Wilkinson WVS50IIK route- which to choose? WVS 50 II K

[Rbbrchckn]

Long time viewer, first time poster.  I will be building a guitar and have had many of the parts for quite some time (Warmoth neck I purchased in '93!)  All I need is a body.

I am looking at a Soloist Mahogany but am very concerned about stud spacing for the tremolo.  I have a Wilkinson WVS 50 II K, and after many searches here, other blogs and Aaron's YouTube videos I have only become more paranoid.  Much of what I have read indicates potential spacing / clearance issues, some say to order a Fender route or Gotoh, some have said the semi-recessed doesn't fit quite right, etc.  Specifications show 52.5, 54 or 56 mm for stud spacing; I believe I have 56.  I have already emailed Warmoth, but first response doesn't allay my fears:

We cut for the VS100.        The VS50 looks similar but, apparently has been manufactured by multiple places and
with various specs… YMMV

Does anyone have a success story with this bridge?  Any guidance on how to get it correctly routed?  I will contact Warmoth again, but wanted any tips I can first.

 

[stratamania]

Hi Welcome to the forum...

You can check dimensions here.

https://warmoth.com/guitar-bridge-routs

The Wilkinson WVS 50 II K has 56mm centres for stud spacing whereas the Wilkinson/Gotoh VS-100N has a narrower stud spacing.

Edit: The Wilkinson VS100 rout diagram shows stud spacings (54.5mm) yet the  Wilkinson Semi Recessed shows 55.9mm. but they are for the same bridge.

See post below. https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33976.msg469924#msg469924

You might get away with the Use the Wilkinson rout as one side of the Wilkinson VS type bridges have a flat straight knife edge partly to accommodate those types of variables. If that did not work then you could always get a VS100N which will fit for certain.

 

[Rbbrchckn]

Thanks for the link, I did check it before posting and did just double check it, but could find no information about the Wilkinson WVS 50 II K. Here @ unofficialwarmoth member Kyler tried the plain 50 in 2011, but no follow-up on whether it worked.  In 2015 Valhagen apparently used this 50IIK in a telecaster build, but I'm not even sure it was a Warmoth telecaster body. Posts on GuitarAttack, thegearpage, Reddit, TDPRI, etc. seem to indicate it is possible to attach this bridge to 'a' guitar body.

So does anyone know if there is a working route for the Wilkinson WVS50IIK?

 

[Sadie-f]

I've got a soloist that's routed for Gotoh 510 trem. I haven't finished it out, however I did mount up all the hardware to play it as a test.

The Gotoh pivot spacing is 56mm. The main difference I can see seems to be that Gotoh anchors the position near the #1 / e4 string, with the #6 / E2 pivot being cut a shade wider to allow for pivot spacing error. The Wilkinson anchors near #6 E2, with a long flat at the other side that  could accommodate a lot of spacing error.

So if something were wrong, their offset would be reversed.

Also, the slot shape looks different, the Wilkinson being a bit wider in neck/heel opening dimension.

 

[stratamania]

I've got a soloist that's routed for Gotoh 510 trem. I haven't finished it out, however I did mount up all the hardware to play it as a test.

The Gotoh pivot spacing is 56mm. The main difference I can see seems to be that Gotoh anchors the position near the #1 / e4 string, with the #6 / E2 pivot being cut a shade wider to allow for pivot spacing error. The Wilkinson anchors near #6 E2, with a long flat at the other side that  could accommodate a lot of spacing error.

So if something were wrong, their offset would be reversed.

Also, the slot shape looks different, the Wilkinson being a bit wider in neck/heel opening dimension.

The Gotoh 510 rout and the Wilkinson VS100 rout are different routs.  The Wilkinson rout has a wider recess on the trem arm side.

@Rbbrchckn the closest I think you will get to a definitive answer are the ones already provided by Warmoth and what I mentioned earlier. The closest rout is the VS100 which begs the question why not use a rout and bridge of whatever type that is known to work?

 

[Rbbrchckn]

The layouts are something that I wish had been made a standard (6 screw std A, 2 post std B, etc) Bridge makers can spec 'this unit conforms to std B' routers can set to std B, everything conforms to a set standard with specific tolerances.  Virtually impossible to implement, but seems a no-brainer in hindsight.

As with most of us here, I have boxes / closets devoted to guitar parts and a tiny part of this project is using stuff I have had for a while.  Buying another bridge would also make it 'bad math' to buy a Warmoth body.  I am having a luthier do the complex work, wiring and setup; he also sources and cuts his own bodies, though definitely more expensive than a Warmoth body.  If the answer is I need to buy a different bridge- it would rather be to a different body.

