Tom, any experience with tone change after mounting anodized guard?

[mslugano]

Tom, I recently mounted the set of TAG VA pups you sold me a couple months ago to a gold anodized pickguard (all mounted on a Suhr Classic). I may be nuts, but, I could swear that the tone has changed to be less dynamic and maybe even less volume than with a 3-ply plastic pickguard.

Have you (or anyone else) had any experience with this sort of thing? I love the look of the gold guard on black body with maple neck but I don't want to sacrifice tone.

Thanks.

[tom]

if the gold anodized guard is aluminum, i would expect a big change. back in the schecter days we did a fair amount of those and they always made microphonics terrible. it's been a long time since then so i wouldn't trust my memory to describe the dif. any place there's a connection with vibrating parts the material is bound to make a change for better or worse.

[mslugano]

Thanks Tom. It's a Fender brand guard and I guess they do aluminum. I have read about problems with harmonics and I don't have that. I have a perceived lack of richness. I have been going nuts A/B'ing them with an FSR '62 Fender RI Strat with SCNs and my old Tokai with V60LP's and it seems that your VA's sounded different with the plastic guard I had on originally.

I am about to replace the original pickguard to try and see if there is a difference but was kinda hoping you would tell me I am just imagining things so I could avoid the hassle. We'll see.

By the way, do you have any idea where I might find a reasonably priced S trem with vintage screw spacing but narrow string spacing? Maybe Wilkinson?Now that I have gotten used to your narrow spacing, I can't hardly handle the wider spacing...seems like I am always about to fall off the fretboard and I prefer the narrow picking space.

Thanks Tom...............Michael

[bruce]

Check with Callaham. I think he makes a bridge with the narrower string spacing you are after.

[tom]

i would expect the tone to be different, and i can't imagine the aluminum being better.
gotoh and wilkinson make trems with 6 screws and narrow spacing.

[mslugano]

Thanks Bruce and Tom. I think I will go with a Gotoh or Wilki. I do like Callaham very much (I own two Callham bridges) but this trem is for an old Tokai and, though I love the guitar, I don't think it is worth the cost of a full Callham bridge and Bill won't sell the narrow bridge plate and saddles only (I've asked).

I switched out the anodized guard for a plastic yesterday. I "think" it sounds better now though it's hard to tell without an immediate A/B.