Wudtone Tremolo - FITTED and reviewed

impmann · March 2014

I took advantage of Andy's generous 40% off discount for a cosmetic 2nd (although being Frank, I couldn't see any glaring issues - its gorgeous) and bought one of his Constant Pivot trem units. There had been some fairly heated debate about the system, and I was one of those who initially at least, was sceptical. So after some email exchanges between myself and Andy (who *is* a great guy to deal with), I took the plunge and ordered one to fit to one of my guitars.

The guitar in question is my ex-Matt Deighton "Mother Earth" strat - its the guitar he used for most of the first album (Stoned Woman) and was his main live guitar for many years for the psychadelic stuff. He's also pictured with it on the back cover of the album and in a lot of the publicity material from the early days of the band. I have previously had a Callaham bridge on the guitar, that I removed for a show I did some time back, as I wanted it hard tail (a la Matt) and I never got around to putting the Callaham back on. In fact I sold it to someone on MR, IIRC... I always felt it didn't suit the guitar for some reason. Its a highly resonant guitar with a HUGE sound (@Meltedbuzzbox will veryify!) even with the original, manky, cheaply made trem assembly fitted.

So the package arrived this morning containing the new trem - and it only took me roughly 3/4hr to assemble and fit it, although I haven't totally finished the set up.

So this is what you get in the Jiffy Bag...

Its a beautifully made trem unit. My only criticism is due to the deep inset of the adjusting screws it can be a little more fiddly to assemble the saddles onto the plate than a standard Strat trem but I'm splitting hairs, really...

Assembled

The guitar before fitment - the trem was locked down tight with five springs. Matt used to jam it up with a Pencil Eraser stuffed between the block and body, but this perished with age.

The old trem removed - the skuzzy stuff is actually the lacquer Matt used to preserve the artwork he applied in '91. He did paint the guitar with the old trem fitted....

Shim slotted into place - it looks a bit 'off' in this pic, but that's purely bad placement on my part, the hole alignment was spot on.

And here is it fitted and strung up

So how does it feel and sound?

Very good, is the simple honest answer. The tone of the guitar is intact (something I was very keep to preserve as this is a superb instrument) but it sounds bigger... which is a bit mad, if you've ever heard/played this guitar. Harmonics are very forward and the top end is a little sweeter - although, give it a week to settle down before I'm completely sure on that statement.

Return to pitch is remarkably good. I'm not a dive-bomber (I'll leave that to the metal boys and girls) but for gentle vibrato and a lot more this trem seems exceptionally good. Nels Cline style "wobbles" can sometimes upset a Strat trem but this takes it in its stride. Thanks to the nylon bush in the block every input into the arm is transfered into the system, meaning those subtle hand vibrato movements are completely heard. And it stays in tune - this particular guitar is currently fitted with a neck with locking machine heads and a Graphtech nut and honestly... when I went bonkers/silly with it, making awful Jimi-style noises (Jimi's noises weren't awful... its just not something I feel comfy doing), it remained as in tune as I'd expect a Floyd Rose to be.

Minor criticisms - the arm is a "Standard 6in" unit and it feels a bit short to me. I'll compare it to the Callaham on my blue Strat to see if its just perception though. Also I think I may need to bend it upwards a tad to suit my playing style (that could just be because I've been playing a Jazzmaster of late). I also think that a set of printed instructions included in the package (with some photos) may help someone with less technical ability get it on and set up quickly - I believe Andy has instructions on the website, but that isn't always convenient when doing an upgrade like this to fire up the laptop...

I used the "upgrade" word deliberately - as I would whole-heartedly recommend this system to anyone. It is an upgrade on the original trem on many levels - not least of which is return to pitch. Is it better than my beloved Callaham? That's a $64million dollar question... well, from my day spent playing and enjoying this guitar again (I've probably played it solidly for the past 2.5 hours) I'd say it probably returns to pitch better, plus its cheaper, you get better aftersales and you are buying British. Put it another way - I sold the Callaham that used to grace this guitar and I will not be sending it back for the full refund Andy promised me if I wasn't happy with it.

Buy this trem system with confidence - it is brilliant. Thank you Andy.

