Axesrus - Pickguard for Stratocaster

This is the Stratocaster® pickguard most players will recognise when working on a modern Fender Stratocaster. It represents the final stage in the evolution of the classic Strat pickguard design.

In simple terms, it’s a refinement of the early ‘60s specification. The key difference is the mounting screw between the neck and middle pickups, which was moved slightly closer to the middle pickup rather than sitting directly between the two. This change was likely introduced to reduce one of the common weak points on earlier pickguards, which were prone to warping over time.

This modern 11-hole pickguard layout came into production around 1983 and has remained the standard on most USA and Mexican-made Fender® guitars ever since. The main exceptions are reissue and signature models, which often replicate earlier specifications.

One important thing to note is that Squier® and Fender® Japan models do not always follow this standard. These can vary quite a bit, and we regularly see different hole patterns and specifications. If you’re unsure, it’s always worth checking measurements carefully. We’ve provided detailed technical diagrams to make matching your pickguard as straightforward as possible.

About the Pickguard

This Stratocaster® pickguard is made from a 3-ply PVC laminate, chosen because it offers the best balance of durability and stability.

While other plastics have been used historically, most come with drawbacks. They may be accurate to vintage specs, but they can be less stable in everyday use. PVC is far more resistant to heat and warping, and it maintains its colour over time. Like any material, it can still show signs of ageing such as nicotine staining or sun bleaching, but it performs far better than most alternatives.

If you’re running a standard set of single coils and need a reliable modern replacement, this is almost certainly the pickguard you’re looking for.

A Closer Look and what to look out for

Difference between modern and 50s switch on a Strat — Mounting Holes

The modern Stratocaster® pickguard features 11 mounting holes. This layout was designed to improve stability and reduce warping, and it has become the standard across most Strat-style guitars, not just Fender® models.

If your guitar has a “Strat-style” body, there’s a very good chance it uses this configuration.

1954 STratocaster counter sunk bolts — Pickup and Switch Bolts

Fender® used countersunk screws for pickups and switch mounting up until production changes in the mid-1980s.

After manufacturing resumed in 1987 at the Corona factory, dome-head screws became more common. The transition wasn’t immediate, and some overlap continued into the late ‘80s, particularly on Japanese models. However, most modern Stratocasters® use dome-head screws for pickup height adjustment and switch mounting.

1957 STratocaster trussrod Without Notch on scratch plate — Truss Rod Access

Earlier Stratocaster® models adjusted the truss rod at the heel of the neck, which required a small notch in the pickguard.

In 1971, Fender® introduced the “bullet” truss rod adjustment at the headstock. As a result, the pickguard design was updated, and the neck pocket notch was removed.

This revised design has remained standard ever since.

Edges

Although this pickguard design dates back to the 1980s, it’s still widely used today.

Most modern Stratocaster® pickguards are 3-ply or 4-ply, though single-ply versions do still exist. We stock both, but focus on thicker 2.3mm single-ply guards, as they are far more resistant to warping and better suited to everyday use.

Fender®, Squier®, Stratocaster® and Strat® are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Axesrus® has no affiliation with FMIC

Control - Customisation

A few years back, we changed how we approached pickguards. For a while, we ran a full “custom pickguard” service — and to be honest, it was a headache from start to finish. Interestingly, the most common requests weren’t for wild custom shapes — just standard plates with slightly different control layouts.

So, when the full custom work wound down, we took a more practical approach: we started stocking “half-finished” pickguards — fully cut and finished, but without the control pot holes drilled. This allows us to offer a wide range of pickup and control options, drilling the holes in-house to your spec. It’s quick, simple, and keeps costs down — no need for a full custom build.

What’s Custom, and What Isn’t?

Let’s be clear — this isn’t a full-blown custom shop service. We’re not cutting new shapes, routing entirely new cavities, or making major structural changes.

Instead, we’re simply drilling different control layouts using jigs and a pillar drill. While that technically makes these pickguards “custom” (since they’re made to order), the scope is intentionally limited.

You’re choosing a pre-made plate — often something like a covered or uncovered HH layout — and we’re customising the pot holes, and occasionally routing a pickup if needed.

Any Extra Costs?

Pot hole drilling: Free of charge. It’s quick work, done in-house.
Routing a pickup: This may carry an additional charge, depending on the pickup combination and complexity. It involves extra handling and setup, so pricing is determined on a case-by-case basis.

You Can Have Three Hole Sizes Drilled

We offer three sizes of holes, depending on your needs:

10 mm – for standard pots
½" – for full-size toggle switches
¼" – for mini toggle switches

The positions stay the same; only the diameters change depending on what you’re adding.

So — with all that in mind — let’s walk through how to understand where the holes go and how to get the layout you want.

This is, probably, easier with a diagram, but, be warned, whilst it makes sense - its pretty cluttered.

