Washburn Laredo bridge problem

[bek]

Help!! I know there's a few of you out there who know the excellent Washburn Laredo, and others who may know something to help in this, too. The Laredo (see my avatar) uses a Wilkinson bridge, which is of good materials and workmanship. However, I am very unhappy about the difficulty of adjusting the intonation of this bridge, with its individual saddles held down by a screw into the bridge plate. I am wondering if there is a different bridge which will plug in with 1-- the four mounting holes in the same spots 2-- barrel-type saddles. Does this item exist? Would it accomodate an ashtray (always loved the look, have yet to try one)? Is there an easy way to adjust the intonation on the Wilkinson?

 

[bek]

areply to my own post

Well, it's a good thing I don't wait for you guys! I finally thought of a solution; this may be useful, as I know there are other bridges where the saddles are held with a downward-pointing screw (rather than a screw through an upward-bent end section). I simply loosened the string a lot and slid the saddles back as far as they could go and still keep the screw in the slot. I had to loosen the strings twice to get this much travel. Then I tuned up to pitch and adjusted the saddles inward (toward the bridge pickup) until I was on the note at the 12th fret. This way, I was adjusting with the pull of the strings instead of against it. I felt that I had missed something really obvious, but at least I finally figured it out. Plays gorgeous, too!!