 

[Jeremiah]

If you look at the Gotoh site for the 510TS-FE1, it gives the stud spacing as 56mm
https://g-gotoh.com/product/510ts-fe1/?lang=en

So not sure why Warmoth has it at 55.9

But in any case it should be close enough given that the Wilkinson has a flat knife edge at one side.

 

[Rbbrchckn]

Thanks Jeremiah, I think you got me closer, but also further down the rabbit hole.  I did check that Gotoh site before posting, but didn't pay much attention to it since they don't make my model.  After checking your link I noticed the spec 'string spacing' and thought a-ha.  The frustration with the WVS50IIK is there are multiple different specs for the exact same model.  Some have 10.8, some have 10.5 for string spacing; some are 91.1 wide, others 88 total width.

I have the 10.8...I think, which is the same as Gotoh.  Although it is very hard to tell the difference between .5-.8 mm when I don't have a ruler that shows 1/10th's of a mm.

So I'm still researching and hoping for help- just have a bit more focus now.

 

[stratamania]

The Wilkinson VS100 rout diagram shows stud spacings (54.5mm) yet the  Wilkinson Semi Recessed shows 55.9mm.

These are both for the same bridge a Gotoh Wilkinson VS100 Tremolo

https://warmoth.com/guitar-bridge-routs

So now this diagram shows that the string spread is 54mm and the maximum post width as 56.8mm

https://warmoth.com/skin/images/PDFs/bridges/Gotoh_Diagram.pdf

So I think the stud mountings are probably both 55.9mm for both Wilkinson VS100 routs and one of those diagrams is in error if the same bridge is sold for both routs.

I am not sure why other forum members are mentioning the Gotoh 510 it is a different shaped bridge, and whereas the studs may be the width needed the rest of the rout shape would need to be changed. You could also use an American Standard rout and do a similar adjustment.

The other option is to order a body with a trem back cavity only and have the posts etc done.

But if it was me I would just order one of the Wilkinson VS100 routs

 

[Rbbrchckn]

Yes! that's the problem I'm dealing with... potentially 5 different route standards referring to the different mounts.  I think the Gotoh bridge reference is in part due to the Wilkinson install fail video Aaron did which required a weird mix of Gotoh and Wilkinson routes / stud installs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H8DRUDbZOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MhrpoOXMRY

...and another argh on my part, I just re-read the route page; and actually went to the bottom of the page this time.  Previously I didn't go past the hardtail mounts (didn't see a need to go there).  BUT the lesson is to read the entire page before moving on!  At the very bottom, past the Mustang mounts they have some 'fine print':

"Warmoth does not stock these bridges, and has no way of knowing when specifications or dimension change. For this reason, you must send your bridge to us when requesting a custom bridge rout. "

That might be the way to go for this, although I wish the response from Warmoth had mentioned this option.

I am still looking for any reports if others have installed this bridge.

 

[stratamania]

Yes! that's the problem I'm dealing with... potentially 5 different route standards referring to the different mounts.  I think the Gotoh bridge reference is in part due to the Wilkinson install fail video Aaron did which required a weird mix of Gotoh and Wilkinson routes / stud installs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H8DRUDbZOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MhrpoOXMRY

The Wilkinson WVS1302P in those videos is an entirely different bridge than the Wilkinson VS100 or WVS50 designs.

Here are some details I wrote up about the Wilkinson WVS1302P (not relevant in your case but may be of interest)

https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=32923.msg466320#msg466320

You actually have one bridge a Wilkinson WVS 50 II K which is a lower cost version of the Wilkinson VS100 designs. Warmoth offer two routs for the VS100 which are the closest routs that you would need for the WVS50.

...and another argh on my part, I just re-read the route page; and actually went to the bottom of the page this time.  Previously I didn't go past the hardtail mounts (didn't see a need to go there).  BUT the lesson is to read the entire page before moving on!  At the very bottom, past the Mustang mounts they have some 'fine print':

"Warmoth does not stock these bridges, and has no way of knowing when specifications or dimension change. For this reason, you must send your bridge to us when requesting a custom bridge rout. "

That might be the way to go for this, although I wish the response from Warmoth had mentioned this option.

The text "Warmoth does not stock these bridges, and has no way of knowing when specifications or dimension change. For this reason, you must send your bridge to us when requesting a custom bridge rout. " applies to the section for Custom Bridge Routs not the above listed Tremolo and Hard Tail options. So again does not apply to your situation and is also the reason why Warmoth will not have mentioned it as an option as there is no Custom bridge rout listed for your specific bridge.

I do know that people have upgraded the cheaper WVS50 to the VS100 as a direct retrofit. So my best advice is to just order one of the Wilkinson VS100 routs that Warmoth offers.