Wraparound bridge issues and possible solutions

[tobijohn]

I thought I'd put this info out there in case anyone now or in the future has issues with getting a guitar with a wraparound bridge intonated or getting the action low enough.

One problem is that the gap in the bridge posts where the bridge itself fits is too wide causing the bridge to tip up and pulling the string height up with it. Even with the bridge bottomed out, the action can still be too high. In that case, a set of locking studs will bring the bridge back to horizontal with the top of the guitar:

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.co ... s-threads/

However, even if you now have proper alignment with respect to the plane of the guitar and the string height is acceptable, you might still have problems getting the stock compensated or non-compensated bridge intonated. In which case you can switch to a bad ass type one piece bridge with individual saddles. However, while they might all look about the same, they are not. Most of the cheapies have saddles so high that again, even with the bridge lowered as far as it can go, your action might be too high.

Fortunately, there are a few that are low enough. The one that I had been using is the Gotoh 510UB but they're up over $60 now and that's getting a little pricey (however you won't need the locking studs above and they are incompatible with this bridge anyway):

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.co ... stud-lock/

However, i recently found a couple that are the same overall height of the Gotoh but are considerably less expensive. One is the Wilkinson style bad ass ($22) and the other is the Musiclily copy of it ($15-$22):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194097275639?s ... 1438.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202060375621?e ... SwQWRc3iKC

(Amazon has it for a couple $$ less and one day delivery)
amazon.com/gp/product/B0757K41W1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The tolerances are also close enough so that you most likely will not need the locking studs to keep these bridges from tipping forward.

NOTE: Regardless of the brand, if the distance between the top of the G and A saddles and the bottom of the bridge is 13.8mm, and there is no excessive play between the bridge an bridge post contact points, you should be good....

[mozz]

Wilkinson style bad ass ($22), this looks decent, i have used their brand before. Sold my Epi with a wraparound but on the lookout for a SG with one.
I'd use the beltsander option on the stock factory bridge if possible.

[tobijohn]

...I'd use the belt sander option on the stock factory bridge if possible.

Yes, that would work if you could remove as much material as needed without affecting the functionality or integrity. If all you need is about a 1/16' lower then another option is to take an Exacto knife or equivalent and carefully score out around the edge of the anchor hole so that the top of the hole is now recessed and the anchor lip is flush with the top of the guitar.

I've tried them all and IMHO, the $13 spent is well worth the time and aggravation saved...

[Buddha Pickups]

I used the Wilkinson one the other day and it worked great. It's lowered all the way but action was pretty good.

I found this black one on ebay for 10 bucks that worked even better. It doesn't have adjustable saddles but it is compensated and still had wiggle room to lower more if needed. Unfortunately it only comes in black.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wraparound-Gui ... 890.l49286

[dabbler]

I used the Wilkinson one the other day and it worked great. It's lowered all the way but action was pretty good.

20210528_210528.jpg

I found this black one on ebay for 10 bucks that worked even better. It doesn't have adjustable saddles but it is compensated and still had wiggle room to lower more if needed. Unfortunately it only comes in black.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wraparound-Gui ... 890.l49286

20210528_210753.jpg

Can't tell if it is the same one, though the intonation screws look to be the same length, but I also found an inexpensive black one somewhere on the web.

[tobijohn]

Can't tell if it is the same one, though the intonation screws look to be the same length, but I also found an inexpensive black one somewhere on the web.

NOTE: Regardless of the brand, if the distance between the top of the G and A saddles and the bottom of the bridge is 13.8mm, and there is no excessive play between the bridge ann bridge post contact points, you should be good.

I've updated my original post to include this and an illustration of the bridge dimensions.

[dabbler]

Can't tell if it is the same one, though the intonation screws look to be the same length, but I also found an inexpensive black one somewhere on the web.

NOTE: Regardless of the brand, if the distance between the top of the G and A saddles and the bottom of the bridge is 13.8mm, and there is no excessive play between the bridge ann bridge post contact points, you should be good.

I've updated my original post to include this and an illustration of the bridge dimensions.

Good point, and thanks for updating. I had already validated mine (after buying a different bridge that didn't work). I was just showing mine to share that my bridge does work, even though it's, ummm, value-priced.