As promised, here is my review of the Wilkinson VS100 bridge. I've been meaning to do it for quite some time, and the recent Floyd Rose wars have prompted me to get going. This posting is going to be very long, so I won't do a point-by-point compare and contrast with a Floyd. You'll have to figure that out for yourselves.
I have installed a VS100C on a home-brew Strat (Warmoth compound radius neck and Warmoth swamp ash body) with very good results. As noted in other postings, Carvin has switched to VS100 on their guitars. Godin, from Canada, also offers the VS100 systems.
The Wilkinson VS100 is a new vibrato system from the guy who brought you the roller nut you see on modern Strats, and various other products. (Yes, "vibrato". Tremolo is variation in volume, vibrato is variation in pitch.) It comes in four variations: two-stud or six-screw mounting, and "locking" or "non-locking" arm. I put "locking" in quotes because it is not locking in the sense of "double locking Floyd" as we usually call it, where the string is clamped or locked at both the nut and at the bridge. Rather, the Wilkinson bridge optionally "locks" into place to prevent it from pivoting. The term Wilkinson uses for this is "convertible".
The model designations are as follows:
The VS100 is a very low profile, clean looking unit, made of high quality stainless steel. It's a typical fulcrum spring-balanced knife edge pivoting design, essentially the same as what Strats have had for 40 years, but with many refinements that make it work very well. Despite its small size it is very massive which bodes well for sustain I suppose.
All dimensions including mounting screws or studs are identical to vintage Strat or modern Strat Plus dimensions, so the bridge will retro-fit to any stock Strat.
However, if you want to be able to pull up on the bar more than a little bit, you should have the top surface of the guitar routed a wee bit. Warmoth offers this route on their guitar bodies. I didn't have this done, and as a result I can pull up only about a semitone on an open G string.
All four models offer the following design features.
The saddles are solid bars, rather than the piece of bent stamped metal as on the "vintage" Strat bridge. The side-to-side spacing of the saddles can be adjusted to allow for various neck/nut widths and pickup pole piece alignment. Two allen posts in each saddle adjust individual saddle height. An allen screw through the rear end of the saddle adjusts intonation scale length. An allen screw down through the centre of the saddle clamps it to the bridge plate after all adjustments have been made, for extra stability.
String mounting can be done in several ways because each tunnel in the sustain block contains a wedge and a locking screw. You can use these (or not) as follows:
The "vintage" models use six screws to mount the bridge. Each of the screw holes is knife-edged. This is useful if you're retrofitting onto a vintage instrument that you don't want to modify for stud mounts.
The stud mounts are probably superior. Two studs are sunk into the body, and posts thread into them. The knife edge of the bridge plate pivots on notches in the studs. Overall height adjustment of the bridge is easy by turning the studs in or out. This makes it nice for setting saddle height: lower the bridge until the E strings just barely hit the last fret. Adjust saddles of other strings so they too just barely hit the frets. Now the saddles follow the fingerboard radius perfectly. Raise the bridge to achieve desired action height.
The VS100 and VS100V will suffer from the same pitch detuning problem that any fulcrum based design has: when you bend a string, the bridge pulls forward so the pitch of other strings drops. And if you break a string the guitar is hopelessly out of tune. In general, you might try a Hipshot Tremsetter to combat this problem. However, the stiffer you make the Tremsetter to fight the problem, the stiffer the whammy feel becomes, so subtle movement is difficult to do.
The VS100C/CV with the "convertible" mechanism solves this problem. With these models, you get a new aluminum back plate (that covers the spring cavity) which has a special little receptacle mounted in it. The whammy bar extends right through the bridge where it rests in a well in this receptacle. With the bar at rest position (hanging down just behind the last tone control on a Strat), the bridge cannot move, no matter how much you bend, or even if a string breaks.
Back on top of the bridge, the whammy bar passes through a ramped collar threaded into the bridge plate. A mating collar is attached to the bar. When you swing the bar up from rest position ready to use it, the ramped collar forces the bar to rise up slightly so that it lifts out of the well in the receptacle on the backing plate. This makes it free to pivot. When you're done whammying, release the bar. It swings back down and locks the bridge again.
Thanks to this design, you need no Tremsetter and can use as many or as few springs as you like, getting the feel you want, without the pitch bending problem.
All the stuff here is adjustable: position of the little receptacle, location of the ramped collars (hence height and rest position of the bar), tension of the bar as you swing it into place. And, by the way, *every* adjustment, saddles included, is done with the same size allen key. If you prefer to have the bar stay up in playing position while you're not using it, then you lose the locking ability. It has to swing down to lock the bridge.
Overall I think the VS100 looks great. It's very low profile and clean looking, compared to the huge mass of metal a Floyd-type lumps on the guitar (oops I wasn't supposed to do any Floyd bashing :-). It looks modern but not out of place on a Strat. I chose the gold plated model. The saddles are smooth finish but the bridge plate is crinkle finish. It doesn't look bad, but it might have been nicer if the whole thing were smooth finish. The whammy bar is not gold plated -- it's plain polished stainless steel.
