2 hole vintage vs. Gotoh Wilkinson

[spauldingrules]

Opinions as to these bridges?  Is there a difference in tonality?  I don't plan on dive-bombing much or anything like that, but how do they stay in tune?  Ease of use as far as intonation / height adjustment?

Thanks!

TS

 

[CD]

Wilkinson is a better all around tremolo than the vintage style Fender bridges and the newer two point bridges IMO.

 

[rahimiiii]

Wilkinson is a better all around tremolo than the vintage style Fender bridges and the newer two point bridges IMO.

I don't like the Gotoh wilkinson because it has a zinc block which sounds really cheap... if it came with a massive steel block it would be the perfect bridge.

 

[m4rk0]

I am fairly sure that the Gotoh Wilkinson has a steel block... I think you may be talking about the Mighty Mite version...

 

[jackthehack]

Here's the English version of the actual Gotoh webpage:

http://www.hosco.co.jp/HOSCO_ENGLISH/Pages/gotoh_catalog2007/gg2007_23.html

I think they're better than the vintage two holes, have not chemically analyzed my blocks but they appear to be steel, rather than zinc, definitely a LOT harder than zinc and they do not sound cheap at all....

 

[rahimiiii]

I am fairly sure that the Gotoh Wilkinson has a steel block... I think you may be talking about the Mighty Mite version...

The VS-100N I got from StewMac had a zinc block. You dont need to chemically analyze the thing to know that, just take a magnet to it. Even the American standards had steel block.

 

[riarojr]

well you could just have the best of both and get a vintage style gotoh which you can find on that hosco site as well.  i've got a vs400 on my warmoth build and feels like a cross between a floyd style and traditional bridge to me.  it moves a bit more freely than the 6 screw on my fender strat which i imagine is one of its selling points, but at the same time i love the feel of the vintage trem because of the higher resistance feel of it.  if all else fails just try and find a place taht sells the VSV series trems on the hosco page.

 

[rahimiiii]

On the 6 hole, remove all but the 2 outtermost screw and it will improve tuning stability by leaps and bounds. They can handle it. I had 2 screws (screwed up on drilling all but 2 mounting holes) and it stays in tune pretty good and I could even pick the thing up by the whammy bar without any ill effect...

 

[riarojr]

it's wierd that you mentioned that because the Andy Timmons model from Ibanez    has some scres missing from the trem too...don't remember which ones tho.  i'll load a pic or 2 when i get the time but you should definitely check that thing out....oh so sexiul

 

[Alfang]

Wilkinson is a better all around tremolo than the vintage style Fender bridges and the newer two point bridges IMO.

I don't like the Gotoh wilkinson because it has a zinc block which sounds really cheap... if it came with a massive steel block it would be the perfect bridge.

I have a hard time believing that a zinc block on the tremelo has any noticable difference at all from steel or anything else. I bet the cord between your guitar and amp has more influence than the damn block, as far as sound or tone or whatever you wanna call it . Please explain the difference between zinc and steel blocks.

are you gonna tell me the tone is absorbed by zinc or some bs like that?  Show me some science, not speculation 
and by the way, i use a cotton strap so less tone is transmitted to me, leather straps suck tone bigtime.

there are people out there in the guitar world who make crazy claims, in an effort to sound like they know something, i believe much of it to be total BS

have a nice day

 

[guitlouie]

I don't want to argue here, but I have read a lot about the whole steel block thing, too.  Now, keeping in mind that I don't even own a guitar with a tremolo of any kind, and probably never will,  I do see how the block could affect tone.  It is the point of contact between the strings and the body.  I changed the TOM bridge on my Gibson and noticed a very perceptible difference in tone, thankfully it was for the better.  Anyway, my opinions aside, there is a section on the Callaham Guitars website called "block details" where some differences between what they make and the Fender issue are described and there is some more info that is in keeping with the idea that steel blocks are indeed more desireable.

 

[CD]

Fender is using big steel blocks now, but I've always read brass was better. Of course I take everything with a grain of salt.

What I do believe is that a larger block helps with sustain.

 

[jackthehack]

From a physics standpoint, I believe mass is mass; anyone have formulae to disprove that in this context? To be contrary; wouldn't a lighter mass of the same physical size prolong sustain as compared to a heavier one?

 

[Phrygian]

You guys are comparing Fender to Gotoh but I think the poster is referring the the "2-hole" Vintage tremolo that Warmoth sells (which I believe is also made by Gotoh).

http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges/bridges.cfm?fuseaction=bridges_standard

 

[CD]

From a physics standpoint, I believe mass is mass; anyone have formulae to disprove that in this context? To be contrary; wouldn't a lighter mass of the same physical size prolong sustain as compared to a heavier one?

I think that it provides more solid of a base for the string to vibrate from as opposed to vibrating itself.

 

[guitlouie]

ok, so this is the last thing I am going to say about this, because we are not at all answering this man's question.  But mass equals sustain in the bridge or block because...the strings transfer energy to the block.  This sends the molecules that make up said block into a tizzy, crashing into one another.  If the block is made of a less dense material, the molecules have to travel farther in between collisions and hence lose energy.  In a block made of a more desne material the collisions happen more frequently, in essence prolonging that sweet bent A note!     
Now, do we all hear this, does it make that much of a difference, well I think it makes some difference, but so does every thing else.