Just as a tailor carefully sews the folds of his best dress, as a painter gives the last tricks to his last work before the exhibition, so Silvano Pulice builds the most aesthetically important part of our instrument: the pickguard.
First of all, we must specify that to choose a pickguard it is neither a simple nor a trivial thing: it is not a futile accessory, but almost a small total experience, a synthetic path made of choices to get to create a product that meets your needs. As when deciding the measurements for a dress, for your pickguard you have to choose the material, the color, on what measurements to base it and with what criteria to make the holes, all this without counting if you choose some particular design.
By contacting Silvano, who, in addition to being an artist in the production of pickguards, is a person of extreme availability, you can have any information about any model you want to customize.
On his place you can find the layouts of different pickguards on which he worked and, by browsing a special menu, you can set the choice of materials and design according to your taste.
The product we will examine is a pickguard dedicated to the most famous album in rock history ("The dark side of the moon" by Pink Floyd), set on a Stratocaster model '57, all made with inlays inserted into the pickguard itself.
We are talking about a product sewn on the customer's request, a job made of skill, precision and attention to detail.
The pickguard is initially engraved by the CNC cutter, with the "radius" made entirely by hand, with an obsessive care and the inlay is the result of a very long work. The construction of a pickguard, of the type examined, takes about 12 hours between design and construction.
The processing follows several stages:
- By means of technical software the drawing of the work to be carried out is carried out, and then the changes are made for the passage of the work to the CNC machine;
- The virgin plate is fixed, in this case first the anchors and then the pickguard, on the machine surface and all the zeroing and calibration are done;
- The back of the blocks is flattened to bring them to the desired height;
- The pieces are cut on the flattened plates;
- Once the work has been repeated for all the dowels, we proceed with cleaning and manual finishing, paying close attention, with sandpaper;
- Once the plate for the pickguard has been fixed again and all the resets have been redone, the pickguard is built with seats, holes and seats for the inlays;
- The pickguard is then removed from the top for the first finishes;
- Assemble the plugs in the pickguard with glue and press everything with clamps, leaving it to rest for at least 8 hours;
- We then proceed with the “dismounting” and the good quality shielding and the trademark are applied on the back;
- We move on to cleaning and polishing the edges well, checking the quality of the realization;
- It all closes in a cloth with the company logo;
- Finally we can proceed with the packaging, the certification of uniqueness and the shipment.
At the first tactile approach, the pickguard is thick and robust. Behind it it is also possible to notice the shielding, which serves to avoid hums related to the electronic compartment. Describing the inlay is practically impossible: it is of a disarming beauty.
There is no imperfection: very shiny and without any burrs, a real marvel.
It is a high-end product, of unparalleled quality and unique in every aspect. A signed package and a certificate of uniqueness of the product that completes the kit make this pickguard a little guitar jewel.
The definitive solution for those looking for a unique customization and superior quality to the industrial one which, combined with the quantity of work and the passion that the manufacturer puts into his work, amply covers the selling price.
Pickguard.it can be reached via the site website and the page Facebook.
Antonio Cangiano
