Trem placement

axisus · July 2023

I'm building a strat type guitar and putting on a trem, in this case a Fishman powerbridge with two point mounting.

The last strat I made, I don't think that the trem was quite in the ideal place so I thought I'd ask for a bit of advice. At what point on the trem does one measure the scale length to? Ta

I also have an issue that I have to resolve myself ..... the two point trem I have already, this guitar would look way better to me though with a vintage 6 point Fishman. Do I fork out £305 for the right one and have the hassle of selling the 2, or do I just suck it up and live with it ... I'll have to have a long think about that ...

Funkfingers · July 2023

Have you actually heard a Fishman Powerbridge in action? Was it a basic minimalist installation or the full-fat version with all the buffering, PCBs and shit?

Scale length is measured from the nut to where the saddle for the highest string will be. There needs to be some adjustment range for intonation - especially if there is any possibility that you might change gauges in the future.

My recollection of the official instructions for the original Wilkinson VS-100 (with the arm locking mechanism) was that the pivots used the same centre positions as the outermost mounting screws for a traditional Fender six point fulcrum vibrato bridge. You simply enlarge the holes to accept the threaded brass inserts.

BillDL · July 2023

Funkfingers said:

My recollection of the official instructions for the original Wilkinson VS-100 (with the arm locking mechanism) was that the pivots used the same centre positions as the outermost mounting screws for a traditional Fender six point fulcrum vibrato bridge. You simply enlarge the holes to accept the threaded brass inserts.

.......which is something that really should be done with the body immobilised on a bench and a pillar drill to do the hole enlarging. I tried this once with a hand-held drill and a standard bit, but no matter how carefully I tried to hold it absolutely vertical and steady it still wandered off the centre while drilling down into the existing screw holes and I ended up having to plug them and find somebody with a pillar drill. You could, of course, plug the screw hole with a dowel and then use a 10mm Forstner bit with the spike in the centre that mitigates wandering, but I would still suggest a pillar drill.

Masking tape is useful when measuring out and marking things on a guitar body, and it also helps to prevent lacquer around drilled holes from chipping. I would stick a piece to the body either side of the trem block hole and bridge and use that to mark your 25.5" scale length and any other placement markings to use when you sit the bridge in position ready to mark the fulcrum post holes. As @Funkfingers says, measure your 25.5" scale from the fretboard side of the nut and use it for the the 1st string saddle distance with that saddl;e moved back maybe a few mm from its most forward position to give you a margin for error. That's the string that needs the least compensation, and it's never going to be moved forward from the scale length. Rough in the other saddle positions from another Strat trem bridge and make sure the G, A, and low E are going to have enough rearward movement for compensation.

WezV · July 2023

BillDL said:

As @Funkfingers says, measure your 25.5" scale from the fretboard side of the nut and use it for the the 1st string saddle distance with that saddl;e moved back maybe a few mm from its most forward position to give you a margin for error. That's the string that needs the least compensation, and it's never going to be moved forward from the scale length.

This. The saddle should never need to move to a distance shorter than the scale length, so set the high e most of the way forwards towards the neck

However, do be aware of the spring tension behind the saddle on Fender style bridges. If it feels too loose when set most of the way forward then do move it back until it is holding that little spring in place. This is usually about 3/4 of the way forward

axisus · July 2023

Many thanks knowledgeable people!

CarbonCopy · August 2023

BillDL said:

Funkfingers said:

My recollection of the official instructions for the original Wilkinson VS-100 (with the arm locking mechanism) was that the pivots used the same centre positions as the outermost mounting screws for a traditional Fender six point fulcrum vibrato bridge. You simply enlarge the holes to accept the threaded brass inserts.

.......which is something that really should be done with the body immobilised on a bench and a pillar drill to do the hole enlarging. I tried this once with a hand-held drill and a standard bit, but no matter how carefully I tried to hold it absolutely vertical and steady it still wandered off the centre while drilling down into the existing screw holes and I ended up having to plug them and find somebody with a pillar drill. You could, of course, plug the screw hole with a dowel and then use a 10mm Forstner bit with the spike in the centre that mitigates wandering, but I would still suggest a pillar drill.

I've had success with a drill bit guide clamped to the body in the absence of a pillar drill.

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