I think it sounds a little thinner with new trem… but it’s so slight. Great mechanical upgrade for sure. Also, I thought the PT trem only came in the 2pt setup. Glad to see it’s a drop in replacement for the vintage strat bridge!
Get plumbers Teflon tape and rap it around the threads of the arm ... Works great cheap fix .. Teflon tape costs $ one dollar... I have been doing this for decades..
I love these shows on youtube for keeping me distracted away from other media I avoid at all cost; keep em comming! My take is that if anyone buys a custom shop to then upgrade, they really should have gotten a squier classic vibe to play guitar, instead of the boojee boojee of things! 😂
Hey Paul, Trev produces some remarkable hardware. It’s got undoubtedly advantages vs. the classic Fender trem, like the push-in handle and the positioning of the arm. Tonewise, I’d say the traditional trem sounds more Stratty and the Wilkinson more modern. I have put a spring in the cavity where the arm screws in and I set the floating in a way I don’t have tuning issues. The spring also holds the arm in position. I have a Wilkinson on another Strat: it’s very smooth and stays well in tune, even without the locking screws. Cheers
Paul! I was literally just on Callahan’s site spec out a new bridge from them. because I prefer the pop in arm they offer. Thanks for this video. Right on time brother
The first clean comparison levels sound different, and I actually prefer the fender tone. Wilkinson is brighter, but the Fender is more balanced and classic sounding. I've got a Wilkinson knife edge on an old Yamaha with Texas Specials however - sounds great with CTS pots.
While you're at it get some Highwood saddles to get it perfect 😉 The Wilkinson will not last forever regarding the tension screw though, there is very little mass for the screw to hold on to, it will wear over time and get loose, it is however cheap to replace. Alternatively you can get new replacement blocks if needed. Axes'r'us carry them. Gotoh has a more solid solution but is more costly.
Paul, Thanks, this is a great video. I've listened carefully but have to admit I can't tell the difference in sound. No matter though. You had a great sound to start with, got a much more useful whammy and didn't hurt anything else. Likewise, you didn't hurt potential resale value with this direct screw-in replacement. Well done! I appreciate the effort you put into making the before/after comparison fair.
Great sounding bridge. I would highly recommend the Highwood contoured vintage saddles - these don't have the protruding height adjustable screws poking in your hand.
Hate that problems with strat trem arms! Replaced one of mine with a Callaham bridge...Thank you Jesus! Trem arm is snug baby. Might try one of these on my other Start. Thanks for the video Paul.
Honestly I prefer the original term system sound soooo Strat to me mellower than the new one which sounds for me too zingy just my opinion beautiful guitar though too great channel and playing as ever
I agree. Sound wise. I have a custom shop Stratocaster that teem is perfect and the arm doesn’t go out of tune and is just fine. IMHO But thanks for this exploration!✌️❤️
Hi Paul! Great video! The Wilkinson is definitely a litte brighter, but both sound great. I have a Schecter with a totally different Wilkinson bridge on it and it sustains forever! I'm sure it 's the saddles and the neck is roasted maple, which I think also makes a difference! I've learned a lot today! Thanks!
Great vid! Couldn’t hear a massive difference. But the mechanical function improved obviously. I did a similar mod on my son’s American Standard, whammy bar function was night and day.
I hate that wobbly arm on a screw in arm too. I've often used tape in the past around the threads to pack it out to stop the wobble. I've got a Callaham unit on my Eric Johnson, partly because I had it sat spare at that time, but mostly because the stock EJ has a really soft bar that bends and the Callahan has the 'virtual pop in' arm where the block has a PTFE collar to support the arm which helps to stop that wobble. I have added Wilkinson's locking saddles to it for tuning stability though; they're great
Paul, you should check out Highwood saddles if you haven’t already!. It’s the next upgrade. Vintage style saddle but fixes the height adjustment screw issues. Really great improvement!
