monty Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hello has anyone tried mounting this Wilkinson roller bridge on a Wildkat? http://store.guitarfetish.com/wibrrobrlost.html This guitar rips but will not stay in tune. thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneBoedker Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 As far as I know, tuning issues are mostly caused by the nut. Does it have the standard nut (which is probably some kind of plastic)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 I put a cheap roller bridge on and it helped the tuning issue 90%...but when using the Bigsby the strings do get stuck in the nut. I have a graphite one on order. I was just wondering about the Wilkinson bridge because the roller bridge I have on now is pretty high. With the bridge as low as it can go right now the action is great, but in case I need it lower in the future I wanted to look into the Wilkinson roller bridge. The wilkinison style seems like the action could be set a little lower than the one I have on there now. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Be careful with the Wilkinson roller bridge, it has a 14" radius as opposed to the Kat's 12" fretboard radius, meaning the strings won't match the curve of the fretboard perfectly. Up to you whether you can live with that. Other than that, I hear it's a reasonably good bridge. I can also recommend String Saver saddles; I have a set on my Bigsby'd Explorer and the tuning is rock-solid after pushing the bar to the fretboard. Regarding ReneBoedker's comment, the bridge plays a major part in Bigsby tuning stability, on a regular TOM bridge the strings can easily bind at the bridge saddles as they slide across them and not return to pitch correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvar Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 I have a Wildkat, and I have no tuning issues at all, and I work the bar pretty hard. There are some tricks to keeping a Bigsby in tune, and the total cost is about 10 bucks!, with no nut or bridge replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldhippie Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I have a Wildkat, and I have no tuning issues at all, and I work the bar pretty hard. There are some tricks to keeping a Bigsby in tune, and the total cost is about 10 bucks!, with no nut or bridge replacement. Hi Marvar, I have my Wildkat for app. 2 years now and also had no big problems with tuning. Although I use the Bigsby not that much. 2 weeks ago I changed the nut to a TUSQ XL and I would say it´s a better sound. You talked about some tricks..........what tricks do you mean??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Krashpad Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Hi Marvar, I have my Wildkat for app. 2 years now and also had no big problems with tuning. Although I use the Bigsby not that much. 2 weeks ago I changed the nut to a TUSQ XL and I would say it´s a better sound. You talked about some tricks..........what tricks do you mean??? +1 What are these "tricks" of which you speak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Roller bridges sound like a good idea in theory, but I have not been impressed with the ones I've tried. With all of the moving parts, they are tone and sustain-suckers. On two of my Bigsby guitars (Gretsch 5120 and Robelli ES-500), I replaced the standard TOM or AOM with a Tru-Arc Rocking Bar Bridge, which I would HIGHLY recommend over a roller bridge any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Roller bridges sound like a good idea in theory, but I have not been impressed with the ones I've tried. With all of the moving parts, they are tone and sustain-suckers. On two of my Bigsby guitars (Gretsch 5120 and Robelli ES-500), I replaced the standard TOM or AOM with a Tru-Arc Rocking Bar Bridge, which I would HIGHLY recommend over a roller bridge any day. Ah, but not all roller bridges are created equal. Wilkinson Roller Bridge Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heretic Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Ah, but not all roller bridges are created equal. Wilkinson Roller Bridge Thread ...or the $21.95 triple-chromed brass GFS roller DROP-IN that I have on my US Bigsby'd Epi '56 Gold Top. Excellent craftsmanship. Rock solid with sustain for days. Did I mention it's under 22 dollars? _heretic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubyred Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I put a Wilkinson roller bridge on my Wildkat and Gretsch after reading the review by Rastus - all good here on both . Direct replacement on both - swapped posts, added bridge, set it up - intonation is a little fiddly , original threaded bushes on both, but it does come with its own if you want to swap the original ones out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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