1996 Silhouette Special Bridge / Tuner Replacement

[nosajsam]

My name is Jason.
I own a 1996 Candy Red Silhouette Special. It has all stock hardware (wilkinson bridge & grover tuners). I was looking to upgrade the guitars hardware to reflect a current silhouette special (new tuners, new bridge).

has anyone done this before?? if so any problems in doing so?? will the new hardware fit without any modifications to the guitar??


i read on previous posts that some hardware could be exchanged by contacting ernie ball's customer service dept. what is the best way to go about getting the parts & part numbers that I am looking for. do they exchange or will I have to purchase the new parts?

any replies, feedback or opinions would be appreciated!!

sorry about so many questions...just wanted to see what i may be getting myself into!!
thanks!!

 

[beej]

Hey Jason- welcome to the board. Great name btw

I've had the older Silo Specs before- great guitars! On the upgrade front, I don't believe you can purchase a newer bridge for it. EBMM will replace existing hardware when you return the original, but they won't give you something you didn't have before (a proprietary part).

However- you can upgrade the tuners if you like. You can buy a set from Customer Service. I haven't replaced those ones before, but likely you'll have to drill small holes for the new tuners.

But ... the bigger question is why would you do it? Do you not like the older HW? Does it go out of tune, etc? As the saying goes ... if it ain't broke ...

 

[Larry]

... Don't fix it.


Sounds like you got a great Silo and there is no point in tinkering with it to me. If you wanted to you will have to give Customer Service a call and they can sort it all out for you.

 

[roburado]

Last I heard, EBMM has the parts in question. I don't think that they'll give you the new style bridge necessarily, but I heard that they actually have the old bridge if you need to replace it. Of course, you can always upgrade the tuners too. Get in touch with customer service to see what they can do for you.

[email protected]
1-866-823-2255

 

[nosajsam]

thanks to all who replied. i have decided to not change anything on the guitar & keep it original.

my main reasons for wanting to make the changes were:

1) the grover tuners are horrible. out of all of the 6 guitars i own (2 strats, 1 tele, 1 epiphone casino, 1 martin acoustic & 1 silhouette special) they have always been the most difficult when changing strings. i have broken many strings (mostly b & high e) where the grovers lock & tighten down on the string.

2) the bridge is okay...very hard for intonation. i guess i am used to the "fender style" bridge.

i did not want to make any cosmetic changes to the guitar by replacing these parts. i was not sure if the holes would line up etc. which i found out the old parts & new parts do not line up & new holes would need to be drilled.

i did contact customer service & found out they have replacement parts in stock (old & new). which is good to know.

regardless, my silhouette special is one of my favorite guitars. everyone who has ever played it loves it.

i just recently found this forum. its great!! i feel like i have alot in common with everyone!! thanks again for the help & advice.

 

[roburado]

You might want to check back with my friend kneeoh who just sent his Silo Spec in for a replacement bridge, some electronics work, and new tuners. The guitar should have arrived in SLO by now. I don't know when it will be back in his possession, but if you want to know how things went with the replacement of the tuners, he'd be the one to ask.

 

[wolfbone07]

Hi, I like the Wilkinson bridge on the older silos (had one on a AL too). I also like the new bridge. I also dislike the grovers with the lock-from-the-top mechanism. Maybe you could get some non-locking grovers to replace the locking ones?

 

[Axilla]

Hey Jason,
I guess I know exactly what you are talking about
I have a pearl purple Silo Special from '95 that was a heavily working musician's guitar before and he had the tuners replaced (yes, new holes were drilled) by a luthier. That was a good thing as there is no more pita & messing around with the Grover lockings (have them on my 2nd Silo Special...).
That guy also replaced the Wilkinson trem with a high grade F-brand style replacement from the German supplier "Rockinger", featuring a solid steel block. In my case, this trem is now fixed but the whole guitar sounds completely awesome as it is now and the Schaller tuners are well worth the money and the effort !!!
Have a look in the sig - there's a link to the pics. It's the pearl purple one.
Find out what suits you best, but I'm happy those mods were made on my Silo Special...

...oh, and by the way - welcome to this fine place
I'd love to see pics of your Silo !

All the best

Axel

 

[kneeoh]

Hey there Jason,

Welcome to the forum.

As roburado indicated, I sent my '95 Silo Spec in for bridge replacement. I recently picked up the guitar off of da Bay. While it sounds amazing and plays really well, the Wilkinson bridge is in dire straights... corroded and impossible to move the saddles for intonation work.

Initially, I was a little apprehensive about changing anything about the guitar as it had all its original parts and is one of the first Silo Specs made (I was worried about losing its mojo). However, when 5Stringer told me they had all the Wilkinson parts, I jumped at the chance to have the work done cuz I know they'll take care of her.

As far as I know, they can only swap out the Wilkinson bridge for another Wilkinson bridge. This is fine by me cuz it preserves the original look and feel of the guitar (in other words... minimal mojo augmentation). I do believe that, if requested, they'll change the Grover tuners for the newer locking tuners. The Grovers are really a PITA so I would not be sad to see them go.

Hope this helps your decision.

James

 

[candid_x]

Jfwiw, if it were mine and I was having problems with the tuners and bridge, I'd send it in for updated replacement parts. Tuning is rock solid on the Special with the Schallers and EB trem bridge. Or, if I could live with the bridge, I might drill out the tuner holes and install Schallers myself. That wouldn't cost much.

 

[amcstay]

Hello, i am trying to find a replacement bridge for my silo special it is an 87. The bridge you mention, did you have to cut the steel block or modify it anyway. Also would you happen to have the part number for the bridge you had installed. Thanks AJ