Adding a pickguard to my kanilea?????

keithy351

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g'day so, i love the look of my satin finish absolutely georgous, one this i dont wanna do is start covering it in strum scratches from playing so im thinking about adding some pickguards but have a few questions.

1. what do u use, are there any pre made ones out there

2. if i remove them after added willl it ruin the finish, like with glue residues ect.

3. with the satin finish will it be really noticeable, i know on aldrines on kamaka you couldnt even see he had one
 
Your first option is just to be careful. Strum over the fretboard, and just overall watch to make sure you are not touching the finish with your fingernails.

Second is a clear stick-on pick-guard - I am assuming like Aldrine's. You can buy a sheet of the stuff and apply it yourself from what I've seen. I can't imagine that taking it off will be pretty - you would probably scratch the finish or melt it if you tried to blow-dry it off. They are pretty much invisible. Herb Ohta Jr. has one along with most of the other Koaloha players.
 
Depends on your style of playing, but for me, my old satin finished uke (see avatar for post-accident fate...) had lots of glossy areas from oils in the hand, all over the place - mostly on the top, because of thumb tapping, but also below the bridge from palm muting, and of course where you'll normally find a pickguard. After a couple years of playing, it started to look like a gloss finish with the satin looking more like the gloss had worn away! So for me to try to protect it, I may as well get a gloss (which I did, but not for that reason). It seems to me like a pickguard would change the sound in some way, but maybe not.
 
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think of it this way...either way, you are scratching something. You're either going to see scratches on the wood or scratches on the pickguard, either way it aint ideal. I'd rather scratch the wood instead of messing with trying to shape and apply something that will only dampen my sound a little. Use better technique or accept the fact that your uke is developing quality character.
 
My Moore Bettah is already scratched, scuffed and well worn. I have only had it for a few weeks too.

Why you ask? Because I play the hell out of it. I wouldn't worry about your uke, it was made to be played hard. Those scuffs, or as I like to call Love Marks, are all part of playing. Play the daylights out of that uke and don't worry about it. ;)

Just my 2 cents.
 
My Moore Bettah is already scratched, scuffed and well worn. I have only had it for a few weeks too.

Why you ask? Because I play the hell out of it. I wouldn't worry about your uke, it was made to be played hard. Those scuffs, or as I like to call Love Marks, are all part of playing. Play the daylights out of that uke and don't worry about it. ;)

Just my 2 cents.

Yep, yep! Play hard and all over that baby. Don't stay on the neck, you'll be missing all kinds of love from your uke.
 
g'day so, i love the look of my satin finish absolutely georgous, one this i dont wanna do is start covering it in strum scratches from playing so im thinking about adding some pickguards but have a few questions.

1. what do u use, are there any pre made ones out there

2. if i remove them after added willl it ruin the finish, like with glue residues ect.

3. with the satin finish will it be really noticeable, i know on aldrines on kamaka you couldnt even see he had one

I honestly don't see the need for a pickgaurd. I don't use picks, they just sound too bitey. I like the traditional sounds made by finger nails. If you still wanna use picks but don't want the marks they make, if you're not careful, buy yourself a set of felt picks.
 
I honestly wouldn't worry about it, just play it like you would any other uke... it is gonna get scratched, beat, worn, faded, and all other kinds of stuff.

When I get my Uklectic, it isn't getting any pickguards or anything special. It is gonna be handled just like my Mitchell MU-100 (okay, maybe a bit better because I hate the MU-100.) The only difference is that the Uklectic will be in a case and not propped up against the wall.
 
pick guard

Aloha,

You know. I believe David Hurd of Kawika Ukuleles has used a few different pick guards on some of his instruments in the past. The most common is a thin sheet of plastic with some sort of adhesive on one side.

I have seen one though that he's had on his uke that did not have any adhesive and was not sticky at all. It seemed to be a little thicker than the adhesive style pick guard but not by much and simply stuck to the instrument without damaging it or the finish in any way.

I'm not sure where David may have gotten a hold of these but you may want to try and drop him a line and see what he says. He's a great guy and has a passion for instruments, his Shiba-ken, (and fishing) too. But I'm sure he would be willing to help if you dropped him a line.

His web page is: http://www.ukuleles.com/

Good luck, :D
Shawn

http://ukulelefriend.com
 
first off thanks to all with your very valid responses, the reason i considered a pick guard, well the two where first because i am playing the hell out of it, litrally 5 odd hours a day plus..... second is if i ever decide to sell it, but the things is, im not ever gonna sell it, haha, soooo FTW, im gonna keep playing hard, luckly i have a discusting habbit of biting my nails so im lucky there, thanks all again for your imput
 
Aloha,

You know. I believe David Hurd of Kawika Ukuleles has used a few different pick guards on some of his instruments in the past. The most common is a thin sheet of plastic with some sort of adhesive on one side.

I have seen one though that he's had on his uke that did not have any adhesive and was not sticky at all. It seemed to be a little thicker than the adhesive style pick guard but not by much and simply stuck to the instrument without damaging it or the finish in any way.

I'm not sure where David may have gotten a hold of these but you may want to try and drop him a line and see what he says. He's a great guy and has a passion for instruments, his Shiba-ken, (and fishing) too. But I'm sure he would be willing to help if you dropped him a line.

His web page is: http://www.ukuleles.com/

Good luck, :D
Shawn

http://ukulelefriend.com


I recently contemplated this very issue. Shawn has pointed out some good advice. Also, as Chuck Moore pointed out to me...StewMac sells adhesive uke pickguards.

I had put on a cell phone screen protector and it worked fine but Chuck told me that my finish wasnt "cured" yet. I took it off and resigned myself to the fact that ukes get marks on them...especially when you play them.

If you look at the cover of Jake Shimabukuro's Play Ukulele Loud...you will see just how scuffed up and worn his uke was at the upper bout (where the scuffing occurs). That uke is real high end and he will never want for another uke in his life but you can see that even the best just let it fly.

If you are planning on selling your uke down the road and how scuff marks might bring down resale value...then put a pickguard on it. If you are going to play this one until you die and maybe take it to the grave with you...donworryboudit!
 
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