Finally got my Tone Pros bridge issues sorted out - very initial thoughts

http://www.metalguitarist.org/forum/guitar-instrument-discussion/21608-gotoh-510-prs-se.html

Following up from that thread...

So, I had a devil of a time sorting everything out here. :lol: Initially, I ordered a wraparound bridge with the wrong trem studs. Totally my bad, I didn't know there WERE options. So, I got in touch with the distributor working for/with Tone Pros, and he got me another set of studs in the mail. They showed up a week later, and were a perfect fit... except something was up with the locking insert on one, such that it absolutely wouldn't thread into the stud. It was the insert and not the stud - one insert would screw into either stud, while the other wouldn't work with both. So, I reply to the distributor.

No word.

So, I start a fresh inquiry through the Tone Pros website. The guy responds pretty quickly, we sort out the issue, and he asks for my address to send me a new set of locking inserts. I send it to him.

Something like a month and a half goes by. I send two followup emails in that time, but eventually decide I just need to call the guy. Except, I'm in the middle of a move and in a pretty aggressive job search (I still have mine, but I hate it), and it's a busy couple weeks anyway, so I keep putting it off.

Finally, completely out of the blue, after I've given up hope I get a thick letter envelope from the distributor, and inside it are a pair of locking inserts. I try them out - perfect fit.

So, long story short, the distributor seemed like a pretty good guy and was quite helpful, but really needs to find a better way to track and stay on top of customer inquiries. :lol: The bridge, however, rules - even on my old studs it was an improvement, simply because I was able to intonate it to work with the heavier strings I prefer. With the new studs, though, it could be simply placebo effect, but the whole thing DOES feel a bit more solid and resonant - the tone seems more substantial and everything feels and sounds tighter and less rubbery, somehow. It's subtle, but cool.

And, the real win? The bridge will no longer fall off when I change strings. :lol:

The only downside so far is that while the old bridge was solid and had a single channel for each string, the center of the Tone Pros wraparound one is basically hollow, so you have to carefully thread the strings through one hole, through an open cavity, and into the opening of a second before you can pull them through. It takes a bit of finesse, so the price is slightly slower threading when changing strings. No biggie, but I'd hate to have to do it under the gun - say, at a show with no backup guitar, while you're already jacked up on adrenaline anyway.