I put that system on my MIJ Aerodyne Strat - a little tricky because of the way the body is carved but it stays in tune and the arm stays where I want it. I have adjusted the float and intonation twice just to fine tune it but it is aces now. I have the Vega trem on my other strats and would recommend the Vega over any others.
ace. i have a '60 relic strat, my main guitar - never had an issue with tuning giving the wammy loads of abuse! and always us the spring trick, takes time but works - though is a ball ache! do prefer the silver sky bridge, push in! very tempted to give this a go, looks and sounds great, but worried it will look super shiny on my relic'd guitar......hmm!
There's a definite sparkle with the new trem although that's likely to be due in part (or whole) to new strings for the "after" playing. From a functional perspective, the Wilkinson is a clear winner. Anything that enhances playability and tuning stability is well worth the effort. I'll be sticking with the Vega-Trem though because I already have four of them. When the Suhrs that I've ordered arrive in a few months, I'll get a chance to try the Wilkinson for myself and make a judgement.
The difference to me sounded like new strings, bit more crisp and brighter. I have a killer partscaster that came with a Wilkinson bridge, it’s far superior to OEM, and performance wise it’s on par with the Callaham bridge. The finish on the Callaham looked superior, but feel and performance were equal. Once you’ve played a vibrato arm that has no play in it, you can’t go back. Really nice control over subtle, voice like vibrato in the way Dave gilmour does
I can't hear any significant difference between the two. However, if it is functioning better than before it was well worth it in my opinion! I may have to consider changing my Eric Johnson Strat to one of those as I'm not enjoying the feel of the stock trem.
I have install the little «fender spring» inside the hole of the vibrato before screwing . Let me tell you that the whammy bar is very stiff ( like on a floyd rose) and i still have more turns left . Don't know what happened with yours . Maybe it was defect.
I couldn’t hear a difference to be honest. I’ve found Some guitars benefit sonically & others don’t sound different. But it’s more the feel. I have a 79 spec (from 1980) vintage Strat that had a hard life before I bought it & it’s trem was in poor shape as well as the inherent 70s quality. I replaced it with a cheap Wilkinson and definitely improved the sound & especially the feel. It’s slightly narrower which made the difference in feel. I don’t use the tremolo however so it’s screwed tight. I also have a vintera Strat which I struggled to set up. I replaced that with a fender vintage narrow (as in the American Special & Performer) trem wi a steel block. Didn’t make much difference in sound but I can definitely feel the improvement with much les buzzing & rattling. I can get a decent action with it now. It’s worth modding expensive guitars if you feel it’s worth it. Especially if it’s completely reversible. I also have aGibson ES345 I replaced the knobs to lower profile ones, nylon saddles and treble bleeds.definitely helped me!
Are you sure you didn't change anything else but the bridges ? The first was much brighter but not really "Straty" if that is a word, It almost sounded like a PRS. I prefer the second (original) much more but I am really picky about Strat tone.
I just buy Fender Professional II and it have almost same bridge like your Wilkinson. Just push inside and on the backside is screw to fix tremolo arm. It works much better then the older bridges. But your sound is phenomenal. Please, which amp and pedals have you used for this video? Thank you very much 👍
That sounded fantastic with both tremolos. May be the Fender had more bass but it's really close. What amp did you use? I'd love to get a tone like that. I just bought a 2nd hand Japanese strat that looks just like yours. I love that colour with rosewood fretboard.
For me it's all about the mods. What's the fun in having the same old wore out crap everyone else has? I don't fix things that aren't broken, but my tolerance for inferior parts has become increasingly slight. I very rarely keep anything I own stock after it fails or needs maintenance. Having hot rodded gear divides the men from the boys. I've spent the majority of my life figuring ways to make just about anything "better" with a little extra money, and a lot of extra time.
The push-in arm keeps the arm rotated where you want it but after repeated back and forth rotation does it slowly work its way out? I've had 2 offsets with the Jazzmaster style vibrato. The original push-in one SUCKED and kept falling out. I replaced it with a Mastery which has a notch in the end of the arm that sort of pops into place, and then you can adjust the collet tightness for the rotation resistance. It looked like that arm was completely smooth and I personally would shy away from any vibrato arm that doesn't pop into place like a Mastery.
