curtisa Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Greetings chaps, For an upcoming build I was considering using the Gotoh Wilkinson VS100 trem, but wanted to find out if anyone had any experience installing the unit. I was specifically wondering about the minimum amount of timber I should keep between the trem posts and the bridge pickup route. I've done an install on a Floyd trem in the past, and in that case the trem posts were spaced wider than the bridge pickup route, so there was more "meat" for the trem posts to be drilled into. In the case of the VS100 the studs sit inline with the outside strings and up against the bridge pickup route. I assume I would have to move the bridge pickup further towards the neck in order to have enough timber supporting the studs, and ensure the combined pull of strings and tremolo springs doesn't cause the studs to collapse forward. Does anyone have any recommendations as to how close I can safely position the bridge pickup route to the trem posts? Ta very muchly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I've used that bridge, but I don't have the measurements for it handy. One thing to keep in mind is the wood you are using will make a little bit of a difference. Betweem mahogany and soft maple you wouldn't really see a difference, but between basswood and hard maple you will have a strength difference. A harder wood will be able to go a little thinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 +1 Love that tremolo. I would say about 1/4" - 1/2" of wood surrounding depending on hardness of the wood and split tendencies. Make sure in hard wood if you leave 1/4" you do not have to pound the posts in as it will split the surrounding wood. I used one here http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=41771&view=findpost&p=462696 And I used one here http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=40923 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks for the input, guys. I was considering doing the build with all Australian native timbers, maybe Queensland Maple body with Tasmanian Blackwood top, neither of which I've worked with before. I've heard mention the QLD Maple is similar to Mahogany in terms of workability, so I assume it's of similar strength. Blackwood appears to have a higher Janka hardness rating than maple, so I assume using it as a top wood would add strength to that area where the leverage forces would be higher, and therefore I can have a smaller gap between stud and pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 My suggestion is that you do a test run in scrap and see how it behaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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