to be worth all of $2 when you bang out a load of them.

Yeah, I get the idea the modern pickguard on electirc guitars and basses is more about facilitating more economical assembly, hiding routing for electronics and looks than actual protection.

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'08 Fender Am. Std. Jazz bass, maple fretboard, charcoal frost metallic finish
'10 Squier VM Jazz bass, maple fretboard, natural finish
Ampeg BA115
'09 MIM standard Strat, maple fretboard, sunburst finish
Fender Super Champ XD

I've seen some Strats where the plastic with the stickers were left on for a long time and then removed and the guard had faded and you could still see where the stickers were.

That was the entire design concept for both the Tele and the Strat - ease/economy of assembly and replacability of parts..

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Bill

I bought my Jazzmaster in January of 2009. When I was playing it the other day, I noticed the film peeling up near the edge. So it took me nearly two years to realize I hadn't removed the plastic film. Needless to say, I felt pretty stupid.

And the guitar sounds so much better now that I've removed the film...

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Film on = More mass = Better sustain ∴ Leave It On!

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“All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song.” Louis Armstrong