Diagram Key

10 mm Pot Holes: White
¼" Mini Switch Holes: Pink
½" Toggle Switch Holes: Grey
UFO Knobs (~1" diameter) and Switch Tips (9 mm over the slot): Green

The system is smart enough to prevent most overlap issues, but some combinations sneak through. For example, fitting a 10 mm pot in the Offset 2 position alongside any switch will get really tight once the knob is installed.

And in closing - Pickguards, once drilled away from the standard hole plan, come under the remit of Custom work and as always, if you've got any questions what so ever, please feel free to get in touch with us and we can talk through all the finer details of your proposed build.

Pickup - Customisation

You’ll have to forgive the slightly grumpy tone here—but, truth be told? Custom pickguards aren’t exactly “fun.” From the stock side, the manufacturing side, or even routing them myself, it’s a headache. Years of “I don’t want to pay that” emails haven’t helped either.

So this section isn’t about showing off a dazzling product range. It’s more like: here’s what we can actually do—it might not be glamorous, but it’ll get you out of a jam.

First things first: we’re not actually making “custom” pickguards from scratch.

What we are doing is modding existing plates—re-routing, tweaking, adding extra holes. Basically, taking a pre-cut guard that already mostly matches what you need, and nudging it closer to your spec.

What we can’t do:

Change the outer shape
Move the mounting holes
Mess with trem/neck routes

What we can do:
We can take a plate that’s as close as possible to your spec and drill in extra pickups if you need them.

A Couple of Examples:

Covered HSS plate? That’s standard. No extra charge—grab it, pack it, ship it.
Covered HH plate, but with an extra uncovered humbucker in the middle? Now we’re talking. We take the stock plate, slot it into the jig, and drill the extra pickup ourselves. Not a huge job, but it’s dusty, it takes time, and there’s a bit of wear on tools—so yes, there’s a small extra charge.

So, what’s the deal?

Standard plate: If you spec something we already make (highly likely if it’s a common layout), there’s no upcharge—grab it, ship it, job done.
Modded stock plate: If it’s basically a stock plate but with an extra pickup (or two) routed in, there will be a small upcharge. Simple, quick, and not too painful, but still extra work.
Blank or heavily customised plate: If your spec means starting with a “blank” plate and routing multiple pickups, the job can be done—but the charges start to creep up. The more pickups, the more complicated, the more expensive.
Outside our scope: Anything that involves changing the outer shape, moving mounting holes, messing with bevels, or similar? Sorry, we can’t do it.

Pot holes, colours, and quirks:
Most plates can be customised for pot hole size and layout—especially Covered HH, SCSCSC, and Covered HSS. Older stock may already be pre-drilled. Colour availability is a little hit and miss, but the builder will guide you.

The Bottom Line:
This isn’t a full-blown custom shop. It’s a practical way to fill gaps in our range and give you a bit of flexibility. It’s not glamorous, it’s not free, but it works.

This product page is built on the foundation of our Pickguard Customiser, to ensure no one misses out on the full range of options we offer. That said, I’ve streamlined things slightly here to keep the process quick and straightforward.

Just like with the main Customiser, we can take a standard stock plate and route in extra pickups if needed — so you still have plenty of flexibility. To keep things simple, though, this version is limited to single-coil configurations only.

There are two main reasons for that:

Many of the popular single-coil combinations are already available as stock plates, so they don’t require any custom upcharge.
It keeps this page focused and relevant, without letting the 1983–Modern Strat guard make every other pickguard product page redundant!

In short — it’s all fairly straightforward. There’s still loads to explore and customise, but just be aware that some combinations will require custom routing, which does carry a higher cost.

Single Coils

“The Normal Stratocaster® Pickup”

It’s a bit of an oversimplification to call these just “single coils.” Strictly speaking, Telecaster®, Jazzmaster®, Jaguar®, and even P90 pickups are all single coils as well. But for whatever reason, when someone says “single coil,” most of us immediately picture a Strat® pickup.

Strat-style pickups are very much “Fender®” in how they’re built — and unmistakably Fender® in how they sound. I think most of us know what a Strat-style single coil does, so I’ll spare you a full-length deep dive.

That said, there are a few quirks unique to the Stratocaster® layout that are worth touching on, along with some interesting alternative options we offer.

Standard Slanted Single coil bridge on a Fender Stratocaster pickguard — Slanted Bridge

The “unofficial” story behind the slanted bridge pickup on the Strat® (and the Telecaster®) is straightforward: it’s angled to make the treble strings brighter and the bass strings darker. And honestly, that’s exactly what it does.

It’s so common that we barely even question it. I’d say 99.99% of SSS guitars — Fender or otherwise — have a slanted bridge pickup. So even if it sounds odd when you stop and think about it, it’s very much the norm.

It’s also worth remembering that the bridge pickup is rarely wired to a tone pot. This makes it a real “what you see is what you get” situation. With no easy way to tame it, that sharp, cutting slant can leave the classic Strat® bridge pickup a bit… maligned.

