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Wilkinson roller Tune-O-Matic bridge.

This thing is cool. Unlike most roller bridges, this actually feels nice, has some quality to it. Plus, it can work on ABR or 4mm posts (or 6mm posts if you remove the posts and install the included ones, which should screw in). Also, it's easy to radius!

Setting the radius on this is pretty easy. Get a can of V8, beer, or whatever you normally drink. I use Cherry Coke to get that nice fruity tone. Cut up the can with scissors into little pieces. Superglue a few of them together, drill a hole in it (I used 7/64" bit I think), cut to shape and you now have little aluminum saddle shims that you can fit under the saddles. You want the shims to be as large as possible, so that the saddles can clamp down on them without tilting. Should look like this:



Now you can radius the bridge exactly the way you like it. To achieve 7.25" radius on the bottoms of the strings (any set), use no shim on the E strings, 2 thickness on the A and B strings, and 3 thickness on the D and G strings.

Because this thing fits on all kinds of posts, it should be pretty easy to use this thing on a Mustang or Jaguar with no mods. Just get some M4 or 6-32 ABR posts with the thumbwheels (you might not even need one, you might just end up clamping it all the way down to the pickguard/tailpiece).



Wrap the posts with some tape so they fit snug (don't wrap the bottom, or you break string grounding), drop into the holes, drop bridge on posts. Now you have a non-moving roller bridge instead of a rocking bridge. A well set-up Mustang bridge definitely doesn't work any worse in terms of tuning stability, but the tone changes quite a bit with this bridge. The amount of energy transfer is quite astounding with this bridge, really. The third bridge stuff just comes to life, there is so much more volume. It will completely change the character of your guitar, you might even like it. I probably wouldn't do it on my only Mustang, but if I had two (and I do!)? Absolutely.

Amazing science! I had a similar idea for this bridge using washers but yours is way better. I never got to it because the one I got has got three rollers that don't roll

That's a shame. Wilkinson stuff generally works pretty well.

Yeah I emailed guitarfetish and they said sok it in Wd 40! Which I'm doing right now so I can use this idea on my jag stang project. Ever since I put a roller on my jaguar I'm completely sold on roller bridges where the trem is separate. Just put the roller bridge legs directly in the existing thimbles and they fit pretty snug but stand way too high. I'll probably install the actual thimbles I think, bit of drilling and possibly widening the holes in the plate but not a huge job.

Needs Pepsi for true vintage m@j@.

Awesome idea! I've had great luck with the Schaller-style roller bridge (which is fixed at around 12", most likely) on the Classic Player Jaguar and Jazzmaster, but only because I'm one of those assholes that prefers a 9.5" radius neck.

I had one of those bridges with tiny little rollers on my Bigsby equipped Retro-H Deluxe, but I swapped it out for a GraphTech ResoMax NV and largely, I much prefer the GraphTech. I would have stuck the GraphTech NV on the Cobain Mustang, too, if the Wilkinson didn't work out so well.

Dave wrote:Yeah I emailed guitarfetish and they said sok it in Wd 40! Which I'm doing right now so I can use this idea on my jag stang project. Ever since I put a roller on my jaguar I'm completely sold on roller bridges where the trem is separate. Just put the roller bridge legs directly in the existing thimbles and they fit pretty snug but stand way too high. I'll probably install the actual thimbles I think, bit of drilling and possibly widening the holes in the plate but not a huge job.

That's probably a good idea. I think with a separate trem, roller bridge is a good idea, but I also love GraphTech TUSQ XL saddles, I think they're better than roller saddles, honestly. I'm waiting for a Mastery Bridge to get here so I can compare it with what I have elsewhere. The Cobain Mustang is great until you try to actually use the whammy and then it's terrible. A more suitable bridge would have fixed that issue.

can i put these tune o matic directly into the holes of an ordinary mustang without doing any extra adjustment?

avj wrote:...but only because I'm one of those assholes that prefers a 9.5" radius neck.

Welcome to the club!

9,5" and medium jumbos for me!

weeping_moon wrote:can i put these tune o matic directly into the holes of an ordinary mustang without doing any extra adjustment?

You need ABR posts and thumbwheels to do it and you'll need a neck shim. But no drill necessary.

Pics! Notice the little bits of shim poking out from under the saddles:



I adjusted the neck angle to get just under 4/64" action with the bridge flush against the body, as that provides the most stability and sustain:



I'm using black 30mm M4-0.7 set screws I ordered from Amazon instead of stock posts. Hex head so it's easy to screw in and out.

honeyiscool wrote:Pics! Notice the little bits of shim poking out from under the saddles:



I adjusted the neck angle to get just under 4/64" action with the bridge flush against the body, as that provides the most stability and sustain:



I'm using black 30mm M4-0.7 set screws I ordered from Amazon instead of stock posts. Hex head so it's easy to screw in and out.

i thought you were going to put a tom into youre white mustang. why did you change the tune o matic on the cobain mustang?

I'm changing that one to a Mastery bridge, actually.

The stock bridge on the Cobain is OK if you never use the whammy but for me, all it does it go flatter and flatter. I think it's because I don't use the whammy properly, I just hit the tailpiece once in a while with my hands. As a result, I always have trouble with it coming back to center because I never return it to the same place.

honeyiscool wrote:I'm changing that one to a Mastery bridge, actually.

The stock bridge on the Cobain is OK if you never use the whammy but for me, all it does it go flatter and flatter. I think it's because I don't use the whammy properly, I just hit the tailpiece once in a while with my hands. As a result, I always have trouble with it coming back to center because I never return it to the same place.

Would installing a Mastery bridge on the KC Mustang require any drilling? I would like to install a bridge that can be adjusted easily to the radius of the neck of the guitar.

Thanks!

Great post Honey! I love roller bridges. Never understood why more companies don't use them?

That's the bridge I had on my Jaguar, it's a beast of a bridge.

ARgh, sorry for necroposting, but just to clarify, would this fit into a VM Jaguar?

The Wilkinson and Schaller roller bridges are a 14' bridge radius, not 12".

The post spacing on the bridges is 74mm = 2.91339 inches.

If you have a 9.5 or 7.5 fretboard radius on your neck, then shimming these bridges is a good idea to compensate the difference.