Scratch Pad Inventors Have Guitars' Backs

In the basement of Mark Battaglia’s Huntley home are five guitars, three keyboards, several microphones, a drum set ­and a conga drum — basically, everything the former member of the Chicago band No Limit needs to jam with friends and fellow musicians.

The instruments are only the beginning, though, as there is also a bar and small stage.

Oh, and stage lights.

Plus a laser light show.

And a fog machine, because you can’t have an effective laser light show without a fog machine.

“It’s not like we’re in our 20s and we’re having these out-of-hand parties,” joked Battaglia of the basement jam sessions. “It’s all adults. Unfortunately, we don’t last until three or four in the morning like we used to. It’s usually one or two in the morning, which is good enough for me.”

Even so, what resonates loudest from Battaglia’s house most days is what’s happening above the basement, just off the garage, in a small office that’s adorned with rock ’n’ roll photos. There, Battaglia, Joe Roberts and Kevin Slota run the company Scratch Pad.

The three met some 30 years ago, when Battaglia and Roberts were with No Limit and Slota served as the group’s manager. The trio has a second office in Schaumburg.

During a recent interview, Battaglia and Slota displayed a skin for smart phones, a forthcoming addition to the company’s product line that is anchored by the Scratch Pad, a protective backing for acoustic and electric guitars. Introduced in 2003, Scratch Pads are nonadhesive, Sof-Cling™ pads that prevent scratches and gouges often caused by, but not limited to, belt buckles.

“The biggest problem is pocket rivets (on jeans),” said Slota, president of Scratch Pad. “That’s the No. 1 cause of guitar damage. People don’t realize it. They’ll go to the other extent and play with their shirts untucked, but it doesn’t matter. A pocket rivet will poke right through it.”

Slota even has a name for the damage that rivets inflect.

“After it rains, if you’ve ever seen worm tracks in the mud, that’s what you see on the back of a guitar,” he said. The damage “looks like worm tracks and that’s caused exclusively by pocket rivets.”

Slota and Battaglia said creating a guitar protector wasn’t easy because the final product had to incorporate a non-adhesive material, as applying an adhesive one would damage the very instrument they were trying to preserve. Initially, Roberts used a piece of pool table felt and some PVC plastic similar to the stickers that oil change shops apply to car windshields. The combination lasted six months, which, considering how often a musician’s midriff comes in contact with the guitar was pretty good. Or maybe not.

“It was like a failed product,” said Battaglia of the prototype.

“It wasn’t the best that we could do,” added Slota. “And for me, from a marketing standpoint, it had to have some durability to it.”

During the 18-month process, more prototypes followed before the trio finally crafted their current product.

“It’s basically a specialized copolymer,” Slota said of the pad, which covers 80 percent of each guitar’s back, can be customized to include band names or slogans, and, most important, does not comprise the guitar’s sound.

“When you have a guitar against your body, any resonance that’s going to be disturbed is already disturbed because the guitar is against your body,” Slota explained. “So putting a pad on the back has absolutely no effect. And when it comes to an electric guitar, an electric has no resonance at all.”

The trio is proud that the Scratch Pads are made entirely in America, and they can be re-used.

“That’s what nice about them,” said Battaglia, as he crumpled a Scratch Pad in his hand. “You can do this and then unfold them and they’re right back to normal.”

As head of Artist Relations, Battaglia has been successful in getting Scratch Pads into the hands of numerous musicians including American Idol performers Chris Daughtry of the band Daughtry, and Australian singer/songwriter and guitarist Orianthi, whose single According to You peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s top pop songs in March 2010.

“She’s just not some beautiful young pop star," said Battaglia of Orianthi. “What’s interesting about her is she was rehearsing with Michael Jackson to tour with him when he died. So she’s in the movie (This Is It). There’s a short scene where you see her with her guitar and our pad.”

Battaglia said other Scratch Pads users include Jim Peterik (The Ides of March, Survivor), Mark Tremonti, formerly of Creed, and guitarist Johnny Hiland, who, in addition to releasing a handful of his own records, has played with Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Ted Nugent and Sammy Hagar.

Also sold on the effectiveness of the Scratch Pads are guitar makers Devlin and Warrior Instruments, which now ship their guitars with Scratch Pads included.

Still, Battaglia and Slota said that although Scratch Pads are distributed in 16 countries, there’s room for growth.

“Our biggest problem is distribution,” Slota said. “The average guitar shop is not run by someone with a business major, and they’re required to carry so many products from certain companies, bigger companies. Plus the shops have limited resources to purchase new products, so their attitude is, we’ll carry it when people start asking for it. But the shops that do receive (Scratch Pads) are ecstatic with it, just like every guitarist who sees it says, ‘Where has this been all my life?’ ”

Locally, Fat Cat Guitars in Carpentersville and J.C.’s Guitars stock Scratch Pads.

Battaglia and Slota are also behind the No Limit Arcade Family Fun Center slated to open in Algonquin this October.