Reverse Slanted Single Coil Bridge pickup compared to normal Slanted Stratocaster Pickup — Reverse Slanted - Bridge

You’ll sometimes see this mod referred to as the “Voodoo Mod.” Bit on the nose, if you ask me — but hey, it’s catchy!

The idea is that it mimics the tones you’d get from a left-handed player using a right-handed Strat® strung upside down. Which, let’s be honest, basically means Hendrix.

Functionally, it does the opposite of a standard slanted bridge single coil: the low strings get brighter and tighter, while the high strings get darker and a little more pronounced.

Now, I don’t put a huge amount of stock in pickup pole staggering — but if you’re really chasing that sound, a left-handed stagger might help you get that extra 5%.

And just to help me sleep at night, an honourable mention to the late, great Dick Dale and Fender®. His signature Strat® features a reverse-slanted bridge pickup — which is undeniably cool. Though to be fair, Dick himself played a regular slant… but strung the whole guitar upside down. So technically it’s “right” — but now we’re really getting into the thin end of the niche wedge.

Standard Neck Pickup with Notch — Neck and Middle "Standard"

Why? Honestly, I’m not sure — and I doubt it’s a particularly exciting story. Maybe it was A/B tested and “flat” just sounded better. Or maybe it was never questioned in the first place; the Telecaster® didn’t do it, and neither did most other early electrics.

It’s mostly academic, because (and I write this sentence more often than I care to admit): we like what we know. If you like a Strat®, chances are you like the sound of a flat neck and middle single coil.

Slanting those pickups would change the sound — but they’re not slanted, so they don’t. The high and low strings are picked up from the same position, which means the low strings tend to come through a little more prominently in the mix.

Slanted Single Coil Neck Pickup — Neck and Middle "Slanted"

With single coils, there’s really only so much you can do with the idea, but one of the more popular “tweaks” is to have them slanted at the same angle as the traditional bridge single coil pickup. And yes — it’ll have the same effect: the high strings feel a little tighter, and the bass strings feel a little fuller.

Personally (and I’ve written this a lot in this write-up) — this is getting dangerously close to being wildly unfamiliar. We usually only like what we know when it comes to guitar tones, so if you’re hunting for a tone you’ll instantly recognise, tread carefully.

Interestingly (and this comes up every so often) — Jake E. Lee? His single coils were reverse slanted, meaning tighter bass strings and fuller highs.

Reverse Slanted Single Coil in Neck — Neck & Middle — Reverse Slanted

This one’s really just a case of filling in the gaps. Angle aside, it’s what I’d class as the **Jake E. Lee setup** — reverse-slanted single coils in the neck and/or middle positions.

There’s not a lot of mystery to it: take the usual bridge slant, flip it the other way, and stick it in the neck or middle slot. That’s the whole trick.

In terms of real-world examples, Jake E. Lee is the only player I can think of who’s genuinely *used* it and made it part of his sound. I did see Paul Gilbert playing an Iceman recently with the middle single coil slanted in reverse (and the humbuckers as well), and tonally it did exactly what you’d expect — tighter, brighter lows and slightly thicker high strings.

Do I love it? Personally, I’m not sold — but it’s different, it works, and it definitely earns its place on the list.

Flat Single Coil Bridge Pickup — Bridge Flat

I hold this one in similar standing to slanting the neck and/or middle, frankly. It’s fine… if anything, it’s probably a little more familiar, because it’s not dissimilar to the way a Jaguar is laid out. Essentially, the bridge pickup is angled “flat,” just like the neck and middle traditionally are. Bass strings sound a little tighter, treble strings a little looser, and, without being overly negative, everything sounds a little foreign — but who knows?

I will say (and I’ve never tried it!) single coil–sized humbuckers might really benefit from being installed flat. It’s a bit “going round the houses” — partly because I don’t think single coil–sized humbuckers behave like their full-sized brothers purely because of the angle of install. There’s a whole mess of electrical issues going on too — but, maybe? It’s a vibe, isn’t it?

Customisation – How We Do It

Bear with me here — this is a bit of a “peek behind the magician’s curtain.” I’m happy to share it, but I’ll admit: this write-up is slightly coloured by recent frustrations. Maybe my own doing, maybe not, but frustration nonetheless.

Between you, me, and the fence post, I am constantly baffled that people sometimes ignore the numerous flashing-red warnings: by and large, all Strat pickguards we make are custom built. And by “custom built,” I mean that each part is customised and modified to match the specifications you select from the drop-downs.

So, before I start ranting and raving, I think it’s best if I just show you what we’re actually doing!

A Blank Stratocaster plate that will be routed and drilled — Blank Plates

If we’re talking about a **fully customised pickguard** — say a *P90 / reverse-slanted single coil / uncovered humbucker* with a toggle switch or something equally oddball — this is where we start: a **completely blank plate**. From there, we route in every pickup cavity and drill every control hole to your specifications.

