There would be hardly any guitarist who wouldn’t love to customise the Strat-style guitar and enjoy its features.
The discussion about the parchment versus white pickguard has been made on many platforms. Before we move on to that comparison, it is important to understand exactly the primary function of the pickguard.
In simple terms, the pickguard can be defined as a piece of laminated material that is placed on the guitar body. It is used to provide protection to the finish of the guitar against scratching.
The pickguard is necessary for guitarists who frequently use guitars. The availability of pickguards in multiple colours is a blessing for guitarists and musicians.
Pickguard Versatility
The best thing about the pickguards is that they can also be used for decoration. The material used for the making of the pickguard includes plastic, glass, metal, plywood, acrylic glass, fabrics, etc.
For expensive guitars, exotic woods, gems, furs, precious metals, and skins might also be used as construction material for the pickguards.
Whenever the artists give an autograph on the guitar, they usually sign on the pickguard because the detachment of the signed pickguard from the guitar is easy. It can be moved to another guitar.
In terms of colours, you have got plenty of choices, including mint green, white glossy, black matte, black aged, white and parchment colour.
Make sure that the colour you choose is exactly what you want because it directly impacts the appearance and aesthetics of the guitar.
All in all, the number of customising options for changing the look of your guitar is in the thousands. However, in this article, we will share relevant information on a white pickguard versus a parchment pickguard.
You can make your decision after going through the entire elaboration of these pickguards and their comparison so let’s move on without further ado.
Parchment vs White Pickguard
| Features | White Pickguard | Parchment Pickguard |
|---|---|---|
| Outlook | Classic yet modern | Vintage |
| Durability | Higher, more robust | Relatively less durable |
| Richness to the guitar | No | Yes |
White Pickguard
The white acoustic pickguard comes with a self-adhesive guard plate and features a factory custom design. The material used in the construction of the white pickguard is gold, pearl and wood.
There is no sort of limitation to the styles of a white pickguard. You can totally rely on a white pickguard for the protection of your guitar body.
Durability
Not only that, but it also improves the durability of the guitar because it is made up of high-quality wood material.
You can visit any website related to guitars, browse it and find an extensive selection of the best white pickguards and from there, you can select the one that you really want.
Most guitarists go for the white pickguard because it is a promising choice for anyone who wants to have a classic touch with their guitar.
The two most renowned designs of the white pickguards include 11 holes and 8 holes. Talking about the 11-hole variant, it is modern and advanced.
On the other hand, the 8-hole is available in its classic white form. In the white pickguard, there is a strong connection between the three layers of the PVC materials, and thus the construction is named three-ply construction.
Cutting with the bevelled edge shows off the black ply applied in the middle part resulting in a border appearance.
Single or Double-Ply
However, you can also have another option of single ply, which is usually known as a scratchplate.
That design is simple and elegant, with eight holes. As the name makes it clear, it is free of any pinstripe. But it definitely carries the vintage touch to it with its straight cut.
Having said that, the single-ply pickguard can be flimsy because its PVC construction is pretty thin, and the number of holes for the screws is also a few.
If you pick up the modern single-ply white big guards, there is a certain level of steadiness with them because they use thick plastic construction. In addition, they are set great on the guitar bodies because of the integration of rigid plastic.
There are abundant variations in colour, no matter which brand you end up purchasing the white pig guard from. The reason is that every brand uses a different PVC.
The thing about the white pickguard is that you think it looks better without the guitar under it, and the look of the guitar might not be appealing when the pickguard is put on.
However, that’s not the case. When the white pickguard is mounted, the guitar is attractive in every aspect.
Parchment Pickguard
A large number of guitarists have chosen parchment pickguards because of their vintage touch. When compared with the pure or stark white colour, the ivory touch is more from the parchment pickguard.
Regardless of the guitar you use, putting a parchment pickguard can bring sophisticated aesthetics to it.
Another important thing about this pickguard is that you can put it on the guitar body if you don’t want your guitar to look cheap.
Users have frequently complained about the white pickguard that adds a cheap appearance on the guitars, especially when it is not correctly coordinated.
Colour Options
Moving on to the colours, the parchment pickguard has a perfect balance of colours that is mint green and white. The parchment pickguard is perfect for the skin and cream-coloured guitars. It suits them in every manner.
Basically, the colour of the parchment pickguard is called antique white. Whichever guitar you put the parchment pickguard on, it will make it look like a remarkable piece of artwork.
If you can’t decide to pick between a white pickguard and a mint pickguard, you should definitely go with the parchment. The reason is that parchment lies between both mint green and white. However, it is more related to white.
The parchment colour is chosen by plenty of guitarists and musicians because it never lets you down.
This pickguard is strongly recommended for the players who are white lovers of their pickguards, but they are too bored with the pure white and want a little modification.
Conclusion
At the end, it primarily depends on you since both are great options for customizing the look and feel of your guitar.