Wilkinson VSVG Strat Tremolo

This is a replacement for vintage strat tremolos that have the 2 7/32" screw spacing. It adds locking saddles and a wider intonation range, and also a slightly narrower string spacing of 2 1/8 ". I replaced the original tremolo in my MIJ Fender stratocaster ('62 RI, E series 1987), fitted with Kinman aVN pickups (which are awesome) and 5 tremolo springs from Raw Vintage.

When I first fitted the tremolo I noticed a slightly better sound just playing acoustically. When I plugged in to my Fender Deluxe Reverb II amp, the full extent of the improvement was immediately apparent. The sound was fantastic and better than expected. The tone was more dynamic and there was a lovely top end tone and sustain that was not there before. I could get the classic strat tones - quacky, twangy, glassy and greasy are words that come to mind. Even my un-guitar educated 14 year-old daughter noticed a difference.

The tremolo fitted in with no problems. The finish and attention to detail are very good. The tremolo works very well, stays in tune well and is very smooth. The greater range of intonation adjustment is great because previously the original bridge did not allow enough adjustment to get the low E string right. It took a while to set up this unit, juggling the spring tension with action and intonation adjustements, but the result was definitely worth it.

Seems very durable.

NA

This product takes Leo Fender's original tremolo design and, having understood thoroughly what makes it good, attempts to improve on it. This it does very well. The result is a unit that does not look radically different from the original, retains all of the good mojo, and improves it.

Brand new, fully adjustable upgrade trememo bridge for Strats

Sounds great. Installed two of them on two Mexi-strats, they dramatically improved sound... AND now they stay in tune too!

Set up perfectly from the factory. On one of them, the intonation was already almost perfect. It is very well constructed and easy to work with.

Can't imagine it will ever break or give out.

Never used it.

Been playing 25+ yrs. Used to play a lot of Gibsons, now am liking Strats more. I bought 2 mexis so I have something to rock out with, the sound was a bit thin on them. After putting the VSVG on it with it's solid steel tone block, they're really fat and nice sounding, stay in tune even when you use the whammy. Probably would last a hundred years. It's a very well thought out product.

A couple years later, and the specs are still the same as the review below.

You wouldn't think there could be many points of interest on a trem, but there are many, and they seem to have addressed the shortcomings of Fender's stock trem unit.

Installed on my 50's Reissue MIM (nice guitar, btw, but that's another review)

Sound is great. Going out of tune is really a thing of the past, and for grins, I dive my low E to rubber band state and let it pop back up to pitch.
awesome.

It might help that I put a dab of chapstick in the nut slots on restringing, but that's about it.

The main reason I got it was the string spacing. No more falling off the fretboard on the e's.

The push-in trem bar is solid. Had to bend mine ever so slightly to clear the volume knob, but no biggie. plenty stout with adjustable squeezeola on the insert.

Bonus.. the block is far better than the original. The string balls look a little weird, they come right up to the top of the block where you can see them, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything.

Seems every bit as durable as the stock Fender vintage, and probably better.
The string slots are longer so the stress point is gone, the block is stagger drilled (they claim it has a porpoise, who am I to say), and it was drop-in and go.
The intonation was damned near perfect, I couldn't believe that part of it, off to a good start.

Only thing I might have a concern about is the long term durablity of the locking intonation system. Time will tell.

Unknown, no need

I've been playing for a lot longer than I care to admit for as good as I am.

Youtube sure has a way of taking the wind out of your sails.

I give 'em a 10, would definitely buy again for another vintage strat.

Vintage style 6 hole bridge, 2 1/8" string spread, bent steel locking saddles with string indents, 5 + 1 mounting hole arrangement, staggered holes in steel block, pop in arm with tension adjust, nickel plated. Manufactured under license by Gotoh. Purchased new in October 2005 from Stew Mac for less than $100 including shipping. This price includes the bridge with steel block, springs, trem claw, mounting screws, nice arm with white tip, and two allen wrenches and intonation adjust thumbscrew.

The tremolo is a direct retrofit into any strat with the vintage 6 hole route and requires no modification to the instrument to install.

I'm giving this bridge a 10 as it has several significant improvements over a vintage strat tremolo bridge. See below.

The bridge replaced a Callaham vintage strat bridge, which is a fine bridge, but no matter what I did, it would not stay in tune with even moderate bar use. The Wilkinson sounds virtually identical to the Callaham, but has a very slight different string response than the Callaham...if I had to describe it, I would say it was a slight bit more 'immediate', which I attribute to the locking saddles. In any event, the bridge did not detract from the previous great sound of my guitar in any way.

The finish is nickel, and is done well. The very rear of the bridge plate could have been polished a bit better, but that is really nitpicking as you can't even see it without really looking for it. Steel block is painted black, or has a black oxide finish on it. Nicely polished bar, I did bend it a bit to suit my personal needs, and replaced the white tip with and aged white tip. The bar did catch on the volume knob of the guitar initially, but a quick bend solved that no problem, and it now fits my hand like a glove.

Functionally, this bridge flat out stays in tune, even with heavy bar use!!! I am blown away by how well the bridge stays in tune. This bridge has several modifications from a stock 6 hole trem. First, the hole pattern in the baseplate is called 5 + 1, which means 5 of the six holes are oval, with only one of the outside holes being round to locate the bridge. This is claimed to reduce hangup and allow the bridge to return to zero position much better. Additionally, the string holes in the block are staggered front to back and appear to be drilled to different depths as well. This is supposed to improve intonation and reduce string hang up when using the bar. I should mention that I have the bridge set up floating, 1/8" off the face of the guitar. Anyway, these mods do what is claimed, this bridge just blows my Callaham bridge away in tuning stability. I was skeptical at first, but within 5 minutes I was a believer. I can actually completely dump the bar to the point of all the strings being slack, and the guitar returns to tune!!!
The bridge has a smooth silky feel to it, and is a joy to use due to it's ability to stay in tune so well.
The bar is a pop in type, with a small set screw to adjust tension on the arm. Absolutely no play in the arm, yet, it swings free out of the way when not in use.

The only gripe I have about the bridge is that the allen wrench included was too small to adjust the saddle screws. I actually thought the screws had stripped out, but discovered another wrench fit perfectly. I emailed Trev Wilkinson about it and he apologized for the wrong wrench, the screw size was changed at one point and apparently the correct wrench was not included with my unit.

Intonation is adjusted by inserting a thumbscrew (included with the bridge)into the rear of the saddle, and loosening the locking screw for the saddle. When adjusted, simply lock down the saddle screw and remove the adjusting screw and your setup is locked in.

This bridge is built to last, just like any other high quality unit is. I haven't had it on the guitar for several years, so I can't say anything to it's long term durability, but there is no reason to doubt it would hold up, it's solidly built.

Well, it's made by Gotoh, under license from Wilkinson. No warranty that I am aware of. I emailed Trev Wilkinson with a couple of questions and he was very responsive.

Been playing off and on for 35 years. This bridge is a keeper. It flat out blows a vintage strat trem away in tuning stability, sounds good, made well, what's not to like? Plus, you get the narrower string spread. Highly recommended.