We don’t charge extra for drilling the pot holes — that’s a quick job with a pillar drill — but the **pickup routing** is where the real work (and cost) lies. And as the old story about the engineer and the hammer goes: *it’s not the minute it takes to do the job, it’s the years it took to learn how to do it properly.*

There’s rarely any confusion with these “true custom” plates, but just to be absolutely clear: if it’s blank to start with, and we’re cutting or drilling it specifically for you, it’s custom work — full stop.

A double fat Mini Humbucker Stratocaster Pickguard in Black — “Modded” Plates

Even making pickguards from a completely blank sheet is a surprisingly expensive process. So, we’ve built a bit of cleverness into the system — and not to toot my own horn too much, but it works really well.

Because we’ve already got **thousands of pickguards on the shelves**, many of which are pre-routed for certain pickup configurations, we can often take an *existing* plate and **add extra pickup routes** rather than starting from scratch.

For example, if you order a *Mini HB / SC / Mini HB* plate, what you’re actually getting is a *Mini HB / blank / Mini HB* plate that’s already on the shelf — and we’re routing in that middle single coil. Simple, efficient, and it saves you a bit of money compared to a full custom blank plate.

Now, because we’re drilling pot holes and routing pickup cavities to your requested spec, there’s an **upcharge** to reflect that extra work — it’s clear and itemised on the page, so there should be no surprises there.

The only real limitation is availability. “Modded” plates rely on what we physically have in stock. So if you want that layout in *black*, we’ve probably got a suitable base plate ready to go — job done. But if you want the same in *mirror silver*, and we don’t have a matching plate to start from, we’ll still make it… it just becomes a **fully custom job**, with routing for all three pickups rather than one.

Standard Stratocaster Plats which will be drilled for pots — “But it’s standard?”

I completely understand the confusion — the page loads with what looks like a *standard* Stratocaster® control layout, and in many cases, that’s exactly what customers choose. But even if you don’t change a single option, the plate you receive is still **made specifically to the selections you’ve confirmed**.

Once we drill those pot holes — even if they’re in the traditional 1 Volume / 2 Tone positions — that plate can never be turned back into anything else. It’s been customised to your exact spec, and that makes it a *custom* piece by definition.

This might sound like a small detail, but it matters a lot in practice. Our stock system can’t “undo” a drilled plate, so any return creates an item that can’t realistically be resold. That’s why we have to treat **all** of these plates as custom work, even when the layout you’ve chosen happens to be the standard one.

So yes, it might be *standard for a Strat*, but it’s still **made for you** — and that means it’s not returnable or refundable.

A Note on Returns and Custom Work

We never set out to be hard-nosed about this stuff — quite the opposite, really. We started drilling and routing plates to order because we enjoy doing it. It opens up a world of creative options for players who love modding guitars as much as we do.

But as the customiser has grown, so too has the confusion about what “custom” actually means. Recently we’ve seen a rise in messages like “I don’t like the colour, so I’d like to return it” or “I’ve changed my mind on the routing, can I exchange it?” — and it never ends well for anyone. We don’t enjoy saying no, and customers don’t enjoy hearing it.

The reality is simple: every plate is made to your specifications. Even if you pick a “standard” Strat layout, we’re still physically drilling and routing a blank plate to match what you’ve chosen. Once that’s done, it can’t be un-done or re-sold — it’s yours, built for your guitar.

I know this feels at odds with the era of big-box stores and no-quibble returns, but this is a small workshop run by people who genuinely love what they do. Please take a moment to read the notes and double-check your specs before you order — not because we want to catch anyone out, but because we want you to be happy before we start cutting plastic.

Custom pickguards — even if you select “standard” layouts — are not returnable or refundable.

Colours

Ok, even I’ll concede this isn’t the most thrilling topic at this stage — but there’s a surprising amount of confusion around the various “off-white” pickguard colours. And seeing as we’re already ticking off pearls and tortoise shell variants, we might as well tackle the parchments, mints and creams too.

So, let’s get stuck in.

White Guitar Pickguards — White

All our white plates use this exact shade — a fully opaque pigment with no translucency or ageing tint. It’s exactly what most people picture when they think “white pickguard”: clean, crisp, and pristine.

It doesn’t try to mimic vintage plastics or look “aged in,” so if you’re after a bright factory-fresh look — or you’re pairing it with bold or modern colours — this is the one.

Parchment Guitar Pickguards — Parchment

Sometimes sold as “aged white,” parchment sits one step in from pure white. It’s a touch darker, with a hint of cream or yellow in the mix — think along the lines of old newspaper or paper that’s had a few decades to mellow.

It’s a great middle ground if you don’t want the starkness of bright white, but you’re not ready to dive into full-on cream or mint territory.

