Changing Pickguard on My Amer Std. Strat

[riverrick]

Thinking of changing my pickguard on my strat. What all's involved in this job??? Will the neck have to come off, if so can it just be loosened. Can I just ease the tension on the strings. Or maybe it's just a matter of taking old guard off and putting new one on. That would be nice!!!

[aeolian]

The last time I did this was something like 25 years ago.

From what I remember I did not have to take the neck off. The pickguard should fit around the base of the neck, but it may not be easy to fit it in unless the strings are removed. It should be obvious that you take off the old guard, but remember that all 3 pickups and all 3 knobs have to removed from the old pickguard and re-installed on the new pickguard before you put it in place and screw it down. I did remember that the pickups and knobs, once removed from the old guard, are somewhat of a tangled mess that you will have to manage. Also marked which pickup came from which position in the pickguard since they are different.

One last thing about aesthetics. There are at least 2 different Strat pickguard configurations that I know of, the difference is where the pickguard screw closest to the middle pickup is located. Most of them are right next to the middle pickups, but some are located higher up on the pickguard. If you like to get the details right make sure the pickguard you buy has the same screw position pattern as your existing one.

[Bookkeeper's Son]

Assuming it's the same as my Squier, you'll have to de-solder the wires to the output jack, because the wire goes through a hole between the pickup cavity and the jack cavity.

[syo***]

You don't have to loosen the neck or mess with soldering or anything. I do recommend removing the strings though. I have replaced pickguards by just loosening the strings but you really do risk scratching the guitar. You probably could use a change anyway so probably best to just remove them first. You may want to make note of the height of the pickups before taking them off the old pickguard. It'll save you time fiddling with it afterwards. I wouldn't say it's fun changing a pickguard, but it isn't difficult.

[riverrick]

Thanks for the info guys. A great help as always.