Pickguards

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Gibson plastic parts which include the pickguard , jack plate , back plates , knobs , switch tips, switch rings and other decorative or name plaques  and others  again remained relatively the same over the years for the various models while they were in production. What changed was the material and the way the material was processed.

Some of the materials used and again I lumped them under the plastic category were bakelite . tortoise shell , ivory , plastic and metal. Again I would like to emphasize that i am putting them under this plastic category only because of the items they were used for such as pickguards knobs etc. This just makes it easier for the beginner to find and learn about the parts and materials used.

Today Gibson does not use bakelite or real ivory or real tortoise shell for their  guards , nuts and knobs . Today Gibson uses plastic and metal for the guards, knobs ,nuts etc. A few of the above materials are protected and prohibited for use by the endangered species and conservation acts.

What I will briefly talk about is the plastic . The Original plastic used by Gibson was rolled and cut . Therefore light roll marks or lines can be seen on the back of the plastic. This is found on all plastic used on pre 1960 Gibson guitars. Many parts were left over and so you will find many early 1960 ’s plastic parts with the rolled lines and this is normal.  For arguments sake I will say by 1969 all Gibson plastic parts that were produced were molded and no longer cut from rolled plastic. For example a 1968 Gibson Les Paul custom has rolled lines on back of pickguard, all of them do. By 1969 most guard no longer featured the rolled lines . Also many of the other plastic parts now bore mold marks on the back definitely distinguishing them form the 1960 ’s parts .

The good thing is that all the reissue parts sold by Gibson for their reissue models are not made form the old rolled style plastic . This helps to eliminate fraud  and protect the buyer from buying a newer aged parts as real. I will note at this moment in time the best reproduction  burst parts are in circulation. They are near impossible to tell they are not real. This is why it is important to buy from companies likeourselves which guarantee originality. The parts world can be a scary place for the uneducated buyer so please be careful and we will be glad to answer any questions you may have.