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Post subject: Whats the best tremolo bridge ??
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:27 pm
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hey guys I am working on an american strat project....and I was thinking what do you guys think is the best tremolo bridge? I've seen a few so far that seem to be good specially that super vee one... I also looked at the tremKING one... I saw the videos for both they both seem really nice... the tremKING one has a special feature though which i kind of like but I dont know what it feels like when you play one ...so anyway what do you guys think? are they better than the american tremolo bridges ? :?: :?:


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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:23 am
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I've never found a reason to swap out a stock Fender bridge. My guitars with six-screw vintage trems are that way because that was part of what I bought them for. And I distinctly remember the day I first flew a floating two point trem: like getting into a Mercedes after a lifetime at the wheel of Citroen 2CVs.

However, on self-builds I greatly favour the Wilkinson VS-100 vibrato bridge, these days made by Gotoh. A nice, simple item, but well thought-out in its details, and very comfortable under the hand. The block is good and solid, and the saddles lock down into place: which is all supposedly good for tone/sustain. String spacing is a comfortable 53.5 mm or so. A tiny allen screw controls how stiff the wammy arm is, to suit all tastes: annoyingly, a normal Fender style arm cap doesn't quite fit onto the end of the vibrato arm, but you can just ream out that cap a little with a tube of emery paper and then it works. If you need a traditional cap, that is.

Most useful of all, there is a range to the width of spacing for the two trem posts it seats against, so if someone wanted to retro-fit the VS-100 it will usually work. And just take a glance at the VS-400, too. Also, Fishman do a version of the VS-100 fitted with piezos, so that option is available for anyone who wants it, too.

Sound like an sales pitch, don't I?

With his indulgence let me show you this picture of HemiRam's self-built Strat that he posted recently. That's a Wilkinson VS-100 bridge - way to go:

Image


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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:35 am
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For those who don't know about the tremKing...
Goto their web site here.

Click here & check it out on youtube.

Click here to see the tremKing in use.

The tremKing looks very cool...
Judging from the look of the design...
It seems u can't get that flutter effect on that trem.
Know what i am talking about?
(When u let go of the trem after pulling on it & it bounces back into nuetral position.
It makes a flutter like sound on the note when u let go.)

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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:50 am
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I have that same pre-wired pup set...pickin' up the Strat that will house 'em...

Where's Hemi? I want to ask him 'bout the battery...

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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 1:46 pm
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Ceri wrote:
I've never found a reason to swap out a stock Fender bridge. My guitars with six-screw vintage trems are that way because that was part of what I bought them for. And I distinctly remember the day I first flew a floating two point trem: like getting into a Mercedes after a lifetime at the wheel of Citroen 2CVs.

However, on self-builds I greatly favour the Wilkinson VS-100 vibrato bridge, these days made by Gotoh. A nice, simple item, but well thought-out in its details, and very comfortable under the hand. The block is good and solid, and the saddles lock down into place: which is all supposedly good for tone/sustain. String spacing is a comfortable 53.5 mm or so. A tiny allen screw controls how stiff the wammy arm is, to suit all tastes: annoyingly, a normal Fender style arm cap doesn't quite fit onto the end of the vibrato arm, but you can just ream out that cap a little with a tube of emery paper and then it works. If you need a traditional cap, that is.

Most useful of all, there is a range to the width of spacing for the two trem posts it seats against, so if someone wanted to retro-fit the VS-100 it will usually work. And just take a glance at the VS-400, too. Also, Fishman do a version of the VS-100 fitted with piezos, so that option is available for anyone who wants it, too.

Sound like an sales pitch, don't I?

With his indulgence let me show you this picture of HemiRam's self-built Strat that he posted recently. That's a Wilkinson VS-100 bridge - way to go:

Image


There is also a variant of that bridge called the VS-100C (Stands for convertible)., and basically, it's the same bridge, only it locks when the trem bar is in the down position (Essentially, making it a hardtail). When you lift the bar up to do a tremolo effect, the bridge unlocks. This was done to prevent unwanted pitch-change in strings while bending and to overall stabilize tuning. It locks using some sort of metal thing attached to the backplate.

They are out of production and were only available in Europe (Gibson held a patent to a design to similar to that of the VS-100C, so they were not available in the US).

Due to this they are very difficult to find.


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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:19 am
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MikeT239 wrote:
I have that same pre-wired pup set...pickin' up the Strat that will house 'em...

Where's Hemi? I want to ask him 'bout the battery...


The following is based on my assumption that the photo appears to be the EMG DG-20

Regarding the battery....the Clapton guitar's trem cavity rout has been 'stepped' for a 9v in the lower wall of the cavity. For a visual, get your hands on one and remove the back plate. If you choose to further modify the guitar you can attempt the same. Just be sure you have enough wood to create it.

Because I prefer a 'stopped' trem block as on the Clapton, I removed the center spring and placed the 9v there, the wire running around back from the pickup routs into the trem cavity. The backplate will hold the battery in place.

Doc :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Whats the best tremolo bridge ??
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:30 am
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Synkronized wrote:
hey guys I am working on an american strat project....and I was thinking what do you guys think is the best tremolo bridge? I've seen a few so far that seem to be good specially that super vee one... I also looked at the tremKING one... I saw the videos for both they both seem really nice... the tremKING one has a special feature though which i kind of like but I dont know what it feels like when you play one ...so anyway what do you guys think? are they better than the american tremolo bridges ? :?: :?:


I bought a Wilkinson tremolo off of ebay, it has the thick block, stamped saddles, and American spacing. Basically a repro of the vintage tremolo, but I think, better.


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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:56 am
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zzdoc wrote:

The following is based on my assumption that the photo appears to be the EMG DG-20

Regarding the battery....the Clapton guitar's trem cavity rout has been 'stepped' for a 9v in the lower wall of the cavity. For a visual, get your hands on one and remove the back plate. If you choose to further modify the guitar you can attempt the same. Just be sure you have enough wood to create it.

Because I prefer a 'stopped' trem block as on the Clapton, I removed the center spring and placed the 9v there, the wire running around back from the pickup routs into the trem cavity. The backplate will hold the battery in place.

Doc :wink:


Thanks fo rthe info, Doc :)

I ended up taping the the guitar to the body, beneath the volume and EGX pot, as the room was vert limited within the cavity...
Image

The body itself is only routed to the extent to snuggly fit the 3 single coils, while allowing for a small "canal" to guide the wires leading to / from the pups and barely contain the pots (as you can see in the pic). Had to reposition the battery several times so that the pickguard would lie flat against the battery.

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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:58 am
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Exactly.......on the issue regarding the placement of the pickguard, which is why we went to the trem cavity. Of course, I never established whether the trem would be affected, having blocked it.

The trem block should still be able to be balanced for one spring less and functional even with the battery against the back wall of the rout.

Doc


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