Wilkinson roller bridge any good?

Rex_Rocker

Well-known member
They seem to be priced well, but are they good or are they junk?

The story is I like the stock aluminum Nashville bridges on my Gibsons. They sound great, they feel good, and best of all, they don't rattle like some of the cheapie bridges budget guitars come with. But I'm running into the problem the saddle for my 3rd and 6th string are as far back as they can go, and they still intonate a tiny tiny bit sharp. I guess it's the perks of tuning low with heavy strings. So I could use a bridge with a bit more range to intonate.

I had the Schaller STM roller bridge in my Les Paul Tribute at some point, but it was black, and I kinda wanted to go back to nickel hardware, so I sold it. It was alright. I honestly felt the aluminum bridge sounded a bit more lively, but the Schaller functioned well and looked really cool. The thing is they're kinda pricey, and now, I kinda need two bridges, so twice the expense.

I also have the Graphtech Resomax bridge, but the saddles are even blockier and they have a tiny bit less range to intonate because of that. It sounds great, but the other issue I have with it is mine is collapsing even if it was on the guitar no more than several months.

I was also looking at the Hipshot Tone-A-Matic, but same story. Pricey.

So I'm hoping the Wilkinson can save me... but do they work well? Do they sound good? Do they not rattle? Do they not collapse easily? Or would I be wasting my money?

Thank you!
 
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I have the Wilky roller TOM on my Rhoads and I'm not unhappy with it, but I'm usually running 10s on that guitar. I don't know if the roller saddles would work well with heavier strings or they'd pop out easily.
 

Came across this.

Yeah, not sure about the strings having some room to go sideways. On the pics, it does seem like the rollers are like that.
 
I use the Guyker ones

any cheaper than that and the rollers fall of during string changes

But the Guykers don't have more extended range for intonation, do they? The rollers are not my priority, really. It's the extended range for intonation. I don't really need much, even. Just like half a mm, even, from a standard Nashville bridge would probably do.

TBH, it's not even that bad, so I'm not in a rush. That's kinda why I'm doing my research. But I would like it to be intonated better at some point.
 
Rollers have the break point directly over the saddle

Regular non roller bridges have an angle built in

If you need another mm then flip the saddle around

Some are a bit wider
I don't like the one you have pictured

the screw to release the saddle is directly under the string
 
I only had one roller bridge but I didn't like it. Tone wasn't as bright, sustain wasn't as good. Maybe I had a dud or the nut was bad, I don't know, but I'm not looking for another roller.

I do like the Hipshot Tone A Matic bridge despite my complaints about it a while back. Can't be beat for intonation range on a drop in TOM replacement.

Buuuut if you use a thicker bottom string and a wound 3rd you might find that you're on the money with your current bridge. The thicker your strings, the less you have to crank the saddles back away from the nut.
 
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