Mint A Guitar Pickguards — Mint A

The lighter of the two mint shades. It’s not actually all that common on production guitars, which surprises a lot of people, because this is the tone most folks picture when they think “mint green.” It’s subtle, soft, and only just tinted — enough to take the edge off white without straying into cream.

Mint B Guitar Pickguards — Mint B

The “proper” mint green. Darker than Mint A, with a subtle grey undertone that gives it depth. Be warned — it does **not** photograph well and will often be corrected by cameras into something lighter or more vibrant than it actually is. In real life, it’s a rich, deep green, much closer to the discoloured nitrate plastics of the 1960s, which this colour originally sought to replicate.

Ivory Guitar Pickguards — Ivory

Ivory — sometimes called “Creme,” particularly in Gibson parlance — is a warm, buttery shade with a hint of orange. It’s not commonly seen on Fender-style pickguards, which makes it a bit special, but personally, I absolutely love the richness it brings to a build.

Black Guitar Pickguards — Black

Black is, well… black. There’s not a huge amount to say about it — it’s opaque, crisp, and very classy. I particularly like the contrast it creates on 3-ply pickguards with a white middle layer; it just works.

Mint Green Notes

Before we dive any deeper into colours, a few things are worth flagging about Mint Green — it’s a tricky shade and often comes across completely differently in photos.

First, if you’ve looked at the “real” photos of Mint A and Mint B, you’ve probably noticed they look almost identical. That’s not a mistake — cameras genuinely struggle to capture the subtle differences. They tend to auto-correct everything toward a washed-out Mint A, regardless of the actual plate.

So, why bother showing photos at all? Well, the unedited images highlight how misleading camera shots can be. From here, you have to trust the edited examples above, or the colour swatch in the pickguard customiser — that’s a very accurate representation of what the plates look like in real life.

The takeaway? Don’t rely on photos when judging Mint Green. If I’ve had this problem, so has everyone else. A quick search online will show you at least ten subtly different mint shades on Fender guitars — but in reality, Fender almost always used Mint B (with the exception of Fender Japan). Over the last 20 years, I’ve come across just four actual Mint Green shades: B, A, a very bright “snot” green, and a slightly lighter version of B that’s still pretty close.

Mint B Guitar Pickguards without colour correction — Mint B

Unedited, Mint B looks nothing like this in real life. It’s a much darker green, with an almost greyish tint that gives it that classic, slightly aged 60s vibe.

Mint A pickguards without Colour correction — Mint A

Mint A is actually quite close to this, though in real life it’s a bit more vibrant and not quite as “washed out” as the photo suggests.

Mint Pickguards comared to white and Parchment — Comparison

When Mint A and Mint B are photographed side by side, alongside a few other colours (in this case, White and Parchment), it provides a much clearer sense of the differences between the shades.

Ivory PIckguards different — Ivory vs. Ivory/Black/Ivory

We actually carry two different Ivory plates. There is **Ivory**, available in a 3-ply Ivory/Ivory/Ivory version and a single-ply version, and we also have **Ivory/Black/Ivory** 3-ply, which is now obsolete but survives in old stock.

These are not the same colour. The **Ivory/Black/Ivory** plates will not match Ivory single-ply or Ivory/Ivory/Ivory plates. The I/B/I plates are closer to a nicotine yellow, whereas the I/I/I plates are much more of an orange “cream.”

Pearloids Explained

Pearloid pickguards are often lumped in with tortoiseshells, but they occupy their own, slightly shinier niche. They’re not as subtle as tortoiseshells — the swirls and patterns are more pronounced, with a pearlescent effect that catches the light beautifully. Historically, they’ve been a relatively straightforward affair: virtually all pearloid pickguards are made from PVC, and there isn’t a deep, mysterious backstory like some of the vintage materials.

What makes them interesting is less about origin and more about aesthetics. The colour and pattern variations are deliberate but consistent, making it fairly easy to anticipate how they’ll look on a finished guitar. Unlike tortoiseshell, which can shift dramatically from manufacturer to manufacturer, pearloid maintains a stable palette. That said, the swirl direction, density, and shine can give each plate a little personality — no two are ever perfectly identical.

In short, if you’re after a classic, eye-catching pickguard with a bit of sparkle, pearloid is a solid, no-fuss choice that’s stood the test of time.

White Pearloid Scratch Plate — White Pearl

White Pearl is the most common pearloid you’ll encounter, and its look is instantly recognisable: subtle, shimmering, and classic. Fun fact — pearloid was originally designed as a faux “mother of pearl,” meant to mimic the iridescent inner layer of oyster shells. The result is a clean, elegant pickguard that catches the light in a way that flat colours just can’t match.

Aged White Pearloid Pickguards — Aged White Pearl

Aged White Pearl is actually more common than you might expect. Think of it as the pearloid equivalent of Parchment — slightly warmer, with a subtle creamy tint. The “pearling” is a bit tighter than standard White Pearl, with fewer blank spots between the reflective areas, giving it a more consistent, refined shimmer.

