I have an 89 Strat Plus Deluxe with a Wilkerson roller nut. It's the second edition Wilkerson (all strings pass through vs. original where the first three strings went over the top).

A friend said I should upgrade to a LSR as it would provide better tuning stability and sound "much" better. I've not had a problem with tuning, but if the LSR sounds better it would be worth it. He said it tames some of the "sizzle" of the Wilkerson, which I have noticed, but am used to.

I don't really care for the look of the Wilkerson, but am worried that installing the LSR may actually look worse. I will get the LSR with the Wilkerson adapter and am curious if the adapter makes for a clean install, i.e. not area showing where the old (bigger) nut was?

I'd like to hear from those who have used both, especially anyone who may have actually made this change.


Thanks

[quote="Jack Dotson"]I have an 89 Strat Plus Deluxe with a Wilkerson roller nut. It's the second edition Wilkerson (all strings pass through vs. original where the first three strings went over the top).

Ditto on my reponse to your other post. Ask Jeff. Then tell us what you've learned so we all benefit.


Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

I asked him about this as well. I'll report back and let you guys know what he says. BTW, that's a great site.

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Gear: Fender Strat Plus Deluxe (Dimarzio Area 58/67/61), Gibson ES-135, Genz Benz BP-30, Fender HR Deville 4X10 and Princeton Reverb RI.

Ditto! Came upon it some years back. We called on him recently regarding a question about Winwood's stage guitar.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I have a Wilkinson roller nut on my ultra... I know what you mean about the "sizzle" -- there's been a persistent buzz on the open high E string that I've never got around to addressing. Personally, I wouldn't mess with it. The Wilkinsons are a pain if you want to use heavier gauge strings, but the LSR nuts can lose their ball bearings. Doesn't happen often, I'm sure, but if your current nut behaves itself it would be a shame to exchange it for one that looks out of place and doesn't really bring any additional functionality. Maybe there's something with the same footprint as the Wilkinson..?

Fender sales a LSR roller nut which comes with a Wilkinson replacement adapter. I've not seen it installed, but there's black plastic piece which covers the area where the Wilkinson was and the LSR is mounted to this. I was hoping to find someone who had installed one of these that might be able to show us some pictures. I hadn't heard there was an issue with the bearings falling out of the LSR. This is definitely a concern. Any of you guys with the models that have the LSR having issues>

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Gear: Fender Strat Plus Deluxe (Dimarzio Area 58/67/61), Gibson ES-135, Genz Benz BP-30, Fender HR Deville 4X10 and Princeton Reverb RI.

As I said, I'm sure it's a rare occurrence. I only mentioned it because I once made an enquiry about getting a PLEK setup done and the operator said that the Wilkinsons were fine (i.e., they don't have a profile that requires special consideration like a Kahler or Floyd Rose locking nut), as were the LSRs... but if the ball bearings got out of the LSR nut they wreaked havoc with the PLEK machine. I doubt it happens in everyday usage. I just filed it away as justification for not feeling like I should update my nut.

Thanks for the clarification.

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Gear: Fender Strat Plus Deluxe (Dimarzio Area 58/67/61), Gibson ES-135, Genz Benz BP-30, Fender HR Deville 4X10 and Princeton Reverb RI.