What's behind a pickguard..?

HansiR

Hi Guys... I have just acquired my very first electric guitar, a Fender Squire 'Standard' Telecaster... it's just a starter guitar but feels and sounds pretty good to me after playing only acoustic for 50 years. It's a classic red burst with a tortoiseshell pickguard, which looks a bit busy to me, so I'm thinking of changing the pickguard for a plain black one. I just watched a YouTube clip of a guy with the exact same guitar changing his pickguard, but he was complaining that he's not going to spend $41 on a Fender guard when he can buy one from China for $13... however, after removing the original guard and holding it up to the camera saying "see, it's only plastic" he stuck some copper foil on the back of the Chinese replacement guard before fitting it. So I have two questions... what would the copper foil be doing, and... does this mean that the original Fender guard would have something similar sandwiched between the layers and therefore the reason why it costs $41..? In other words, would the Fender pickguard be more than just plastic?
Cheers, Hansi

viz

Check the screwholes are in the same place too. I got a generic scratchplate replacement and some of the screwholes are 5mm out. 

victorludorum

The copper foil is for sheilding, to cut down on the hum from the pickups. A Fender guard will be no different from a Chinese generic one, but as viz says, make sure you check that whatever you buy is compatible with your guitar model as the screw holes often don't line up. Ask for some advice on here from players who have done the same as you intend to do. There will be some on here and they can tell you where they bought from. Shops like @gavin_axecaster and Axes R us are friendly and reliable and should be your first port of call. Other sellers will no doubt chip in if they read this.

HansiR

Thanks Viz & Victor... yes, I had noticed that there are many variations, that's why I thought that going to fender and paying the extra I would at least get the correct one! I'll wait and see if anyone offers some advice... cheers, Hansi

thermionic

Pretty sure a Fender one would have issues with alignment of screw holes etc. Look for one that claims to fit a Squier, like this: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCRATCH-PLATE-3-Ply-Pickguard-Black-Trem-Cover-SSS-fits-Squier-Stratocaster/201861245316?hash=item2effde2984:g:UW0AAOSwImRYhe7n

SteveRobinson

I think a Squier Standard scratch plate is the same as a Fender these days although they have been different in the past.

Terrapin Pickguards have some useful PDFs on their website which you can print to scale to see if your plate is the same.
http://www.terrapinguitars.com/index_php.php?content=pdfContent

Funkfingers

Squier VM P Bass. Fender AVRI '63 P minty green 'guard.

https://i.imgur.com/PdoIT8Y.jpg?1

The only places where the holes in the Fender USA plastic do not align perfectly are where the Squier body is not (yet) drilled to receive the thumb rest and the metal screen "ashtray".

Countersinking the holes in the body may have helped.

HansiR

Thanks guys for your helpful advice! I have found a couple of sites where templates are available, so I'll definitely make sure that I'm purchasing the correct size. My main concern was to find out if a genuine Fender, or Squier, pickguard contains some sort of internal substance that acts as a barrier, or at least made of a better quality material to reduce humming, etc. I know that it's often just the name that puts the price up but, as there's such a big difference between a genuine Fender/ Squire pickguard and a Chinese cheapie, I thought that maybe this is the reason... but it sounds as if this isn't the case. so I'll just go for the best that I can find at a good price... thanks again for all your help, cheers, Hansi