Wilkinson roller bridge and saddle shims question

[ViolenceHD]

Hi all,

I attempted some digging via Search, but I'm getting some conflicting information.

I have a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster and should be getting this B31 Wilkinson roller bridge delivered today.

https://www.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson- ... p_866.html

I think(?) it's a 14" radius bridge, though I've seen it referred to as 12" elsewhere.

To anybody that has done this mod: How many aluminum can shims did you need for each saddle to get it to 9.5"?

I've seen 3 shims under the D and G saddles, and 2 shims under the A and B saddles. I've also seen a suggestion of 2 shims under the D and G and 1 under the A and B. Which of these worked better for you?

[timtam]

That Wilkinson-style roller bridge is widely available on ebay etc from Asia. Whether they all come from the same factory or a range of factories is uncertain. So they could be made with different radii and/or at that inexpensive price point, manufacturing tolerances may not be tight. So if you want a particular radius the best bet would be to string it up and then measure the actual string radius achieved by the bridge over the neck (paper cut-out radius gauges are downloadable from several sources), and then only adjust/shim the bridge if really necessary to achieve the design action (at the 12th fret) for each string.

Note that there is geometric theory that indicates that the diverging separation of the strings from nut to bridge means that the radius at the bridge should always be a tad flatter than over the fretboard for consistent action across the neck. And measurements from real well-setup guitars suggesting that bridges usually end up this way (flatter) when adjusted for optimal action rather than any particular radius ...
https://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/conical.htm
(note that this is also part of the case against the assumed benefits of compound radius necks)
Many experienced luthiers never use radius gauges when setting up bridges/action (on bridges with height-adjustable saddles). Instead they simply measure/adjust action string-by-string at the 12th fret to the desired height (ie regardless of the relative specs for the fretboard/bridge radius).

[bodhi]

I have a couple of the non Wilkinson bridges bought from Aliexpress, and then went to buy the one from GFS. The GFS wilkinson is of better quality in build and to some degree minor finish details, where the other ones feel a bit cheaper, but I'm still up in the air on if you'd actually notice in practice... Decided to get the GFS one to check since the price wasn't too bad (and think I can probably flip the ones I won't end up using anyways), and will use the that in an upcoming build for peace of mind.