JookyChap · March 2014

That's really good to know, I was (literally) just looking around for a trem for my lad's Strat, so I think I'll give one a go after that - cheers

ThePrettyDamned · March 2014

Nice, this bodes very well for my build.

Andy really is a top chap, and offers the full refund if you don't get on with it.

Glad it stands up to the now legendary callaham. Nice

DrBob · March 2014

I'm very much looking forward to getting my Strat build together featuring a full Wudtone trem. I shall report back

andypwudtone · March 2014

your welcome. enjoy the guitar ( after all thats all that really matters) . Thank you for sharing your experience.

Let me know if you find any difference in Arm length , and noted re instructions, thank you kind regards

andypwudtone · March 2014

impmann said:

I took advantage of Andy's generous 40% off discount

hi all, sorry, but all of the cosmetic 2nds offered with discount impmann mentions above to only fretboard members are all sold. Also we are approaching the VAT threshold and so if you want the same benefits described above for your S-type ( or PRS) guitar. Grab a Wudtone CP before we have to apply a VAT increase. kind regards

andypwudtone · April 2014

impmann said:

So how does it feel and sound?

The tone of the guitar is intact (something I was very keep to preserve as this is a superb instrument) but it sounds bigger... which is a bit mad, if you've ever heard/played this guitar. Harmonics are very forward and the top end is a little sweeter - although, give it a week to settle down before I'm completely sure on that statement.

Return to pitch is remarkably good. I'm not a dive-bomber (I'll leave that to the metal boys and girls) but for gentle vibrato and a lot more this trem seems exceptionally good. Nels Cline style "wobbles" can sometimes upset a Strat trem but this takes it in its stride. Thanks to the nylon bush in the block every input into the arm is transfered into the system, meaning those subtle hand vibrato movements are completely heard. And it stays in tune - this particular guitar is currently fitted with a neck with locking machine heads and a Graphtech nut and honestly... when I went bonkers/silly with it, making awful Jimi-style noises (Jimi's noises weren't awful... its just not something I feel comfy doing), it remained as in tune as I'd expect a Floyd Rose to be.

Minor criticisms - the arm is a "Standard 6in" unit and it feels a bit short to me. I'll compare it to the Callaham on my blue Strat to see if its just perception though. Also I think I may need to bend it upwards a tad to suit my playing style (that could just be because I've been playing a Jazzmaster of late). I also think that a set of printed instructions included in the package (with some photos) may help someone with less technical ability get it on and set up quickly - I believe Andy has instructions on the website, but that isn't always convenient when doing an upgrade like this to fire up the laptop...

I used the "upgrade" word deliberately - as I would whole-heartedly recommend this system to anyone. It is an upgrade on the original trem on many levels - not least of which is return to pitch. Is it better than my beloved Callaham? That's a $64million dollar question... well, from my day spent playing and enjoying this guitar again (I've probably played it solidly for the past 2.5 hours) I'd say it probably returns to pitch better, plus its cheaper, you get better aftersales and you are buying British. Put it another way - I sold the Callaham that used to grace this guitar and I will not be sending it back for the full refund Andy promised me if I wasn't happy with it.

Buy this trem system with confidence - it is brilliant. Thank you Andy.

you mentioned it sounds bigger which is a bit mad.

I think this is for two reasons.

1st is the materials. All guitar components more or less absorb some of the energies put into the strings. This creates a reduction in the initial amplitude (and over time) of the sound waves being produced. So a bridge that does less absorbtion, less reduction gives you more of ( so it seems bigger) the natural voice of the guitar and for longer ( better sustain).

2nd is the connection between the components. So having an increased surface area of the underside of the bridge, always in contact with the shim, always in contact with the body, helps to put more energies ( again with less absorbtion) into the body.

All this adds to the natural voice of the guitar making it seem bigger.

@impmann , To what extent have you found this bigger natural voice carries forward when you add microphones to the voice ( ie pickups ) ?

impmann · April 2014

I guess its just greater clarity - so chords sound 'bigger' and with a clearer voice.

I'll leave others to discuss the science behind it but it sounds better! ;-)

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Wudtone Tremolo - FITTED and reviewed

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