It’s not enough to challenge convention; you have to win over traditionalists too. Super-Vee did both when it perfected Leo Fender’s tremolo system with its Bladerunner bridge, which replaces the original trem’s notched-screw and knife-edge fulcrums with a tiny piece of finely engineered spring steel.
In short order, Super-Vee’s innovation was embraced by devotees of Fender’s original design, including Eric Johnson, Peter Stroud, Eric Gales and Carl Verheyen.
Super-Vee’s new Maverick bridge takes the same proven technology into uncharted territory, offering Telecaster players a traditional-looking bridge with the same flawless and responsive tremolo action that’s favored by today’s iconic Strat pros.
Features
Unlike Super-Vee’s BladeRunner, the Maverick is not a drop-in replacement for your current Telecaster bridge. Super-Vee has taken this into consideration and offers a routing template, an online video tutorial and detailed instructions for the DIY crowd and will also be offering pre-routed, unfinished and finished Telecaster bodies. Telecaster fans will also appreciate the Maverick’s adherence to traditional Tele-bridge standards of appearance, utilizing an unobtrusive flat bridge plate and three vintage-style, Super-Vee V-Tone compensated brass saddles. These are a Super-Vee precision design for each string pair and intonate perfectly.
Performance
There’s absolutely no wiggle in the Maverick’s tremolo bar and no slop in the pivot action—the Maverick responds immediately to any movement of the stick. And it’s just as accurate on pull-ups as it is with pitch dives, making pedal-steel licks sing like never before and opening new doors to Telecaster-applied technique. The extremely stable bridge stays in tune almost as well as a double-locking system, and there’s no audible low-end warble, even when changing the pitch of full chords with open bass notes.
In addition to its superior tremolo performance, the Maverick has phenomenal tone. The energy-transferring spring steel provides a direct link between the two bridge plates and into the body, enhancing the guitar’s overall resonance and sustain.
List Price $199.95 Manufacturer Super-Vee, LLC., super-vee.com
The Bottom Line
For Fender fans who want it all, the Super-Vee’s faultless Maverick tremolo finally makes it possible to combine the boot-stompin’ sound of a Telecaster with the pitch-shifting sass of a Stratocaster.
