Swapping out Fender Ultra bridge for Wilkinson bridge

sjo89

Hi all,

wondering if anyone has swapped out their Fender 2-point trem for a Wilkinson WVS50IIK? Can it be a straight swap or do i need to do some mods/routing?

thanks 

ICBM

It’s a straight swap as far as I know - the VS100 is. Why do you want to?

My experience is that the Fender bridge sounds much better - fuller, with more sustain and less warble.

Funkfingers

The WVS50ii is a (relative) economy model compared to the Fender.

The old VS-100 Powerbridge would be an understandable change for a guitarist requiring pseudo acoustic sounds now and again. 

The only feature on the Fender bridge that I can imagine anyone wanting to change is its solid stainless steel saddles with offset intonation screws. Even then, that would only be to have Callaham stamped steel saddles instead.

If you find the tone of the Fender Stratocaster Ultra unsatisfactory, I suggest that you look towards other features rather than blame the vibrato.

strtdv

If you want to spend £60 upgrading the bridge you could change the saddles to bent steel ones rather than the cast ones that are stock, but I can't see it making much difference to the tone. 

I'd be looking at replacing the noiseless pickups if I wasn't happy with the tone.

ICBM

strtdv said:

If you want to spend £60 upgrading the bridge you could change the saddles to bent steel ones rather than the cast ones that are stock, but I can't see it making much difference to the tone. 

I'd be looking at replacing the noiseless pickups if I wasn't happy with the tone.

Not if it’s the original USA Std/Deluxe type bridge - the intonation screws are offset to one side. I’m not sure there are any bent-steel replacements for those (but could be wrong).

Anyway, I completely agree that despite popular myth these bridges sound excellent and are not the cause of the thinner tone the guitars are often thought to have - it’s the pickups and the TBX tone control.

I’ve actually replaced the Wilkinson bridge on a Patrick Eggle Berlin with the Fender one, which hugely improved the tone.

strtdv

Callaham make a set with offset adjustment screws specifically for the American Standard series guitars, Chandlers stock them in the UK. 

https://ccgx.co.uk/product/callaham-stratocaster-saddles/

Funkfingers

The Fender Ultra and Deluxe bridges have machined-from-solid stainless steel saddles rather than the sintered powder ones.

sjo89

Much prefer the trem bar insert on Wilkinson. I have to tighten lug nut to insane tension on fender to stop any wiggle, after which I can’t get it out again without loosening lug nut. Open to suggestions to other bridge upgrades that have superior trem bar inserts?

ICBM

sjo89 said:

Much prefer the trem bar insert on Wilkinson. I have to tighten lug nut to insane tension on fender to stop any wiggle, after which I can’t get it out again without loosening lug nut.

Is the Fender bridge one with a push-in arm that goes in at a right angle to the plate? If so, the one you need is the Fender USA Standard, with the screw-in arm - the socket is drilled at an angle, so you swing the arm round until it’s pointing at the back strap button and sits low to the body, then the guitar will go in the case without taking the arm out. Leo Fender designed it like that.