The Yamaha FG-300 is a vintage acoustic guitar that was part of Yamaha’s well-regarded FG series, produced in the late 1960s and 1970s. Known for its solid craftsmanship and warm, rich tone, it has become a sought-after instrument among collectors and players alike. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this guitar is the ravishing pickguard with the floral display.
Over time the celluloid material they made these guards from “off-gasses” and literally crumbles into pieces, leaving the owners sad and heartbroken. To add to the pain, nobody recreates these wonderful guards… EXCEPT US!
One day we were commissioned by an FG-300 owner to try to replicate the original guard. Luckily it was only broken into about 6 pieces as opposed to crumbling to dust like a lot of them do. We had the owner mail us all of the pieces to start the job.
We were able to piece it all back together and make an outline of the original guard. With that we made ourselves a perfect routing template the exact same size as the original. We then digitally scanned the original artwork from the guard and turned it into a digital file where we could clean up the lines and make it a nice printable format. Then we added the colors based on pictures of original guards so ours would match spot on.
For our first few of these guards that we made, we applied the 3 color floral design by hand with a screen print. (same way they make T-Shirts) then clear coated over them for durability. This worked great, but was time intensive and prone to pick scratches. After TONS of research and testing we found out that by UV printing the design on the guards it came out rock solid durable, vibrant colors, and very speedy.
Now we make these guards in batches of 25, each and every one cut, routed, and buffed by hand. We have sold hundreds and shipped them all across the globe to areas like Russia, Australia, England, Canada and more.
We are PROUD to be the only ones in the world currently making these unique pickguards and are able to help people restore their Yamaha FG-300 and FG-350 guitars back to the original form. It’s always great to see the finished product from clients when they get them applied and love the results.
Check out these guards along with the various versions we offer in both right and left handed options as well as installation instructions HERE.
120 S Osage Ave, Sedalia, MO 65301, United States
BackwoodsGuitarLLC@gmail.com
Call or Text: 660-851-2233