I have a 1999 American Traditional Strat. I swapped the trem out a number of years back to a Callaham bridge, put some new pups in and new blended wiring electrics which utilise the lower tone pot for blending any combination of pups. Anyway, the Callaham trem & bridge is far superior to the stock bridge I had in the guitar. The stability is way better and so is the tone and sustain.... The latter could be the pups & wiring as well of course, along with a bit of placebo effect maybe... Whenever you spend money on upgrading, you convince yourself it's far superior to the original, whether it is or isn't. The quality of Callaham stuff is undeniable, though.🙂
Hard for me to tell how much it affected the sound, but I hate screw-in trem arms more than anything else on a guitar. Cheap or expensive, you should have your guitar you want it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ On the polar opposite end of the spectrum I recently picked up a squier affinity strat for $50. Replaced the pickups, electronics, and pickguard, did a full setup, and it plays and sounds amazing. Last piece left I'm not happy with is the bridge, and I was debating whether to bother replacing it. This video may have pushed me over the edge.
Two things to consider when changing the bridge on an Affinity Strat:- 1. The neck is narrower than most Strats and so is the string spacing on the bridge. 2. The body is thinner so most sustain blocks protrude beyond the body! Guitarfetish used to do one that came with a short 35mm steel block and quite reasonably priced! I fitted one to a Partscaster I built based on a 2005 Indonesian Alder Affinity body, but used genuine Fender bent steel saddles. made a big improvement, although still a screw in arm!
There’s 2 points where the string resonates on the guitar, the bridge and the nut. The nut becomes null as soon as the guitar is frettedIt’s not a statement that assumes a lot, it’s fact.
@@TheStudioRats you are confusing concepts those two points are areas that secure the string , tone is a audio output influenced by the frequency response. In reality your speaker is the only place you hear any audio output and the string vibration helps to influence the frequency base on its vibration. String vibrates, magnet in pickup gets influenced creating a back emf in the pickup which all your equipment (amp) to keep it simple will push to your speaker and create the sound your hear. Nothing else in the guitar determines tone it is just a platform to secure the strings and pickups. BTW you didn’t answer my comment directly you inserted something you felt you knew and this a fact. Your understanding of acoustics and electro mechanical systems is not good. The question is, how in the heck do you even know where snappyness comes from without doing a design of experiments? You don’t know,what up you think you know.
But how old were the strings pre bridge swap? Could it be new strings versus old? Interesting video though. Sounded slightly brighter after the change but could be new strings. Were they same type and make too? I bought a Strat ultra because of the bridge. I have always hated Strat trems but love prs trems
I was wondering the same thing. I heard what I thought could be a bit more "pick articulation" brightness, I guess I would call it, possibly from the different material in the new bridge block, saddles, or newer/different strings. It would be good to know about the string change type and make like you posed here.
@@TheStudioRats Cool, thank you for the information Paul. I can't get enough of your playing and your video content. Happy to be a subscriber. I often find myself watching one after another of your videos for your tasteful playing style and the information that you impart. I am a big fan of Wilkinson replacement parts.
Love your work Paul and your guitar playing is exceptional but turning a custom shop guitar into a parts caster is just mad. Once you mod it, it is no-longer a custom shop guitar it is a parts caster. It's your money and your guitar. I would use a mexican guitar for this purpose as you can now get one in a 50's 60's or 70's spec. If you want to sell that custom shop as a custom shop you will have to disclose the fact that you modded it and take the loss in value on the chin. Sale of goods act tells you all you need to know on that
I completely agree and thanks Ace. this is a series of vids seeing if it’s worth turning a guitar I don’t like into something I do. If I was doing this for a personal project i wouldn’t go any where near a parts caster as they are never going to be worth the money or time you put into it. It’s a fun project I hope🤞.
Nahh not really...an expensive guitar is supposed to be a finished project and the money you spend on it should reflect that....i would prefer to get a mid to low priced guitar and retrofit all the expensive goodies like for example kinman pickup sets,hipshot tuners,the vega trem(the closest thing to floyd but for strats),the obsidian wiring solderless harness(blender mod style) and i would have an absolutely killer guitar that ll cost barely one third of the overpriced expensive one while still having better parts.......
