Opinions on no name bridges, hardware etc?

[Madiac]

Hello, i was wondering what you guys opinions are on some no-name guitar parts that you can find on some guitar parts sites. Is it true that some no-named parts that are less than half the price, but same style/materials can be just as good quality if not better? Is there a slight pay for the name thing going on with stuff like bridges, etc?
Whats your experiences?

[Roobubba]

In response, I have just 7 words:

Rhythm in jump. Dancing close to you.

Roo

[MrBump]

Hmmm...  I'll be a little more forgiving than Roo...

It depends what you get.  Do you pay £30 for a Telecaster control plate, or a pattern one for a fiver?  Or the jack housing - go for a 'name' brand, or an imitation?

I think that it's worth spending the money on things that will make a real difference.  Spend money on a decent bridge, decent tuners, decent electrics etc.  But I'm happy to use cheaper stuff elsewhere.

I suspect others will disagree..!

Mark.

[Philly Q]

It's a tough question - if you buy cheap unbranded parts you can usually tell straight away that the plating and polishing isn't such good quality.  What's harder to judge is the quality of the metal itself, and whether it's been hardened to make it fit for purpose - especially important with things like tremolo systems.

Having said that, I don't have very much experience of the cheaper stuff.  I usually buy branded parts - Gotoh (or TonePros), Schaller, some Fender, Callaham.  Are they actually "worth" 2, 3, 4 times the price?  Maybe not, but they're certainly very good.

I did try one of the cheaper Wilkinson tremolos (as used on Vintage guitars) and it's actually very well made, although they've clearly saved money on the screws and springs.  But in that case, even though the parts are made cheaply, Trev Wilkinson is prepared to put his name on them so you assume there's a degree of quality control.

Personally I'd steer clear of the really cheap, totally unbranded stuff because - I suspect - you get what you pay for.

[Madiac]

Reason why im curious is that a luthier had tried out a cheap hipshot style hardtail bridge for quite a bit less than half the price, i think maybe even 1/3rd and was really impressed and went as far as to say it wasnt in anyway less good than a real hipshot bridge of the same type.
Basically, its this

vs this

[WezV]

those hipshots are very well made bridges - i like them a lot

not tried a cheap hardtail like that but i have tried many others and the hipshot is still my favorite

[Philly Q]

One of the classic problems with cheaper bridges is that the height adjustment grub screws are too long so they feel really irritating under your hand.  And it's not easy to replace them. 

Whereas the likes of Callaham and Graph Tech pay more attention to details like that, and use hardened/stainless screws which wont rust, etc.  Often it's the things you can't necessarily see at first glance which make the difference.

I'm not saying that particular bridge has those issues, it may be excellent.

[Madiac]

One of the classic problems with cheaper bridges is that the height adjustment grub screws are too long so they feel really irritating under your hand.  And it's not easy to replace them. 

Whereas the likes of Callaham and Graph Tech pay more attention to details like that, and use hardened/stainless screws which wont rust, etc.  Often it's the things you can't necessarily see at first glance which make the difference.

I'm not saying that particular bridge has those issues, it may be excellent.

God, and when i look at the picture comparison above it seems to have just what you pointed out about the grub screws.
However, what about for example just buying that bridge and changing the saddles? I think itd still be cheaper than the hipshot

[Philly Q]

One of the classic problems with cheaper bridges is that the height adjustment grub screws are too long so they feel really irritating under your hand.  And it's not easy to replace them. 

Whereas the likes of Callaham and Graph Tech pay more attention to details like that, and use hardened/stainless screws which wont rust, etc.  Often it's the things you can't necessarily see at first glance which make the difference.

I'm not saying that particular bridge has those issues, it may be excellent.

God, and when i look at the picture comparison above it seems to have just what you pointed out about the grub screws.
However, what about for example just buying that bridge and changing the saddles? I think itd still be cheaper than the hipshot

Well, of course it'll depend on the particular guitar whether or not the screws protrude.  If it has a bit of a back-angle on the neck it won't be a problem.

You might be able to get replacement saddles, but it isn't always easy - for example, Graph Tech make 55-56mm saddles to fit vintage Strats, and 52.5mm saddles to fit modern Strats, but don't make 54mm saddles to fit certain Gotoh and Wilkinson bridges (although there's probably enough leeway to use the narrower saddles, with tiny gaps between them).

[MDV]

Reason why im curious is that a luthier had tried out a cheap hipshot style hardtail bridge for quite a bit less than half the price, i think maybe even 1/3rd and was really impressed and went as far as to say it wasnt in anyway less good than a real hipshot bridge of the same type.
Basically, its this

vs this

What you cant see in there is the quality of the metals and the tolerances of the engineering.

I'm not saying you cant get a good cheap bridge. I'm saying its much less likely. You get incorrect string spacing, more wear on the saddles, string-cutting burrs, poorer adjustablity, that manner of thing. You might not, even on the material side - theres variation in the quality of metals used, but you'll have to cross your fingers before you order, and you wont realise it sucks unitl

- you string up
- you start to break loads of strings
- you try to adjust it

[tomjackson]

Hmmm...  I'll be a little more forgiving than Roo...

It depends what you get.  Do you pay £30 for a Telecaster control plate, or a pattern one for a fiver?  Or the jack housing - go for a 'name' brand, or an imitation?

I think that it's worth spending the money on things that will make a real difference.  Spend money on a decent bridge, decent tuners, decent electrics etc.  But I'm happy to use cheaper stuff elsewhere.

I suspect others will disagree..!

Mark.

Well Suspected!

For the few extra quid you may as well get a nice nickle control plate and electro socket jack for a tele, otherwise a few parts of you guitar shine like a cheap toy while the rest refelct their deep classy nickle hue.

Perhaps's I'm anal about this but I think even how the control plate looks on a Tele affects the whole vibe of the guitar.

And don't you know nickle control plates sound much better than the cheaper chrome ones.... :D

[Bob Johnson]

I'm assuming the cheaper bridge is this one,

 http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/FIXED_BRIDGE_HUMBUCKER_CHROME_WDFBHC#

It certainly looks a lot like it.

I've used the WD bridge on this http://www.legraguitars.co.uk/mg602m.htm among others, and it's a perfectly functional no nonsense piece of kit. It is very different to the Hipshot version; all the parts have an "as cast" finish under the chrome whereas the Hipshot bridge has a lot of machine finishing which reduces the tolerances. The materials are also different if I recall, aluminium alloy vs stainless steel so it's not going to sound the same.

[WezV]

are they the same as the £15 ebay ones?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hardtail-bridge-6-saddle-brand-new-in-black_W0QQitemZ360140672668QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item360140672668&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[Bob Johnson]

Looks like they probably came out of the same factory Wez. The Chinese a bunging out guitar parts like this at an alarming rate aren't they? Does make one wonder about the material specs; I just tried drilling a cheap tail piece off an Epiphone Les Paul, wouldn't take an 0.052" string, it immediately fused itself to the drill bit, snapped it and threw the whole assembly across the workshop. Reckon it must made out of melted down Spitfires or something. :lol:

[Ian Price]

Basically, its this

vs this

I'm not an expert on stuff like this but just looking at the pictures you can tell one is good qulaity and the other isn't as good. The screws have been commented on before but the springs look nice and uniform on the top one and not so nice and uniform on the bottom one. I'm not sure if this means anything or is an indicator of quality though!