Hello all,

I've had a Clapton signature strat for some time now, and haven't been able to figure out what to do about this problem without drilling more holes in the body and fit a 3-ply pickguard (which I'd like to avoid).

A relatively large part of the single-ply pickguard, to the left side of the bridge pickup, is lifting up a little bit; not much, but wide enough for a 1.14mm pick to fall through.

Has anyone with a Clapton strat had the same problem? If so, how did you fix it?
Is there a way to fix this problem without ever removing the pickguard from the body?

Thank you in advance for your help!

All Fender single-ply 8-hole pick guards will eventually do this. That's the reason that the 3-ply 11-hole pick guards were introduced in the first place. There are also 8-hole 3-ply pick guards available from many sources, like Mojotone, Callaham, Allparts, eBay, etc. The 3-ply pick guard will be much less susceptible to warping than the single-ply. Another option is an aluminum anodized pick guard, also available with 8 holes.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Same thing happened to mine.

I had the same prob once.
The solution is simple: do not try to stick picks behind it.

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Well, the whole pick mention was to give everyone an idea of how much it is lifting.
My main concern is that the pickup's distance from the strings won't be accurate after setup, because the pickup (along with the pickguard) will move up and down as the pickguard warps...

It's an inevitable small problem with single ply pick guards....
All vintage single ply have this minor issue.
The simple fix is to replace it with a 3 ply guard and keep the original.

No need to make a mountain out of a molehill....

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "

If you have an older Clapton Strat with Lace sensors it doesn't make a difference what hight the pickups are at. If you look at the Fender website concerning pickup hight, it says to place them as close as desired. You could, if you really think it's that big a problem, lower the pickups to compensate.

Here's the link to the pickup hight information:

http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... etup-guide

I have the one with Noiseless pickups.

I do agree that this little lift won't have any noticeable effects on the sound; but being somewhat OCD, the aesthetics....