I know some people are very concerned with Custom shop Fenders being true to the era, but at the same time, many people prefer 'player grade' guitars, meaning they make any improvements that make the guitar more bulletproof and reliable. As an older player, this to me is the sensible approach, if you actually go out and play gigs. I have a 1994 40th anniversary Strat, which now has Kinman AVN blues noiseless pickups, a great upgrade I did years ago, but i have that same annoyance with the trem rattle, especially after many years of use. i may well look at this Trem unit, or the Callaham. Thanks for your very helpful videos.
I had a 1990-ish Fender Stratocaster Plus and it had a WIlkinson tremelo system and I hated it. It had some kind of contra spring or something that I did not like. It never stayed in tune. I remember that I had to rip out as much as I could of the Wilkinson system with it's 3 springs, and put in 5 springs, like EVH taught me to do, back in 1978, before he changed over to the Floyd Rose Tone Killing System. He says he is a ton chaser. He chased it right out of the building. He sounded so much better in 78, than in 79 at the Texas Jam 1 and 2. In 1978, when he played the super fast tremelo picking way up high during Eruption, you could hear a wave bomb if silence that hit the people in front of the stage, and did like a wave of silence all the way to the back. You could hear a wave of "SHHHH" go from the front stage of the Cotton Bowl, to the back where the end zone seats were. After the wave of "SHHH", there was not one person even breathing. You could hear a pin drop, but no one was dropping nothing. All you could hear in the spaces in the solo where he stops playing for a second was a few seaguls, and the chains on the flag poles doing a tiny bit of clanging. It was the most eerie thing I have ever felt.
Not watching, but from the title, if you're buying a custom shop guitar and paying way too much money, you shouldn't have to anything to it. Buy a cheaper guitar or build one and get what you want from the get go.
I think it sounds a little thinner with new trem… but it’s so slight. Great mechanical upgrade for sure.
Also, I thought the PT trem only came in the 2pt setup.
Glad to see it’s a drop in replacement for the vintage strat bridge!
Yes the PT trem is two saddle, but you can get the saddles separately
Get plumbers Teflon tape and rap it around the threads of the arm ...
Works great cheap fix ..
Teflon tape costs $ one dollar...
I have been doing this for decades..
I love these shows on youtube for keeping me distracted away from other media I avoid at all cost; keep em comming! My take is that if anyone buys a custom shop to then upgrade, they really should have gotten a squier classic vibe to play guitar, instead of the boojee boojee of things! 😂
Hey Paul, Trev produces some remarkable hardware. It’s got undoubtedly advantages vs. the classic Fender trem, like the push-in handle and the positioning of the arm. Tonewise, I’d say the traditional trem sounds more Stratty and the Wilkinson more modern. I have put a spring in the cavity where the arm screws in and I set the floating in a way I don’t have tuning issues. The spring also holds the arm in position. I have a Wilkinson on another Strat: it’s very smooth and stays well in tune, even without the locking screws. Cheers
Paul! I was literally just on Callahan’s site spec out a new bridge from them. because I prefer the pop in arm they offer. Thanks for this video. Right on time brother
Nice one.
The first clean comparison levels sound different, and I actually prefer the fender tone. Wilkinson is brighter, but the Fender is more balanced and classic sounding. I've got a Wilkinson knife edge on an old Yamaha with Texas Specials however - sounds great with CTS pots.
While you're at it get some Highwood saddles to get it perfect 😉 The Wilkinson will not last forever regarding the tension screw though, there is very little mass for the screw to hold on to, it will wear over time and get loose, it is however cheap to replace. Alternatively you can get new replacement blocks if needed. Axes'r'us carry them. Gotoh has a more solid solution but is more costly.
Paul,
Thanks, this is a great video. I've listened carefully but have to admit I can't tell the difference in sound. No matter though. You had a great sound to start with, got a much more useful whammy and didn't hurt anything else. Likewise, you didn't hurt potential resale value with this direct screw-in replacement. Well done! I appreciate the effort you put into making the before/after comparison fair.
Me too. Old aviation ears 😂
Cheers Allan.