Grey Pearl Stratocaster Pickguard — Grey Pearl

Grey Pearl isn’t my personal favourite. It started appearing a few years ago and was often misrepresented as “Black Pearl” in photos and marketing, but in reality, it’s nowhere near that dark. The grey tone gives a muted, subtle look, but it lacks the contrast and depth that makes other pearloids so appealing.

Avalon Mother of pearl pickguard for a stratocaster — Avalon

Avalon is a relatively new pearloid pattern, and it gets much closer to the “mother of pearl” aesthetic that the original pearloids were trying to emulate. Instead of being broken into small reflective squares, the pattern flows with swirls and blotches, giving it a crisp, natural finish that really catches the light.

Faux Abalone pickguard for a Strat — Abalone

If Avalon leans toward a mother-of-pearl look, Abalone is its more exotic counterpart, inspired by the iridescent inside of certain marine snail shells. The pattern is strikingly unique, favoring flowing swirls over the blocky reflective squares, giving it a vivid, eye-catching appearance.

Black pearl AM standard back plate — Black Pearl

Black Pearl is always a bit contentious—it's not truly black, more of a dark grey. There is a slightly deeper version known as "Moto Pearl" (though tracking it down is another story), but both shades have their uses depending on the aesthetic you’re after.

Pearloid Quirks

Pearloid plates do have a few quirks of their own. While the material is relatively consistent, the way the “pearl” swirls are distributed can vary a lot from sheet to sheet. You might find sections with tight, dense pearling or areas that are more open and sparse. This isn’t a defect—just the nature of how the pattern is formed.

Additionally, colors can shift slightly depending on lighting and viewing angle, so a plate that looks crisp under one light may appear softer or more muted under another. It’s worth keeping this in mind when matching to existing finishes or other pickguards.

Close Up of Pearloid Pickguards — Shade Differences

When viewed on their own, pearloid plates can be tricky to compare, as the swirling patterns and reflections tend to dominate the eye. This is why side-by-side comparisons are so useful.

A good example shows Black Pearl and Grey Pearl next to each other, alongside Aged White Pearl and standard White Pearl. In this arrangement, the subtle differences in base color, contrast, and reflectivity become much clearer, helping you make a more informed choice.

Pearloid Stratocaster Pickguards with matching Knobs — Knobs

Pearloid pickguards present a unique challenge when it comes to matching knobs, tips, and covers, simply because the base color isn’t uniform. Here’s a practical approach:

**Aged White Pearl** pairs best with Parchment-colored plastics.

**White Pearl** and **Avalon** work well with standard White plastics.

**Black Pearl** doesn’t match true black knobs perfectly. In fact, it highlights the fact that Black Pearl isn’t genuinely black—but it’s about as close as you’re going to get.

Pearloid Pickguards plys explained — 3 and 4 Ply

Pearloid pickguards can be a bit confusing when it comes to ply count, because they don’t always follow the standard dark/light/dark pattern we’ve come to expect.

Essentially, the pearloid layer on the front of the plate counts as a ply. This means:

**3-ply pearloid plates** can appear as just 2 plys, especially on lighter pearls where the pearloid layer is semi-transparent and looks white.

**4-ply pearloid plates** often appear as 3 plys.

In this photo, you can just make out the individual plys and how they layer together.

Tortoise Shells

You’ve probably noticed that we do a huge variety of tortoise shell pickguards – and even then, we barely scratch the surface of the available styles.

Originally, tortoise shell pickguards were made from actual tortoise shell – pieces carefully shaped, joined, and polished until semi-transparent. Some of the earliest acoustic pickguards were made this way. Of course, nobody wants to go back to that practice, but people loved the look. When plastics came along in the early 20th century, they offered a much cheaper and more practical alternative. (Trade in hawksbill turtle shells didn’t become illegal until the 1970s.)

The first plastic tortoise shells were made from celluloid. It’s semi-transparent, with a kind of leopard-skin effect, and it looked gorgeous. Celluloid made its way onto guitars, mostly acoustics, and eventually electrics by the late ’50s and early ’60s. The problem? Celluloid is extremely flammable. Cutting it generates heat, storage is risky, and it’s generally unstable – prone to warping, shrinking, and colour changes under sunlight.

Today, tortoise shells are mostly made from Polyoxymethylene (more stable, but still flammable) or PVC (extremely durable, though it gives off toxic fumes if burned).

For modern pickguards, we typically work with five main variants (ignoring the rare, historical celluloid options). While celluloid still exists and looks incredible for historical accuracy, it’s extremely expensive, difficult to source, and high risk to work with. As a rough guide, sourcing a single celluloid plate could cost upwards of £150.

Classic Tortoise Shell — Classic

This is a funny one. For the longest time, it was the only tortoise shell we had access to, and honestly – it’s fine. You see it fairly often on mid-priced guitars like the Squier® Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified lines.

