Jason_The_Angry
New member
I thought I would share my recent experience with installing a new Babicz bridge on my beloved '92 SG Standard.
For background, the guitar had always been a little dark sounding for a SG. I've changed pickups a few times, and changed the caps more than that to try and brighten the guitar. I've also made a lot of adjustments to try and achieve better string balance, but was unsuccessful in adjusting the pickups. After some careful thought, I came across the possibility that the Tone Pros bridge I installed years ago may have been part of the cause. It came without string slots. As an intrepid DIY, I used needle files to cut the slots. The one for the high E was especially deep, and I wondered if my inaccurate filing job was choking the string. Enter Babicz
A few notes on the install: The mounting hardware from Babicz is metric. I believe the standard Gibson mounting hardware was "standard". I could use the included bridge mounts from Babicz since I previously swapped the inserts out for the Tone Pros. The tailpiece and mounts had to stay put from Tone Pros, since I was not interested in pulling out the inserts to install the Babicz hardware. Also, I did not modify the pickguard to allow the bridge to rest on the body of the guitar. It rests on the pickguard.
Aside from those minor issues, installation was a breeze, and the saddles were damn close to being properly intonated right out of the box. The included ball-end allen wrench for adjusting intonation was too long to properly access the intonation adjustment screws due to interference with the tailpiece, so I clipped the short end to allow easier access.
End result, slightly greater string tension due to being able to lower the tailpiece further, more "piano-like" attack, and the highs are now fully present. I've actually had to back off on the tone knob a bit! The guitar sounds louder unplugged, which some say matters. Sustain is slightly better, and string balance is much closer after I made further polepiece adjustments. The ability to independently adjust string heights is a really nice feature. I'm not a fan of the Babicz tailpiece, however. It's well made and very light, but the Babicz logo is way too obvious. I'm all for taking credit for good work, but some subtlety in the color of the markings might make it more likely to be used on more guitars.
Overall, it's a pricey upgrade, but it changed the guitar in few positive ways. I'd recommend one if you have the cash. By the way, Jeff Babicz responded directly to my questions regarding install within 24 hrs. That's pretty impressive....
For background, the guitar had always been a little dark sounding for a SG. I've changed pickups a few times, and changed the caps more than that to try and brighten the guitar. I've also made a lot of adjustments to try and achieve better string balance, but was unsuccessful in adjusting the pickups. After some careful thought, I came across the possibility that the Tone Pros bridge I installed years ago may have been part of the cause. It came without string slots. As an intrepid DIY, I used needle files to cut the slots. The one for the high E was especially deep, and I wondered if my inaccurate filing job was choking the string. Enter Babicz
A few notes on the install: The mounting hardware from Babicz is metric. I believe the standard Gibson mounting hardware was "standard". I could use the included bridge mounts from Babicz since I previously swapped the inserts out for the Tone Pros. The tailpiece and mounts had to stay put from Tone Pros, since I was not interested in pulling out the inserts to install the Babicz hardware. Also, I did not modify the pickguard to allow the bridge to rest on the body of the guitar. It rests on the pickguard.
Aside from those minor issues, installation was a breeze, and the saddles were damn close to being properly intonated right out of the box. The included ball-end allen wrench for adjusting intonation was too long to properly access the intonation adjustment screws due to interference with the tailpiece, so I clipped the short end to allow easier access.
End result, slightly greater string tension due to being able to lower the tailpiece further, more "piano-like" attack, and the highs are now fully present. I've actually had to back off on the tone knob a bit! The guitar sounds louder unplugged, which some say matters. Sustain is slightly better, and string balance is much closer after I made further polepiece adjustments. The ability to independently adjust string heights is a really nice feature. I'm not a fan of the Babicz tailpiece, however. It's well made and very light, but the Babicz logo is way too obvious. I'm all for taking credit for good work, but some subtlety in the color of the markings might make it more likely to be used on more guitars.
Overall, it's a pricey upgrade, but it changed the guitar in few positive ways. I'd recommend one if you have the cash. By the way, Jeff Babicz responded directly to my questions regarding install within 24 hrs. That's pretty impressive....