Great sounding bridge. I would highly recommend the Highwood contoured vintage saddles - these don't have the protruding height adjustable screws poking in your hand.
Without watching the video and to insert my internet opinion - Sure do what you feel is best for you! 🙌 😅
You got a snapper and brighter sound. Nice upgrade
I’d like to see you change the saddles …🤘🏻
Used Wilkinson Tremolo on a couple of builds and always been happy with results. The arm fix is so much better than traditional.
Are you going to have a PT. 2? I liked the video.
Yes, I’m doing a pickup swap soon.
Hate that problems with strat trem arms! Replaced one of mine with a Callaham bridge...Thank you Jesus! Trem arm is snug baby. Might try one of these on my other Start. Thanks for the video Paul.
Honestly I prefer the original term system sound soooo Strat to me mellower than the new one which sounds for me too zingy just my opinion beautiful guitar though too great channel and playing as ever
I agree. Sound wise. I have a custom shop Stratocaster that teem is perfect and the arm doesn’t go out of tune and is just fine. IMHO
But thanks for this exploration!✌️❤️
I need to replace a couple with this. Especially my 60s CV. Great video.
Hi Paul! Great video! The Wilkinson is definitely a litte brighter, but both sound great. I have a Schecter with a totally different Wilkinson bridge on it and it sustains forever! I'm sure it 's the saddles and the neck is roasted maple, which I think also makes a difference! I've learned a lot today! Thanks!
I think it certainly added value to the guitar & tone
Great vid! Couldn’t hear a massive difference. But the mechanical function improved obviously. I did a similar mod on my son’s American Standard, whammy bar function was night and day.
Would love to see video with those locking saddles
I hate that wobbly arm on a screw in arm too. I've often used tape in the past around the threads to pack it out to stop the wobble. I've got a Callaham unit on my Eric Johnson, partly because I had it sat spare at that time, but mostly because the stock EJ has a really soft bar that bends and the Callahan has the 'virtual pop in' arm where the block has a PTFE collar to support the arm which helps to stop that wobble. I have added Wilkinson's locking saddles to it for tuning stability though; they're great
The trem arm difference is worth it!
Did you need to be concerned with string spacing being different?
the wilkinson bridge sounded shinier to me ....
Thinner plate I guess.
Plumbers' PTFE thread tape works great on the screwed in type twang handles but I certainly prefer the Wilkinson style.
I put a Vega trem on m'y squier classic Vibe 50 , its awesome .
Paul, you should check out Highwood saddles if you haven’t already!.
It’s the next upgrade. Vintage style saddle but fixes the height adjustment screw issues. Really great improvement!
Will do cheers M
I put that system on my MIJ Aerodyne Strat - a little tricky because of the way the body is carved but it stays in tune and the arm stays where I want it. I have adjusted the float and intonation twice just to fine tune it but it is aces now. I have the Vega trem on my other strats and would recommend the Vega over any others.
ace. i have a '60 relic strat, my main guitar - never had an issue with tuning giving the wammy loads of abuse! and always us the spring trick, takes time but works - though is a ball ache! do prefer the silver sky bridge, push in! very tempted to give this a go, looks and sounds great, but worried it will look super shiny on my relic'd guitar......hmm!
I want the Pete Thorn sign soooooo bad
Sounded great Paul with new one. How’d it feel to play. Love to hear the saddles. Nice guitar and as usual great playing. Thank you
Kimball 👍
Hi Paul, thanks for the video. I hope to see more of your modding videos. Do you need locking tuners to keep tremolo system in tune?
There's a definite sparkle with the new trem although that's likely to be due in part (or whole) to new strings for the "after" playing. From a functional perspective, the Wilkinson is a clear winner. Anything that enhances playability and tuning stability is well worth the effort. I'll be sticking with the Vega-Trem though because I already have four of them. When the Suhrs that I've ordered arrive in a few months, I'll get a chance to try the Wilkinson for myself and make a judgement.
Nice one Jeff, let me know what you think when they arrive.
It's because of the bridge plate thickness.
The difference to me sounded like new strings, bit more crisp and brighter.