Personally, I think of it as a “cheat” tortoise shell, because it appears to be a screen print sandwiched between layers of PVC. That gives it a slightly flat look, but it’s very uniform. So, if consistency is your goal and you want all your tortoise shells to look the same, Classic is the way to go.

3 Ply Brown Tortoise Shell — 3 Ply Brown

Now we’re talking. Unlike the “flat layer” version, 3 Ply Brown is the real deal – multiple semi-transparent PVC layers (usually one yellow, one brown) overlaid to create that classic tortoise shell effect.

For whatever reason, the 3-ply version tends to show a little more yellow in the mix than the 4-ply, giving it extra depth and richness. If pressed, I’d say it’s my favourite of the tortoise shells.

4 Ply Brown Tortoise Shell — 4 Ply Brown

Slightly darker than the 3-ply version, the 4-ply shows less yellow bleed-through in the mix—presumably because the yellow layer is thinner. The overall effect is a richer, more subdued tortoise shell look, while still retaining that classic depth.

3 Ply Red Tortoise Shell — 3 Ply Red

Much like the 3-ply brown, this version layers yellow and red PVC, one on top of the other. The principle is the same, but the result is a more vibrant, warmer tortoise shell, giving a slightly livelier appearance on the pickguard.

4 Ply Tortoise Shell Pickguard — 4 Ply Red

In the 4-ply red, the yellow layer is largely removed, leaving a deep, rich red that almost approaches a red pearloid. It’s clean, vibrant, and avoids the subtle yellow tinge you see in the 3-ply version — perfect if you want a striking, uniform red tortoise effect.

Celluloid Tortoise Shell Jazzmaster Pickguard — Celluloid

For completeness, here’s a look at a celluloid plate. It’s absolutely gorgeous, with incredible depth to the “shell” effect that PVC can’t quite replicate. That said, if you look closely, you’ll notice this Jazzmaster plate has warped significantly. It’s been stored under the same conditions as the PVC plates, but celluloid simply doesn’t age as well — beautiful, but far less stable.

Sizes, Shapes, and Quantity.

I’ve never been a massive fan of “all-in-one” kits when it comes to guitar parts — mainly because it suggests everything’s a simple “one size fits all,” and that’s just not how guitars work!

As you can imagine, I’m caught between the devil and the deep blue sea when I do try to make something “kit-adjacent.” If I include every single possible variable, it quickly becomes unwieldy — and, frankly, it tends to freak people out.

So, somewhat against my better judgement, we’re now offering pickguards with “extra parts.” The idea isn’t to oversimplify things, but to make the process a bit smoother — everything on one page, and maybe save you a few quid in the process.

That said, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t give you the details on what those parts actually are. You’ll also find links to the individual listings in case you’d like to dig a little deeper.

Covers

Plain and simple — these are your standard 52 mm-spaced PVC single-coil covers.

We’re not offering mix-and-match options here. No 50 mm, no 52.5 mm, no nylon, no metal, no Mustang, and no mixing colours. Just the same spec Fender® have been using on Stratocasters® for decades — the classic, no-nonsense single-coil cover.

They’ll drop neatly into any pickup routing available with this plate, and come supplied as a set of three — one each for bridge, middle, and neck.

I can’t guarantee they’ll fit your pickups, and I’m not able to confirm or deny suitability — there’s just too much variation out there.

Knobs

Once again — bog-standard ABS “UFO”-style knobs.

They’re supplied as a set of three: one volume, two tone. Thankfully they’re a universal fit, so there’s no need to worry about CTS vs. Alpha pot shafts or anything along those lines.

It’s worth noting that this “extra parts” option keeps things deliberately simple — it doesn’t take into account whatever control layout you’ve chosen. So, if you’ve specced something that doesn’t need three knobs, I completely understand it’s not ideal. But for the sake of keeping things manageable, we can only ever supply them as the standard 1V / 2T set.

Switch Tips

Tear-drop style tip, designed for 5 mm lever-arm switches — that’s CRL, Oak Grigsby, and just about every other full-sized open-frame switch out there.

This one’s pretty straightforward: if your plate includes a switch, you might want a fresh tip — or you might not. Just make sure that if you’re ordering a “5 mm lever-arm” tip, your switch actually has a 5 mm lever arm.

Supplied as a single tip.

Mounting Screws

Standard #4 x ½" cross-head screws — electroplated in your chosen colour and made from mild steel. A very normal, very boring pickguard screw, just as Leo intended.

Supplied in sets of 11, though you’ll probably find a few extras in there — because let’s be honest, there’s nothing better than a “just in case” screw in this line of work.

Returns and Refunds on Custom Pickguards and Extra Parts

Our pickguards are made to order, often drilled, cut, or routed to your specifications. Because of this, they are classed as custom-made items under UK consumer law and are non-returnable and non-refundable once the order has been placed.

