Made of aluminum, these pickguards eliminate 60 cycle hum, shield against EMI / RFI interference, eliminate static noise and they look beautiful.
Heck, we didn’t make this stuff up just to sell you something. We did the research, experimented and came up with what we believe are the best aluminum pickguards and control covers for your electric guitar. Proudly made in the U.S.A.
Read more information below or follow the Wiki links below, and find out the answers to the following questions:
Why do I need to bother with shielding my guitar?
What is EMI / RFI shielding?
EMI / RFI stands for ElectroMagnetic Interference and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI is just EMI over the range of 1kHz - 10GHz). Electromagnetic radiation and radio frequency radiation are all around you! Their effects on the human body are the subject of fierce debate, but their effect on electronic devices is clear. These interfere with your tone circuit.
Sensitive components and circuits can be disrupted by interference from sources like power supplies, fluorescent lights, electric motors, switches and relays, even IC's. The clock in your computer oscillates and produces interference. In short, almost all electronic circuits develop some level of EMI and / or RFI. Shielding from EMI / RFI is done for two primary reasons: (1) to keep your electronic device from interfering with others, or (2) to keep other devices from interfering with yours. Regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission or the EU dictate standards for both emissivity of EMI / RFI and sensitivity to interference.
A note about plastic pickguards vs. aluminum pickguards:
Most plastic is virtually transparent to EMI / RFI radiation, meaning they don't do diddly to stop the interference. Plastics, by their very nature of being non-conductive, do not attenuate EMI and require shielding systems be incorporated to ensure reliable pickup and tone circuit performance.
Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_frequency_interference
Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage
The information presented below is an exert from:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4106
| Paramagnetism | Some materials exhibit a magnetization which is proportional to the applied magnetic field in which the material is placed. These materials are said to be paramagnetic and follow Curie's law:
| Index | |
| | HyperPhysics***** Condensed Matter ***** Electricity and MagnetismGo Back |
Are you are like the other thousands of guitar and bass players out there?
You (or your Tech) may have noticed that there is little to no shielding present on the vast majority of today's guitars, except for; maybe some tin foil glued to the underside of your pickguard or control covers. As soon as that tin foil gets scratched, enough, or at all, it is almost useless in blocking out any rampant radio interference, static, cell phone interference, 60 cycle hum, or other modern day tone killers.
What can you do to solve this problem?
Aluminum pickguards are the best solution for reducing single coil hum and other irritating and un-wanted noises coming from your electric guitar's pickups and circuit.
Reason Number 1: Metal pickguards and control plates have the effect of reducing interference in your tone circuit. A Tone-Guard® pickguard or control cover protects against hum caused by single coil pickups. EMI (electro-magnetic interference), RFI (radio frequency interference) and even Cell phone interference are sources of everyday tone killing interference that can be experienced in today's world. Noisy aka dirty electricity can also effect your electronics and electrical circuits. Shielding protects your electronics (tone) from fluorescent and halogen lights "hum" found in many clubs and venues.
Reason Number 2: The aluminum pickguards and control covers with our built-in grounding rings provide shielding, grounding (when properly incorporated into the shielding solution). The aluminum pickguards also have an effect with certain single coil pickups that is described by some players as "smoothing the tone".
Reason Number 3): Aluminum resonates better than plastic, therefore these aluminum pickguards help with maximizing tone carried thru the wood body of your guitar thru resonance and sustain.
The simple resonance test: Hold your plastic pickguard by one edge, flick it with your fingernail. Feel much vibration? Now, do the same to our aluminum pickguards. Do you feel the vibration?
Reason Number 4: The Solution: We have studied Leo Fender’s ideas. His ideas for metal pick guards and control plates were based on experimentation he conducted over several decades with pickup designs and tone.
Following Leo Fender’s lead and research, we came up with the what we think are the best aluminum pickguards, aluminum control covers and aluminum control plates in the world! They reduce hum, get better grounding and they look fantastic!
Each aluminum pickguard and control cover/plate is precision engineered. CNC cut and hand finished in the U.S.A. These items are state-of-the-art, lightweight, durable and beautiful! These aluminum pickguards and control covers are generally available in aluminum 6061/T6; .063/14 or .81/12 gauge cold rolled aluminum sheet material. We find this hardness matched what Leo used and is the best in our opinion as well for the purpose intended.
You invested in a fine guitar, what about the pickguard or control plate or cover? Is that plastic pickguard good enough for you and that fine instrument? Probably not. Go ahead treat yourself! You earned it!
There are 100's of metal combinations, surface textures, finishes and colors available by special order for OEM use.
Check out our on-line store, or email us with your requirements. We are here to serve you.