Pickguard

Pickguard or "Scratchplate"  is a piece of laminated plastic, or other various materials. The pickguards main job is to protect the guitars' body. Scratches can occur when the players fingernails or pick come in contact with the body's finish, adding scratches and white marks.

Aside from the practical purpose of the pickguard, another job is for decoration. Many designs, such as a pearl or tortoise shell pickguard can be used to create unique designs for the guitar. Contrasting colors may come into play, also. If the color of the guitar is darker, the pickguard could be lighter. If the guitar has a lighter pallet, than a darker pickguard might be used. Other designs might include custom signatures, patterns, or some effects. (such as a pearl-looking pickguard) Even some luxury guitar's contain exotic woods, animal fur, or actual pearl for the pickguard.

Types of Pickguards
There are many different styles of pickguards. Some are signatures to different manufactures, while others may be used for branding or to match the headstock.

Acoustic and Classical Guitars
Due to the nature of the acoustic guitar (playing rythm), aggressive strumming is usually involved. The result is scratches on the guitar's finish. The pickguard used on classical and acoustic guitars is usually a 2 millimeter thick piece of plastic. The plastic has an adhesive under it, allowing the pickguard to stick. (To the guitar's body)

The size of the pickguard can not be much larger, because if the pickguard is heavier, the result may cause the soundboard to not vibrate as much. Thus, leading to a quieter sounding guitar.

The amount of pickguards on classical guitar's is significantly fewer than the acoustic guitar's, however, because classical guitar is mostly played with fingerpicking.

Fender Style
The fender style pickguards are much larger than most pickguards and cover a significant proportion of the guitar's body. This is because Fender's (and other manufacturers replica's) solid-body Telecaster and Stratocaster contain their hardware is mounted directly on; or under the pickguard. This allows for quick and easy repairs once the strings and pickguard are removed. Fender style scratchplates are praised for allowing easier wiring and repairs on guitars, and are much simpler than the Les Pauls designs.

Gibson Style
Most carved-top guitars, (Gibson/Les Paul guitars) feature a plastic pickguard on adjustable metal brackets. This design was originally featured in 1909 by Gibson. The design for the pickguard gave players more versatility for their playing style. If they did more picking, a raised pickguard would be in order, allowing easier finger resting. Where as if rhythm is played, a lowered pickguard would be used.

Materials
Guitar's can have custom pickguards. Most mass produced guitars use these three materials;
 * Celluloid
 * Vinyl
 * Acrylic Glass

Custom Pickguards
Some pickguards can be modded or changed to give a unique look. Some guitarist's may completely remove the pickguard for the sake of looks.