Any optional or extra parts (such as pickup covers, knobs, screws, or switch tips) offered alongside your pickguard are supplied as part of the same order and are priced as a package. Even though these items are not modified, their cost is factored into the custom product — meaning we are unable to accept them back for refund, exchange, or replacement once the order has been confirmed.

Please note that the optional parts we supply are standard spec items (for example, 52 mm single coil covers or standard 5 mm switch tips).
We cannot guarantee that these parts will fit your existing components, as pickup and hardware dimensions vary widely between manufacturers and models.
If you’re unsure about compatibility, please double-check measurements or contact us before ordering — we’re happy to help confirm fitment where possible, but we can’t take responsibility for mismatches.

In short:

Custom-made pickguards are non-returnable.
Optional extras are sold as part of that custom package and also non-returnable.
It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure compatibility with their own components prior to ordering.

We’ve tried to make this as clear and upfront as possible so there are no surprises later on — we’d much rather you get exactly what you need first time round!

A Quick Note on Returns for These Plates

These plates are made to order, based entirely on the specifications you choose—pot hole positioning, pickup routing, and any other tweaks. Because of this, they’re classed as custom work and fall under the relevant section of our Terms & Conditions.

Once we’ve made a plate to your chosen spec, it becomes non-returnable and non-refundable. Even if the product page shows a “standard” configuration, that’s just a starting point—every plate is individually built to your selections.

Before hitting “buy,” please double-check that everything is exactly how you want it. We’ve made it as easy as possible to be confident in your order:

Spec diagrams are available under the Technical Specification tab
Colour photos can be found under Colours Explained

We want you to feel confident in your order—and we’re here to help if you have any questions.

Once it’s made, it’s yours: no returns, no refunds.

FAQs

Will this pickguard fit <INSERT GUITAR MODEL HERE>?

Alright, I’ve typed this out in emails tens of thousands of times, and honestly? The answer is still the same:

“I DON’T KNOW.”

No one really does—not with total, unwavering certainty. And here’s why:

1. The sheer variety of guitars

I (and any guitar tech, shop employee, or parts specialist) see a tiny cross-section of guitars each year. There are models I’ve never seen in the flesh, let alone held in my hands for a pickguard swap. Some makes and models won’t even come onto my radar until an email or call mentions them.

There’s no “Haynes manual” for pickguards. Even Fender® doesn’t publish a spec sheet for every Strat®, Tele®, or Les Paul®. Knowledge here is largely a hive mind thing—shared between techs, enthusiasts, and shop staff. I generally only know if a pickguard fits when someone tells me it worked (or didn’t). Feedback is everything.

2. Pickguards aren’t truly standardized

It’s a common assumption, but not entirely true. There are recognized specs—take Stratocasters®, for example: 1954–57, 1958–62, and 1963 onward. Mounting screw positions remain consistent in those ranges.

But even within those ranges, guitars can be slightly “off.” A hole might move 2 mm, a tremolo cavity might be 1 mm smaller, or a humbucker route could shift 5–6 mm. Sometimes these changes are factory experiments, sometimes they’re just quirks. By the next production run, everything might snap back to the standard.

So yes—a pickguard that fits one guitar of the same model may not fit another produced a week later.

What’s the best advice for checking fit?

Measure it yourself.
Click the Technical Specification tab for diagrams. Measure centre-to-centre on holes, edge-to-edge on the shortest sides, and allow a small tolerance for measurement error. It’s a two-minute job.
What if it fits physically, but screw holes don’t line up?
This happens more often than you think. Most aftermarket pickguards assume the “official” spec. If your guitar is out-of-spec, the screw holes might not match.

Options:

Option 1 – Modify your guitar:
Fill and redrill mounting holes (Epoxy works well), adjust routing if needed. Easy, tidy, and future pickguard swaps remain simple. Could technically reduce resale value, but practically? Rarely a problem.

Option 2 – Custom pickguards:
These do exist. A sheet of plastic is cut to match your individual guitar. They’re labor-intensive, expensive, and have a high failure rate. Expect a £100–200 job. Don’t fall for anyone offering to do it for £30—it’s not realistic.

“I’ve received my pickguard and it’s VERY scratched.”

Chances are, what you’re seeing isn’t actually scratches on the pickguard itself—it’s the protective plastic film applied to the surface during manufacturing and shipping.

This thin sheet is designed to shield your pickguard from scuffs, scratches, and dust while it’s being made, packed, and shipped. It’s completely normal for this film to look a bit worn or scratched—the good news is, that means the pickguard underneath is still pristine.

What to do: Carefully peel off the protective film before installing your pickguard. You’ll reveal the flawless, shiny surface underneath.

If you do spot any marks after removing the film, please get in touch—we want to make sure every pickguard leaves here looking perfect.

About the Pickguard

A Closer Look and what to look out for

Mounting Holes

Pickup and Switch Bolts

Truss Rod Access

Edges