I have a killer partscaster that came with a Wilkinson bridge, it’s far superior to OEM, and performance wise it’s on par with the Callaham bridge. The finish on the Callaham looked superior, but feel and performance were equal. Once you’ve played a vibrato arm that has no play in it, you can’t go back. Really nice control over subtle, voice like vibrato in the way Dave gilmour does
Sounds so much better. You would think at 4k fender could design a decent bridge.
“Drifting In the Dark”. 👍
I can't hear any significant difference between the two. However, if it is functioning better than before it was well worth it in my opinion! I may have to consider changing my Eric Johnson Strat to one of those as I'm not enjoying the feel of the stock trem.
I have install the little «fender spring» inside the hole of the vibrato before screwing . Let me tell you that the whammy bar is very stiff ( like on a floyd rose) and i still have more turns left . Don't know what happened with yours . Maybe it was defect.
If its a player grade I've no problem changing whatever needs changing. Really great condition aside of refrets I'd probably leave it be.
I’ve modded my CS ‘63 Journeyman relic with a Freeway 10 way switch…..5 new awesome tones 🤘
I couldn’t hear a difference to be honest. I’ve found Some guitars benefit sonically & others don’t sound different. But it’s more the feel.
I have a 79 spec (from 1980) vintage Strat that had a hard life before I bought it & it’s trem was in poor shape as well as the inherent 70s quality. I replaced it with a cheap Wilkinson and definitely improved the sound & especially the feel. It’s slightly narrower which made the difference in feel.
I don’t use the tremolo however so it’s screwed tight.
I also have a vintera Strat which I struggled to set up. I replaced that with a fender vintage narrow (as in the American Special & Performer) trem wi a steel block. Didn’t make much difference in sound but I can definitely feel the improvement with much les buzzing & rattling. I can get a decent action with it now.
It’s worth modding expensive guitars if you feel it’s worth it. Especially if it’s completely reversible. I also have aGibson ES345 I replaced the knobs to lower profile ones, nylon saddles and treble bleeds.definitely helped me!
The Wilkie sounds brighter, modern. I don't know, mate; it has your Custom Shop Strat sounding like a MiM 😮!
I’m wondering if just changing the Saddles would have achieved the same tuning stability (if they are even interchangeable)
They are interchangeable l.
Are you sure you didn't change anything else but the bridges ? The first was much brighter but not really "Straty" if that is a word, It almost sounded like a PRS. I prefer the second (original) much more but I am really picky about Strat tone.
That Strat has IT. Stratiness in abundance. 😅
I just buy Fender Professional II and it have almost same bridge like your Wilkinson. Just push inside and on the backside is screw to fix tremolo arm. It works much better then the older bridges.
But your sound is phenomenal. Please, which amp and pedals have you used for this video?
Thank you very much 👍
Cheers Mr D. I’m using a tonex pedal
I've been wanting to do the same, I hate the screw in arm and it's always too tight or too loose.
Slightly brighter but ever so slight to my ears
Paul, I love your guitar tone man, what are you playing through.? and will you share your settings.?
Thanks Ronni I’m using a tonex pedal with our presets available on the studio rats website:
i prefer using vega trem
That sounded fantastic with both tremolos. May be the Fender had more bass but it's really close.
What amp did you use? I'd love to get a tone like that.
I just bought a 2nd hand Japanese strat that looks just like yours. I love that colour with rosewood fretboard.
Cheers Andrew, it was a tone x pedal
For me it's all about the mods. What's the fun in having the same old wore out crap everyone else has? I don't fix things that aren't broken, but my tolerance for inferior parts has become increasingly slight. I very rarely keep anything I own stock after it fails or needs maintenance. Having hot rodded gear divides the men from the boys. I've spent the majority of my life figuring ways to make just about anything "better" with a little extra money, and a lot of extra time.
4:35 Closet Classic?
Thanks Max, it’s actually a Lush closet classic.
@@TheStudioRats Love the color
it does sound a little crispier on top.
