Odd pickguard with 1965 Ventures Bass. Is it authentic ?

[Louie7]

This pickguard came with my 1965 Ventures bass...unattached. It's an odd duck. Nitro, which explains why the holes don't line up. It's useless in it's current shape/condition.

Let me explain. Here's the story.

When I first got the guard, it was glossy white. But it was easy to see why. The whole guard had a thick coat of white enamel, that was poorly applied and had never been buffed out. It was quite ugly, because it appeared to have been brushed on.

Since the paint was awful, and the guard didn't fit anyway, I went ahead and removed the paint. What you see in the pictures below is what was under the paint. I guess it explains why the guard was painted, but there seems to be no explaination why the guard was made from white with orange blotches stock in the first place.

The thickness is about .125, which is really thick, and the screw holes are oversized and poorly counter-sunk. The rear-most screw hole is drilled out beyond any reasonable hope of being useful, and the whole thing is warped.

The screw hole near the pointy part along the pickup is not in the correct spot either. It's real close to the tip, whereas it should be about 5/8 or more from the tip.

At first I imagined that I could fill the holes and then repaint it white so it looked nice.
But I'm wondering now if it's even a real Mosrite pickguard. It has so many strikes against it. Even if it is authentic, I'm really going to need a better guard.

I would appreciate any comments about the nature of this weirdly colored nitro guard.

At this point, I think my best bet is to get a blank sheet of w/b/w and craft a new guard that fits and lays flat, then drill the screw holes in the correct locations.

Any ideas ? Do you think this guard was home-made by a previous owner or what ?Thanks......

[Veenture]

To me the guard looks like it is sporting unintended CAR(?) stains and the large screw hole seems to be a mod attempt at making a better fit.
It may be a genuine Moseley piece but not made to fit your bass, perhaps?

[edit] I'd like to see a picture showing the right side up.

[Mr. Bill]

It looks like an original guard from a left handed instrument. The staining is typical of when someone uses paint stripper to remove the paint while leaving the guard on the guitar. I don't know if the guard was originally installed on the bass or not.

Mosrite used a white/black/white material that was different from what most other companies used in that the top layer of white was thicker than the other layers. It looks like the guard is made from the correct material, but the thicker top layer seems to be on the bottom, so to me it looks like a left handed guard made to fit a right handed instrument.

[BRRanger]

Brilliant deduction, Mr. Bill! That's probably exactly what happened!
Scott

[Louie7]

Here's the top view of the guard, perched on the bass. As, I mentioned, the guard came with the bass, but not on the bass. The only screw holes that line up at all, are the two in the narrow middle section, due, I'm sure, to shrinkage.

Question: When did Mosrite change over from nitro to the modern stuff ?



I JUST can't understand why they'd use a catalyzed blank for this bass. Maybe that's all they had, and just painted it white. Problem is, the white paint I removed wasn't professionally done at all....it looked like a guy just rattle-canned it with some cheap white enamel and called it 'good'. I dunno.

[Veenture]

Thanks for showing the other side. It appears to be a Mosrite guard for a righty; this concurs with Mr. Bill's findings.

[Mr. Bill]

With the additional photos it looks like a real right handed Mosrite guard, but I doubt very much that it was ever painted white from the factory.

[Louie7]

Time for some review, I guess.

So...here's what we know for sure.

a. It's a genuine Mosrite pickguard

b. It's made of catalyzed nitro in white/orange.

c. It's shrunken, warped and drilled-out beyond normal useful limits (at least for my bass).

And...here's what's still in question, for me anyway.

a. Was it ever factory painted?

b. If not, then who'd want a swirly guard like that on their instrument?

c. How can I modify it to work with my bass (doubtful) ?

d. Where can I obtain some W/b/w Nitro pickguard material so I can craft a replacement?


For me, fellas, this last question is the important one. I'd really like to get a guard on there that fits correctly and looks like it should. I know there's a guy at eBay selling replicas, but they're not nitro...they're just regular modern pg material like you'd buy from StewMac.

Thanks..... hope somebody had a source for Nitro. I've seen plenty of it available in TortoiseShell....but not in W/b/w or even single-ply White.

L7

[oipunkguy]

semie didn't buy pickguard material with nitro on them, he sprayed them. it's typical white/black/white material, then the top is lightly sanded, and sprayed. after it's cured, it's buffed out, just like the finish on the wood. that's why it appears the top layer is thicker. if the nitro was sprayed first before it was cut, the lacquer would flake off as the guard was shaped. some guards had a 4th black ply on the bottom. this little bit of extra work semie went, really made the guitars stand out IMHO, and it's something that's lacking on the newer models I'm sad to say.

[dubtrub]

semie didn't buy pickguard material with nitro on them, he sprayed them. it's typical white/black/white material, then the top is lightly sanded, and sprayed. after it's cured, it's buffed out, just like the finish on the wood.

Whoa! Sorry to differ with you but I've never heard such a thing. In the 60s Mosrite pick guards were made of a Nitrate material and nothing was sprayed on them. Maybe you are getting confused with with Fender's Bakelite pick guard over sprayed with clear lacquer?

The pick guard shown above could be wet sanded with 400 through 1200 down to the nitrate then polished out. It should look like new if the red hasn't penetrated the nitrate too deeply.