Gotoh 510 Wraparound Bridge Neck Radius Question

[Rick]

On my new build I'll have a Gotoh 510 wraparound bridge.  Never had a bridge where the saddle height is not adjustable.  I'm wondering ... is it better to have a neck with a  straight 12 inch PRS radius so that the saddle will have the same radius (just cut the string slots to a 12 inch radius and be done with it) or use a warmoth compound neck (10-16) and have different slot depths?

I guess what I'm asking is which one is easier, or does it matter?


Paranthetically,  I'm good with any fretboard radius, it really isn't an issue for me.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mayfly]

I used the Gotoh wraparound on my LP junior.  I had good results with the neck radius matching the bridge radius.

 

[Ace Flibble]

The 10-16" can work with a 12" radius bridge 'okay', especially if you angle the bridge so the treble side is a little lower than the bass side. However, personally I do prefer a straight 12" so the action is consistent along the whole neck without having to do any wonky compensation. It's for this reason (since tune-o-matics are my preferred bridge) that I haven't bought a compound radius neck for myself in about eight years. I still set them up on occasion for friends' builds and I am tempted by the 9.5-14" option which should be a better match for the TOM, but the 10-16... it's never quite perfect enough for me.

There are some wraparound & TOM bridges that do have height-adjustable saddles. I know Wilkinson and Gotoh both used to make them, though I haven't seen any in a while. If you search around for a bit you might be able to find a bridge with height adjustment that will allow you to match the 16" radius. Of course if you can get blank replacement saddles (I believe the 510's saddles come with at least small notches already cut) then you could cut the saddles to match the flatter radius anyway. It can feel a bit strange for palm muting if the middle strings are sitting in slots much deeper than the outer strings, but it functionally works.

 

[Rick]

The gotoh has a radius of 13.7 inches

 

[Rick]

So the bridge will work with either radius but the compound radius requires extra skill or futzing to set.  Since my skills are low it looks like there’s a 12 inch radius neck in my future.  Perhaps a 13.5 inch radius.  Need to stew on that.

 

[PhilHill]

I used the Gotoh 510 on a couple of Teles that I've done with compound  necks and had no problems with them. Certainly didn't need to redo the saddles and got quite comfortable action on them.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Rick]

Phil,
Did you deepen the saddle slots at all?  I envision going slowly and setting the saddles like I'd work on a nut.  Just keep going down until I get to a depth I like and it seems easiest to match a 12 inch radius.
R.

 

[PhilHill]

Phil,
Did you deepen the saddle slots at all?  I envision going slowly and setting the saddles like I'd work on a nut.  Just keep going down until I get to a depth I like and it seems easiest to match a 12 inch radius.
R.

If I remember right I think it needed the D&G slots lowered just a little. Maybe a 64th of an inch at the most. It depends on how low you like your action.

 

[DuckBaloo]

Phil,
Did you deepen the saddle slots at all?  I envision going slowly and setting the saddles like I'd work on a nut.  Just keep going down until I get to a depth I like and it seems easiest to match a 12 inch radius.
R.

If your going with a stright 12" radius, you may not need to change anything on the Gotoh.

PRS use a straight 10" fretboard radius on almost all their guitars, but their wraparound bridge has a 11" radius. I assume that was spec'ed intentionally for whatever reason.

 

[Rick]

DuckBaloo,
That's interesting.  Using that logic, knowing that the Gotoh is 13.78, then an inch less (10%) would be (more or less) a 12.5 radius neck.  12.5 is probably perfect for a gotoh bridge. So is .5 inches also alot?  I'd feel comfortable with that.  But I do like a 12, and 10's not bad, heck I even like flat.

Just one more thing for me to obsess over!

 

[Rick]

I got myself some radius gauges.  Used 14 inches as a proxy for gotohs 13.78.  Compared it to 10, 12 and 10-16 compound which I guesstimate would be 20 at the bridge.  There is no difference for practical purposes with a 12.  As to the difference with the compound neck it is negligible except the d and the g are off by half the width of a line drawn by a bic  ballpoint pen (med). Just as Phil said  :icon_thumright:  10 is off by a noticeable amount.  So what did I learn? Either 12 or a compound neck would be easy to get the bridge to the right radius.  So it looks like I’ll get a compound neck. Best for chording and soloing