Correct Bigsby for ES335?

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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    Gassage said:

    Sorry, did I shoot someone's dog?


    ;)

    I'm grumpy today as I have ear ache  :x
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  • GuitarMonkeyGuitarMonkey Frets: 1883
    Jalapeno said:
    I love the Bigsby B7 on my Casino and recommend the idea wholeheartedly.
    But a Casino is in effect an archtop with a floating bridge -
    No it isn't. It has a fixed bridge, just like an ES-335. It just doesn't have the solid centre block the whole length of the body as (most) ES-335s do.
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    @not_the _dj

    I'd advise against Bigsby-ing a 335 same as I'd advise against spraying a Harley_Davidson shocking pink with yellow daisies on the tank. It's just "wrong". I'm not saying anyone who does so should hang for it (although I might sympathise with anyone who said so ;) ).

    The main problem is that it's not a reversible mod, as has already been said, and spoils an otherwise good musical instrument.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    edited July 2014
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  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    edited July 2014
    Adam_MD said:
    I don't get the hatred for bigsbys either. I hate floyds but I don't make it a mission to post my hatred in every thread they turn up in.
    Because you can't particularly easily retrofit a Floyd like you can with a Bigsby, so there are no "should I/shouldn't I" threads about Floyds for people to scream "NO!" in.

    We're just trying to make sure people don't ruin their guitars ;)
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    You want to do it - go ahead ......
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    @ not_the_dj

    QED I rest my case
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • IamnobodyIamnobody Frets: 6887
    edited July 2014
    A Bigsby installation is completely reversible if you go with a Vibramate setup.

    Vibramate do a kit for SG's, LP's and now 335's. You do have to use a USA made Bigsby with them.

    image

    Try it and if you like it you can always go for a permanent installation later.

    Link:

    http://www.vibramate.com/vibramate-v7-335-install.php
    Previously known as stevebrum
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  • GassageGassage Frets: 30826
    @ not_the_dj

    QED I rest my case


    As the French might say:

    Je repose ma valise....

    *An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.

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  • HeartfeltdawnHeartfeltdawn Frets: 22097
    B700 - licensed version. Absolutely nothing wrong with them, kept the tuning better than both the B7's I had. 

    The Tokai 335's are nice but the one I had was a 1 5/8" nut width and too small for me. Didn't like the pickups either and never strayed away from my Dot and BK Stormy Mondays.

    Gassage, if you do stick a Bigsby on a 335 you will change the tone. It does feel and play differently. If you ever use a 335 with a Maestro vibrato, it's even more pronounced. 






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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31370
    Phil_aka_Pip;299692" said:
    spoils an otherwise good musical instrument.
    Spoils? What if you want a vibrato system on your 335? Surely a Bigsby is the classic, most appropriate solution?

    Seriously, the Bigsby hate on here used be funny, but not any more. The guy wants to know which is the correct model, not whether you like them at all.

    It's boring. To further your Harley analogy, it's like replying to every thread on a Harley forum with "Buy a Honda".
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    edited July 2014
    I don't take offence when someone tells me that burst finishes are for boring old farts, which happens from time to time. And I'm not trying to offend anyone else. I just hate to see good guitars spoiled.

    EDIT actually, I don't think "buy a Honda" on a H-D forum is quite the same thing. What would be the same thing is don't paint it pink or put stabilisers on it.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Think we're off in this territory now:


    image
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • RocknRollDaveRocknRollDave Frets: 6435
    Gassage said:
    Anyway, it's the Tokai version. I tried one- superb and blew me away in comparison to the Epi ... Dot


    Same here - Have played a mate's Tokai "335" and it was far and away superior to the Epi version another mate had, IMO.

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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Jalapeno said:
    Think we're off in this territory now:


    image
    nah, I don't have a handbag, and @P90fool's too much of a good bloke for me to want to throw one at him if I had. Although I might, in jest.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31370
    I actually have a fantastic gold handbag with leopard spot lining a singer left at my house, I'll meet you at the crossroads at dawn!

    Nah it's all good, I don't even have a Bigsby on anything at the mo because I hate the way they get in the way of the controls, but I can still see the attraction.

    :)
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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    edited July 2014
    Iamnobody said:
    A Bigsby installation is completely reversible if you go with a Vibramate setup.
    ...
    Try it and if you like it you can always go for a permanent installation later.
    Big +1 on this. Compare the tiny cost of the vibramate and the reduction in value on your 335 of having the extraneous screw-holes, and it's a no-brainer.

    And with the vibramate you can also use a B5 instead of a B7 if you prefer that look.
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    p90fool said:
    I actually have a fantastic gold handbag with leopard spot lining a singer left at my house, 
    I've always wanted one of those.

    not.

    probably the singer didn't either. ;)
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Jalapeno said:
    I love the Bigsby B7 on my Casino and recommend the idea wholeheartedly.
    But a Casino is in effect an archtop with a floating bridge - much more appropriate for a Bigsby than a 335 with a fixed bridge.

    No, both of them have tune-o-matics fitted directly into the top of the guitar, not with a separate bridge base like a Gretsch.

    The bodies are constructed exactly the same except that the Casino (and ES-330) does not have the centre block that the 335 does - a fact that can lead to top collapse on the 330/Casino since it really wasn't designed properly with bracing, it's just a 335 without a major component!

    In fact a B7 would be a better idea on a 330/Casino than a B6 since the tension bar pulls upward on the top which should reduce the tendency.


    Personally I really like Bigsbys on 335s, they're about the only way of making the huge empty space behind the bridge disappear and bring back some semblance of balance to the guitar… although they're still too long.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • capo4thcapo4th Frets: 4437
    I have a bigsby on my 335 and it fuckin rocks
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