Old Guard Bridge Humbucker users, any thoughts?

[Joshua Jimenez]

Hi all! Planning to get an Old Guard bridge humbie to pair with the neck Old Guard in my Gibson SG. Any thoughts on this? I tried the OG set in a friend’s Epiphone Les Paul. The neck was just as expected—sweet and round and addicting, while the bridge seemed kinda nasal, woofy, and loose. Though I spent only about a minute on that guitar.

If I may add, the SG had a pair of Mules in it and it totally rocked with that pickup set. I then switched it with the Old Guard/Black Dog set in my LP, and it seems the Mules are just PERFECT there. Now, I wanna ditch the Black Dog because it matches pretty badly with the OG neck.

Hoping to get your feedback on this. Thank you everyone!

[Dave Sloven]

Your friend's Old Guard might need to have its height adjusted.  Could be the case that it is simply too close to the strings.

[AndyR]

Yeah, I agree with Dave's suggestion.
Or maybe something with the electrics?

My Old Guard set (in a Gibson Les Paul) sound nicely balanced to me. The bridge certainly doesn't strike me as nasal, woofy, and loose.

It did at first when I tried just now, but then I realised my amp is set for P90s in a strat! LOL
So I got my LP with Stormies out, and a 335 with Mules, got the amp doing what I'd want for a humbucking Gibson...

Plugged the LP with Old Guards in... WOW, why aren't I playing this more often?!?! (Actually, I know, the trapeze marker on the 7th fret is lifting on the treble side and I haven't got round to fixing it yet...)

Yeah, my Old Guard bridge bites and stings and cuts like I want it too.

Bear in mind this LP is fully modern weight relieved. When I first put Stormies in it, it seemed to be lacking some "weight" to the sound I was anticipating. So I put them in an Explorer and took a punt on the then new Old Guards in the LP. Loved it immediately. I don't know whether it was not enough "mids" or not enough output in general that made my usual favourites Stormies not work in this LP. What I'm saying is - if the guitar was lacking "mids" a bit for my taste with Stormies, then that would mean the OG put them back in for me. That would mean the OGs have more mids, and in a more middy guitar it might be too much? It's not that scientific, but my experience is mids can equal "nasal". If I'm getting "nasal" or "boxy" from a guitar, I turn the mids down on the amp. That often works for me... but, to show how unscientific my approach is, if it doesn't work, I then turn the mids up... and that sometimes does too!! LOL

[RobAbrams84]

The different guitars might have different electronics (cap and/or pot values), or different wiring (Modern vs 50s).  Something to look into.

[Joshua Jimenez]

Yeah, I agree with Dave's suggestion.
Or maybe something with the electrics?

My Old Guard set (in a Gibson Les Paul) sound nicely balanced to me. The bridge certainly doesn't strike me as nasal, woofy, and loose.

It did at first when I tried just now, but then I realised my amp is set for P90s in a strat! LOL
So I got my LP with Stormies out, and a 335 with Mules, got the amp doing what I'd want for a humbucking Gibson...

Plugged the LP with Old Guards in... WOW, why aren't I playing this more often?!?! (Actually, I know, the trapeze marker on the 7th fret is lifting on the treble side and I haven't got round to fixing it yet...)

Yeah, my Old Guard bridge bites and stings and cuts like I want it too.

Bear in mind this LP is fully modern weight relieved. When I first put Stormies in it, it seemed to be lacking some "weight" to the sound I was anticipating. So I put them in an Explorer and took a punt on the then new Old Guards in the LP. Loved it immediately. I don't know whether it was not enough "mids" or not enough output in general that made my usual favourites Stormies not work in this LP. What I'm saying is - if the guitar was lacking "mids" a bit for my taste with Stormies, then that would mean the OG put them back in for me. That would mean the OGs have more mids, and in a more middy guitar it might be too much? It's not that scientific, but my experience is mids can equal "nasal". If I'm getting "nasal" or "boxy" from a guitar, I turn the mids down on the amp. That often works for me... but, to show how unscientific my approach is, if it doesn't work, I then turn the mids up... and that sometimes does too!! LOL

Thank you AndyR! "Bites and stings and cuts" reassures me of my decision.

I can relate with the "unscientific approach." On paper, the humpy Black Dog doesn't seem a fit with the already middy Gibson SG, but in practice, it was fantastic and got a clear and biting rock tone. Not unpleasant as I thought it would. On the contrary, the scooped Old Guard in the neck sounded bigger than the Black Dog. I realized that boosted bass and mids does not instantly equal a bigger sound. More focused, perhaps, but not necessarily bigger and clearer.

[b.gandt]

I’ll  be able to throw my 2 cents in at some point, as there is an Old Guard somewhere between Cornwall and Phoenix, headed toward Phoenix.  Going in a Strat, though, so it may not be directly applicable.