Not all Wilkinson VS100 bridges are the same!

Found this one out the hard way, folks!
Those of you that are modifying strat-type guitars with this bridge, BEWARE!

Wilkinson VS100 bridges are licensed to different manufacturers. Different manufacturers have their choice of metals, apparently. AllParts licensed Wilkinson VS100 bridges appear to made of inferior metal. I don't know what the pivot screws are made out of, steel I think, but the sustain block is definitely not steel. In addition, the AllParts version is not a simple drop-in replacement as you may think: the pivot screws are a different size thread than the original Fender bushings. If you buy an AllParts Wilkinson VS100 you will have to pull the original Fender bushings out. It's not impossible to do, but it is far from "drop-in".

I think the Gotoh Wilkinson VS100 has a steel sustain block. The pivot screws for the Gotoh-licensed Wilkinson VS100 will screw into the Fender bushings, but you will lose the "locking feature" of the Wilkinson pivot screws.

This is very cool... The Wilkinson pivot screws are hollow with an internal screw that allows you to set the depth of the pivot screw. To use this, you need to use the Wilkinson bushings that have a solid bottom. It is my understanding that the original Fender bushings are hollow all the way down, so that if you were to keep them in the guitar, the locking screw would begin pushing into the wood rather than the solid bottom of the bushing. I will be finding out over the next week or so, and I will let you know. Either way you would have to pull the bushings out.

The reason this pisses me off a little is that I would have bought a Gotoh Wilkinson VS100G instead of an AllParts Wilkinson VS100G, had I know the difference! The online store where I purchased it did not specify Gotoh or AllParts, so make sure you ask. I will likely make do with the AllParts version and look into upgrading the steel block at some point if I'm not happy with the sustain.

Another PITB: the body didn't come with the pivot screws, so I had to order them in. Odd that no place in the greater Toronto area had any in stock. Thank god for ebay! I couldn't even find a bolt/screw with the right threads over at Home Depot (I think they are 1/4" - 28). You need the bolts/screws so you can pull the bushings out. I'll let you know how that goes in a later post...

Cheers,
p