Pickguard

The plastic or wooden plate mounted on the face of a guitar below the strings, protecting the finish from pick damage and, on hollow instruments, carrying the controls.

Beyond protection it changes appearance, and because it is a separate plate it can be swapped without touching the finish. On a solid body with top-mounted controls it is often just a scratchplate, but on many designs the electronics are mounted to it so the whole loom can be assembled outside the guitar. On hollowbodies the same plate often holds the volume and tone controls and, in some designs, the pickup as well.

Example: on several classic designs, the entire control loom is built on the pickguard, which makes servicing straightforward with the plate unscrewed.

Pickguard

See also