While installing this bridge I spent a great deal of time fiddling with the adjustments. The orientation of the receptacle on the backing plate affects ability to pull up on the bar. Depending on how high you want the bridge off the body, the bar height must be adjusted correspondingly, and if the bridge is low and you use the string clamps in the sustain block, I found the clamps can hit the backing plate while whammying. I solved this by using a file to enlarge the slot in the backing plate.
To make the locking system behave properly, you must precisely set the spring tension to match the string tension. Otherwise, when you swing the bar up and unlock the bridge, the bridge can move forward or backward (depending on string versus spring tension), throwing the tuning off until you release the bar.
I found that at rest, the bar can make a bit of vibrating noise. This is audible acoustically but not through the amp. By slightly adjusting the position of the ramp collar on the bar so that it is a wee bit off from where gravity wants to make the bar rest, this vibration was overcome.
On the plus side, because everything *is* adjustable, you can set it up so everything works. And when you do, it works very well. I freely admit I am *not* a heavy duty whammy user. I don't do dive bombs and Satriani harmonic squeals. I have no need to let the strings flap right out of their nut slots. So I can't comment on the guys who insist that only a true Floyd can withstand full abuse and stay in tune.
For me, I absolutely hate the complexity and limitations (and appearance) of a double locking Floyd setup. In my circle of friends, those with Floyds have far more tuning problems than I've ever had with either a vintage Strat bridge (and expertly cut graphite nut) or with the Wilkinson VS100C.
I'm using ordinary Gotoh precision tuners and a graphite nut. The guitar stays in tune fine for me with moderate whammy use. With locking tuners such as Sperzels, or reverse string loading, and a properly cut nut, the VS100 should do an excellent job.
There has certainly been no degradation of tone with this bridge, unlike some who find that a Floyd makes their Strat sound thin and harsh. I've still got lots of richness and warmth to the tone.
I've tried the reverse stringing idea. I find that with ordinary strings, I can detune and retune only a few times before the windings at the ball end break from the stress of being wrapped around the tuning peg. (Don't use reverse stringing if you're working on your guitar (e.g. installing pickups, adjusting neck) and need to detune and retune a lot!) Maybe the "reinforced" type of strings would help. Also, I'm going to try Fender bullet-end strings instead of the usual ball-end strings, which might help too. Otherwise, reverse stringing seems like a good idea.
It's a joy to have a bridge with full saddle adjustability, a nice light whammy touch (unlike my previous Tremsetter), and rock steady tuning thanks to the "convertible" mechanism.
If you have questions about this bridge I'll try to answer them, although I've used up quite a pile of my spare-USENET-time by typing all this in! :-)
I have now tried both Fender Bullets and Ernie Ball reinforced plain strings, and neither survive any better when reverse mounted. Oh well.
This Wilkinson VS100C bridge is now almost impossible to obtain. Apparently there was some sort of legal hassle several years ago about who had the rights to what, and as a result, they are off the market in North America. Rumour has it you can get them in Europe. There are plenty of variations on the VS100 (without the C) readily available from various suppliers in the USA. Fishman even makes one with a piezo pickup system (VS-50P).
(Sub-addendum) In early 2005 someone kindly pointed me at Trevor Wilkinson's web sites, www.fret-king.com and www.fretkingbitz.com. The latter is for selling parts from the line of Fret King guitars, including the VS100C bridge (among others). It clearly says that the VS100C (priced at 190 British Pounds) is not for sale to the USA.
(Sub-addendum) If you're looking for an alternative that has a feature that locks the bridge in place when not whammying, take a look at the Trem King. I have not used one, but a report I read in summer 2007 seemed promising.
(Sub-addendum) In autumn of 2007 I was in touch with Kate Wilkinson who clarified a few things for me. The USA is the only country in which the VS100C was prohibited. It has remained available elsewhere, e.g. the UK and Canada. And, the legal issue will soon expire, and the VS100C will become available in the USA again.
Lots of people ask how to set these bridges up. The instruction sheet covers three main topics: installation of the bridge into the guitar, options for stringing up the guitar, and setting up the action. There are no instructions about mounting or adjusting the vibrato arm on the bridge. Here are the set-up instructions, reproduced without permission.
Setting up the ultimate action.
"String up the guitar as desired and tune strings taught but not
up to pitch.
Loosen the saddle hold-down screws and adjust string spacing by moving
saddles sideways. Adjust height-adjusting screws on the two "E" string
saddles so they are at their lowest position, flush with the top plate.
Raise or lower the post bearings so both "E" strings are just touching
the last fret on fingerboard. Now adjust the other string saddles
so that these strings are also just touching the last fret.
You have now duplicated the fingerboard's radius perfectly.
Raise the two post bearings to achieve the desired string height (action).
Tune the strings to pitch and float the bridge level with the top of the
guitar by adjusting the tension of the springs and tuning or detuning
strings until the guitar is at pitch and the plate is level.
With the saddle hold-down screws still loose, re-check string spacing
and set intonation. After intonation is set, lock saddles to the top
plate by tightening the hold-down screws. Re-check action and if
necessary adjust with post bearings. Fine adjustments to each string
can be made with the saddle-height adjusting screws.
Always remember to loosen hold-down screw before making any adjustment
to saddles."
Note that if you have the Convertible model, the spring tension should balance the string tension so that there is no change in pitch when you swing the bar to unlock the bridge.
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