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Manufacturer: Fender
F-SPACED
This refers to the length of the humbucker opening in the pickguard. Gibson originally defined humbucker dimensions back in the 1950s, and their polepiece spacing was designed to match the string spacing used on Gibson guitars. But as people started putting humbuckers in Strat bridge positions, which have a wider string spacing, some pickup makers started offering longer "F-spaced" humbuckers, which have a wider polepiece spacing, allowing the poles to line up better under the guitar's strings.
These longer humbuckers require a longer opening in the pickguard. The Fender SSH pickguards we stock (which have two humbucker mounting screws), don't accommodate F-spaced pickups well: the humbucker opening is too short. For this reason we offer some SSH pickguards in two versions: unmodified, for those using Gibson-spaced pickups with the narrower string spacing; and modified, where we've lengthened the humbucker opening to accommodate F-spaced pickups. This work is done to factory standards, and we add a modest service charge for this.
Fender has used two string spacings on Stratocasters, measured at the bridge from the center of the low E string to the center of the high E:
- 2-7/32" on all guitars manufactured before 1985 or so, and since then on vintage reissues and some others
- 2-1/16" on American Series and Mexican Standard guitars, and some others
"F-spaced" is a term originally coined by DiMarzio to indicate a longer humbucker, the "F" referring to both "Floyd Rose" and "Fender". Duncan's name for their F-spaced pickups is "Trembucker", and most other makers just provide the pole spacing in millimeters. Typically Gibson-spaced humbuckers are 48mm to 50mm, while F-spaced pickups are 52mm to 53mm.
HOLE PATTERN
Over the years, Fender has used different numbers and placements of perimeter screws on Strat pickguards (click here for some images showing the differences):
| Acme's Terminology | Fender's Terminology | Fits These Guitars | # Perimeter Holes |
| Vintage 8-Hole | '57 Reissue | 1954 through mid-1959 | 8 |
| Vintage 11-Hole | '62 Reissue | Mid-1959 through mid-1964 | 11 |
| Modern 11-Hole | American Series | Mid-1964 to present; American Standard, Deluxe, etc; Mexican Standard | 11 |
SHIELDING
Shielding means to provide a barrier between electronic components and the environment at large. The barrier's purpose is to intercept stray electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference (EMI/RFI) and send it to ground, so that it doesn't get into your signal path and come through your amp in the form of hum. For best results you should always shield your pickguard unless it's made of metal, in which case it needs no shielding, as it will inherently provide shielding.
Fender's modern 11-hole pickguards include a foil shield that's adhered to the back of the pickguard, and covers the area behind the controls, as well as the area surrounding the pickups. This shield is completely effective against EMI/RFI, and no further pickguard shielding is required.
Fender's '57 and '62 Reissue pickguards have no shielding attached. Fender makes separate aluminum shield plates for these pickguards - like those that they used in the '50s and most of the '60s - that may be purchased separately. The shield plate is not adhered to the pickguard. It is sandwiched between the pickguard and the controls, which holds it in place.
TORTOISE/MOTO PICKGUARDS
The top ply of these products is made of celluloid, and consequently it can be unstable. Solvents may be released from the top ply over time, which allows it to shrink slightly while the underlying plies remain dimensionally stable. The net result of this is that the material cups (like a very shallow bowl), so that when placed on a flat surface its edges may be raised 1/4" to 1/2" above the surface. If you're familiar with vintage Fender guitars then you've seen dimensionally-unstable pickguards - early '60s Strats will often have a crack or two in their pickguards that run from a perimeter screw hole out to the edge of the pickguard, for instance. And if you've ever looked at an old Jazzmaster with a tortoise pickguard and noticed that the wood screws are going in at angles rather than straight, this is the reason: The pickguard has shrunk, while the wood has not, so the screw holes no longer line up perfectly.
Even if the pickguard is cupped when it comes out of the package, it can be screwed flat onto the guitar (the perimeter screws will easily pull the edges of the cupped pickguard down to the body), but even with the perimeter of the pickguard held to the body, the pickguard as a whole will never lie quite as flat as a pickguard made from vinyl, or some other modern, dimensionally-stable material. This comes with the turf though, if you want the look then you have to put up with the shortcomings of the material.