The Pickguard (pickguard) is a heavily customizable piece of protective material that is placed beneath the strings of a guitar. It helps prevent a guitarist from damaging the body of his guitar with the pick. The pickguard is generally shaped much like the guitar itself, but many companies manufacture specialized pickguards that come in shapes ranging from circles to diamonds.

The pickguard also comes in a variety of patterns and colors, and can be used to give a guitar a very unique appearance. Many guitarists switch pick guards periodically, in order to give their instruments a fresh and more trendy appearance.