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'65 Strat guard.

Overdriven66

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Nov 10, 2008
Messages
196
Just took on a '65 Strat restoration. I'm an old time Gibson guy, and admittendly not too knowedgable on 60's Fender 6 stringers.... With 60's Fender basses... i'm very well versed with them.
My question is about '65 Strat pickguards. Did the stock Strats have the mint colored pickguard as standard in '65? And was the white pickguard only available or 'standard' on the 'burst? My '65 all original custom color Jazz has a 'not mint green' pickguard, but is 'off white' now with age and NOT mint green.
This project came to me stripped with no parts, so I will do it a 'color chart' cool '65 custom color. Probably either Shoreline or Firemist Gold. What 'period correct' color pickguard should I be using for these colors? Thanks for your replies, and thanks for welcoming me to the forum! Tony
t
i
 

Cogswell

The Duke of Dumbassery
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Mar 19, 2002
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15,717
Fender switched from celluloid to abs plastic in '65. Not green but not really white, either. More like "bone" w/kind of a grayish tint. Nowadays they would probably call it parchment
 

Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
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1965 should be white. When they changed to white, they were white white white. Some may have a tiny bit of tint to them, but IME, they are generally very bright.

Screw position moved south too.

Fender65Stratocaster06.jpg
 

agogetr

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Jan 22, 2019
Messages
451
i had a 65 strat and the underside of the pickguard was pearloid! i was told that would have been done more likely around 68 or 69, maybe it had the guard changed at some point. not sure.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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Fender switched from celluloid to abs plastic in '65. Not green but not really white, either. More like "bone" w/kind of a grayish tint. Nowadays they would probably call it parchment
Do you think this was an issue with the CBS takeover ? Or was it a Leo thing where they ordered an endless supply of parts and once those said parts were used then the re order process had to commence once again ?
 

sglp63

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Jun 29, 2007
Messages
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Might also have been due to the shrinking of the celluloid. Many mint green pre-CBS Strat pickguards are cracked near the screw adjacent to the neck PU., which probably only became apparent after a few years.
 

El Gringo

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Might also have been due to the shrinking of the celluloid. Many mint green pre-CBS Strat pickguards are cracked near the screw adjacent to the neck PU., which probably only became apparent after a few years.
So true as you always see that crack in photos all the time . Also totally makes sense as that was Leo Fender the Engineer .
 

Antonio77

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Jun 6, 2020
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In 1964 Fender began to experiment new pickguard because celluloid guards was very flammable and it shrank and broke easily over time and in late 1964 Fender tried to cover the surface of the celluloid pickguards with a thin white fireproof layer. In 1965 Fender began to gradually replace tthem with those in white plastic (usually vinyl or ABS).
https://www.fuzzfaced.net/pickguard-stratocaster.html
 
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S. Weiger

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Nov 25, 2002
Messages
1,744
Do you think this was an issue with the CBS takeover ? Or was it a Leo thing where they ordered an endless supply of parts and once those said parts were used then the re order process had to commence once again ?
They switched to plastic mostly because the celluoid material is highly flammable.
That's the 'official' explanation AFAIK. Also Maybe CBS wanted the guard to be more white-ish?
I don't think the typical crack at neck p.u. stems from the celluloid shrinking. More likely from bad screwdriver exercise I think.
 

agogetr

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Jan 22, 2019
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Do you think this was an issue with the CBS takeover ? Or was it a Leo thing where they ordered an endless supply of parts and once those said parts were used then the re order process had to commence once again ?
well a boatload of pots were purchased around 66 which were installed in fender guitars all the way up into 1969.
also i think leo did have a 'thing' for an endless supply, he purchased a huge lot of wood in the mid forties for his amps, the roof leaked and messed some of it up and he built a roof over the first roof to protect it! this wood was said to be used in production of his woody amps. i heard it was walnut which could make sense since the woodies were built from a few different woods including maple mahogany and walnut.
heck leo had 6000 tele plates stamped out for early teles so...
 

Wilko

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I don't think the typical crack at neck p.u. stems from the celluloid shrinking. More likely from bad screwdriver exercise I think.
uh… noADC6901D-C1D4-4C7B-A614-FD24328F56C8.jpeg
 
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S. Weiger

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Nov 25, 2002
Messages
1,744


My theory is this:

1) If someone at some point in time lowered the neck p.u. just a tad too much, and it went "plop" down in the cavity, because the screw lost the grip in the pickup.

2) then if the person was lazy, and only removed a few of the pickguard screws to get the p.u. adjusting screw back in place.

3) then this area in the guard would be vulnerable and might crack, if the person with the screwdriver pressed the adjusting screw too hard against the slightly raised pickguard, in trying to get the adjusting screw back on.

Or is this theory totally far out? 😕 😀

For the record, over time I've had 7 pre CBS strats with the typical shrunken celluloid guards, and none had the cracked-at-neck-pickup issue.
 
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IMMUSICRULZ

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May 25, 2021
Messages
616
Yes some Fender pickguards were mint in 65. When CBS acquired Fender and Steinway later in the decade, they changed entirely to white.

Although probably not best captured by this picture, the 65 Strat that Nancy Wilson is playing has a mint pickguard.

1641960996427.png
 
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