The push-in arm keeps the arm rotated where you want it but after repeated back and forth rotation does it slowly work its way out? I've had 2 offsets with the Jazzmaster style vibrato. The original push-in one SUCKED and kept falling out. I replaced it with a Mastery which has a notch in the end of the arm that sort of pops into place, and then you can adjust the collet tightness for the rotation resistance. It looked like that arm was completely smooth and I personally would shy away from any vibrato arm that doesn't pop into place like a Mastery.
I presume that to be a Daphne Blue. Boy. That is pretty.
It is Daphne blue.
Normally you won’t, but a CS by F needs always an upgrade and for the price it’s a shame. Like always with fender….
It's mad that a 4 grand guitar would need upgrading
I’d love to se that vid
I have a 1999 American Traditional Strat. I swapped the trem out a number of years back to a Callaham bridge, put some new pups in and new blended wiring electrics which utilise the lower tone pot for blending any combination of pups. Anyway, the Callaham trem & bridge is far superior to the stock bridge I had in the guitar. The stability is way better and so is the tone and sustain.... The latter could be the pups & wiring as well of course, along with a bit of placebo effect maybe... Whenever you spend money on upgrading, you convince yourself it's far superior to the original, whether it is or isn't. The quality of Callaham stuff is undeniable, though.🙂
Hey paul, is the background song now available in spotify?
Yes it is. Search for The Studio Rats.
Hard for me to tell how much it affected the sound, but I hate screw-in trem arms more than anything else on a guitar.
Cheap or expensive, you should have your guitar you want it
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
On the polar opposite end of the spectrum I recently picked up a squier affinity strat for $50. Replaced the pickups, electronics, and pickguard, did a full setup, and it plays and sounds amazing.
Last piece left I'm not happy with is the bridge, and I was debating whether to bother replacing it. This video may have pushed me over the edge.
Two things to consider when changing the bridge on an Affinity Strat:-
1. The neck is narrower than most Strats and so is the string spacing on the bridge.
2. The body is thinner so most sustain blocks protrude beyond the body!
Guitarfetish used to do one that came with a short 35mm steel block and quite reasonably priced!
I fitted one to a Partscaster I built based on a 2005 Indonesian Alder Affinity body, but used genuine Fender bent steel saddles. made a big improvement, although still a screw in arm!
How do you know the Tremolo is the component giving you the snappy tone? It is a statement that assumes a lot.
There’s 2 points where the string resonates on the guitar, the bridge and the nut. The nut becomes null as soon as the guitar is frettedIt’s not a statement that assumes a lot, it’s fact.
@@TheStudioRats you are confusing concepts those two points are areas that secure the string , tone is a audio output influenced by the frequency response. In reality your speaker is the only place you hear any audio output and the string vibration helps to influence the frequency base on its vibration. String vibrates, magnet in pickup gets influenced creating a back emf in the pickup which all your equipment (amp) to keep it simple will push to your speaker and create the sound your hear. Nothing else in the guitar determines tone it is just a platform to secure the strings and pickups. BTW you didn’t answer my comment directly you inserted something you felt you knew and this a fact. Your understanding of acoustics and electro mechanical systems is not good. The question is, how in the heck do you even know where snappyness comes from without doing a design of experiments? You don’t know,what up you think you know.
But how old were the strings pre bridge swap? Could it be new strings versus old? Interesting video though. Sounded slightly brighter after the change but could be new strings. Were they same type and make too?
I bought a Strat ultra because of the bridge. I have always hated Strat trems but love prs trems
I was wondering the same thing. I heard what I thought could be a bit more "pick articulation" brightness, I guess I would call it, possibly from the different material in the new bridge block, saddles, or newer/different strings. It would be good to know about the string change type and make like you posed here.
@@k9er233 they often reply so look forward to the answer. Great guys on this channel
The strings were a week old, and hadn’t really been played, But yes it could of made a slight difference.
@@TheStudioRats Cool, thank you for the information Paul. I can't get enough of your playing and your video content. Happy to be a subscriber. I often find myself watching one after another of your videos for your tasteful playing style and the information that you impart. I am a big fan of Wilkinson replacement parts.
Did you installed new strings on the new bridge or used exact same strings?
Would I be able to fit one of these to a PRS SE Silver Sky ??
You’d need to check with Wilkinson but I don’t see why not.
Most of the tone would come from the saddles, I would think. Could you use the Fender sandals on the Wilkinson?
I guess you could.
@@TheStudioRats I am quite sure saddles replacement will keep organic strat sound. wilkinson sound is on clean thin...
If you have to upgrade a Fender Custom Shop guitar then I don't know what to say.
what color Strat is that? Daphne blue?
It is.
It's weird as the new bridge makes it sound like he's got a Stainless Steel refret, there is more definition with the new bridge.
I agree.
no sound differences for me.
Love your work Paul and your guitar playing is exceptional but turning a custom shop guitar into a parts caster is just mad. Once you mod it, it is no-longer a custom shop guitar it is a parts caster. It's your money and your guitar. I would use a mexican guitar for this purpose as you can now get one in a 50's 60's or 70's spec. If you want to sell that custom shop as a custom shop you will have to disclose the fact that you modded it and take the loss in value on the chin. Sale of goods act tells you all you need to know on that
I completely agree and thanks Ace. this is a series of vids seeing if it’s worth turning a guitar I don’t like into something I do. If I was doing this for a personal project i wouldn’t go any where near a parts caster as they are never going to be worth the money or time you put into it. It’s a fun project I hope🤞.
Nahh not really...an expensive guitar is supposed to be a finished project and the money you spend on it should reflect that....i would prefer to get a mid to low priced guitar and retrofit all the expensive goodies like for example kinman pickup sets,hipshot tuners,the vega trem(the closest thing to floyd but for strats),the obsidian wiring solderless harness(blender mod style) and i would have an absolutely killer guitar that ll cost barely one third of the overpriced expensive one while still having better parts.......
Strat trems aren’t great-- great choice
Which model is this please and do you know if they do an aged version?
Link in the notes.
@@TheStudioRats there’s a few different versions though….
As far as I know there is only one for the vintage 6 screw mount (but I could be wrong) 😀 the unit that I fitted is the WV6R
I know some people are very concerned with Custom shop Fenders being true to the era, but at the same time, many people prefer 'player grade' guitars, meaning they make any improvements that make the guitar more bulletproof and reliable. As an older player, this to me is the sensible approach, if you actually go out and play gigs. I have a 1994 40th anniversary Strat, which now has Kinman AVN blues noiseless pickups, a great upgrade I did years ago, but i have that same annoyance with the trem rattle, especially after many years of use. i may well look at this Trem unit, or the Callaham. Thanks for your very helpful videos.
Anytime Tony.
I tried the floyd rose rail tail, it's ok if you don't have an 8-screw pickguard because it's too big. Would like a wtsg if they were still in stock.
I had a 1990-ish Fender Stratocaster Plus and it had a WIlkinson tremelo system and I hated it. It had some kind of contra spring or something that I did not like. It never stayed in tune. I remember that I had to rip out as much as I could of the Wilkinson system with it's 3 springs, and put in 5 springs, like EVH taught me to do, back in 1978, before he changed over to the Floyd Rose Tone Killing System. He says he is a ton chaser. He chased it right out of the building. He sounded so much better in 78, than in 79 at the Texas Jam 1 and 2. In 1978, when he played the super fast tremelo picking way up high during Eruption, you could hear a wave bomb if silence that hit the people in front of the stage, and did like a wave of silence all the way to the back. You could hear a wave of "SHHHH" go from the front stage of the Cotton Bowl, to the back where the end zone seats were. After the wave of "SHHH", there was not one person even breathing. You could hear a pin drop, but no one was dropping nothing. All you could hear in the spaces in the solo where he stops playing for a second was a few seaguls, and the chains on the flag poles doing a tiny bit of clanging. It was the most eerie thing I have ever felt.
People do it all the time.
If I could afford it I would get the vega term , it seems to be the dogs b,,,,,,,,,s .
Where ever you got your information about the Vega-Trem, they weren't lying!! It's sensational!
Wilkinson sounds better.
Why wouldn't it be worth???
Not watching, but from the title, if you're buying a custom shop guitar and paying way too much money, you shouldn't have to anything to it. Buy a cheaper guitar or build one and get what you want from the get go.