On the subject of Bigsby’s .....

axisus

I always liked the look of Bigsby’s they seemed like sort of precursor to steam punk, this big mechanical add-on. For the first 30 years of my guitar playing I never owned one, and I don’t think I even played a guitar with one. I was mostly into superstrats so they weren’t really a consideration. In the back of my mind I also had an imprint of the myth that they won’t stay in tune, I always though that they looked super cool though.

Well, it all changed some years ago when I built my first guitar from scratch and decided to put one on. I’m an even bigger fan now, I really like the more subtle vibrato effect compared to more traditional trems. I have found that they stay in tune well enough if you take some care in setting them up. I have altered the two that I have in that I have made new roller bars for them, which have grooves to accommodate the strings. One out of steel and one out of aluminium. 

I recently put one onto my second Tele, and as mentioned in another thread, the playability of the guitar seems to have improved dramatically, so much so that it has gone from a guitar that just lives in its case to being permanently out and my ‘go to’ instrument. With both of mine I have done the ‘springier spring’ mod, essential in my eyes. I did have one big problem though - it squeaked terribly when in operation. I sprayed it over with WD-40, no effect. I took the strings off, dismantled it, cleaned it, put it back together, no effect. I ground the edges of the spring down, no effect. I put some grease soaked card washers in between the spring and the metal, no effect. I swapped my aluminium roller bar back out for the original, no effect. I was really scratching my head on what the issue was, then I had a thought ...... I put a tiny dab of grease on the brass bridge saddles - problem solved! Doh! it was an easy fix and I spent an age pulling things apart and putting them back together again. Oh well, we live and learn.

This is my two modded roller bars (below). I guess not to everyone’s tastes but I like them. They have the added bonus of keeping the strings where I want them as well. For anyone who is wondering how I made them, my dad has a full size lathe! He worked for British Aerospace and they were getting rid of it back in the 80s. He bought it for 50p apparently (!), dismantled it, brought the parts home and reassembled in the garage. It's been very useful over the years.

Steel:

Aluminium:

The bottom line for me though is definitely the amazing sense of playability I get from a Tele with Bigsby compared to without. It wouldn’t be the right feel for everyone I guess but it is a total revelation to me.

OK, so I have one problem, which I am still deciding on whether to try and fix. I bought the Bigsby above recently, and no disrespect to the person I bought it from, they probably didn’t notice, but it was a pretty shoddy manufacturing job and the front bar is not parallel with the back one. Visually it is noticeable once on a guitar as it doesn’t look square to the bridge plate. It seems to work fine but it annoys my OCD sensor. I am considering drilling out the hole on one side much bigger, then turning a metal insert to fill it, filing smooth then putting an ‘offset’ hole back in for the bar. I’d be much happier with a fix, but it’s a darned expensive thing to cock up! I’m undecided at the moment, but it plays so beautifully I’d hate to spoil that. 

So, Bigsbys. Some people love them some people hate them. I'm OK with the haters as there are things I hate. I love them!

I'm looking for one more of these if anyone is selling, I'm planning to build another Tele after my current bass project ....

Winny_Pooh

They a do a type of shimmer you can't get with a pivot trem. Bigsbys look great but the Duesenberg ones work even better,  plus they have a shallower angle between the bars which reduces friction somewhat.

MattP

@axisus you should consider selling those, i reckon you'd have a market for them!


I love them. Have had one on my main Les Paul for years and years and I just love the shimmer that it can provide. Have never had a problem setting one up either. I know its a bit sacrilege to put on on a sunburst Les Paul but i reckon it looks lovely too. 

Bigsby

axisus said:

With both of mine I have done the ‘springier spring’ mod, essential in my eyes. 

Is that the Reverend 'soft touch' spring? That's what I've now got on all of mine, I prefer the feel, and I think it did improve tuning stability on my B3 (the others came fitted with the softer spring).

These are my current three:


The B5 and B7 on left and right are factory fitted, whereas I added the B3 in the middle, with a Towner bar. I think the positioning of the B5 is a bit better when factory fitted, the Vibramates position it very close to the bridge, but of course benefit from being a reversible mod.

Although the SG is now pretty good, I find the tuning stability is slightly better on the two Reverends - I think it's down to the 6-a-side headstocks. I also have a Les Trem II on a Gordon Smith, and that's the most stable tuning I've ever had on a non-locking vibrato system. But it lacks the looks of the Bigsby.

Seziertisch

https://youtu.be/E-RNrJieWIg 

This covers pretty much everything regarding getting a Bigsby to stay in tune. The only thing he fails to mention is to use domed thumbwheels if you are using a Tuneomatic.

Otherwise, in terms of springs I prefer the Duesenberg spring to the Reverend one, though both are quite nice 

Kittyfrisk

Bigsby said:

axisus said:

With both of mine I have done the ‘springier spring’ mod, essential in my eyes. 

Is that the Reverend 'soft touch' spring? That's what I've now got on all of mine, I prefer the feel, and I think it did improve tuning stability on my B3 (the others came fitted with the softer spring).

These are my current three:


The B5 and B7 on left and right are factory fitted, whereas I added the B3 in the middle, with a Towner bar. I think the positioning of the B5 is a bit better when factory fitted, the Vibramates position it very close to the bridge, but of course benefit from being a reversible mod.

Although the SG is now pretty good, I find the tuning stability is slightly better on the two Reverends - I think it's down to the 6-a-side headstocks. I also have a Les Trem II on a Gordon Smith, and that's the most stable tuning I've ever had on a non-locking vibrato system. But it lacks the looks of the Bigsby.

Gorgeous trio 

TheMarlin

It may have come across in a few of my posts, but I love a Bigsby.  

At the moment, every single electric guitar I have has a Bigsby, or equivalent. This includes a strat trem (er...on a strat), a Dusey trem (on a Caribou), Supro Belmont, and Maestro (on a surprising lovely Vintsge SG)

My favourite stock Bigsby ever is a B6. If you set it up properly with a nice squishy spring, it’s a pure delight to use, almost impossible to better. 

 

I my humble opinion, the worst Bigsby you can get is one with a tension bar, particularly the Bigsby B50/B5 and B70/B7.  But, I like to single out the B50, probably most people’s first experience of a Bigsby. It’s stiff, it can’t cope with the tension forces it generates, it’s unpleasant to use, and a common source of tuning stability. 

The problem with these tension bar Bigsbys is that they are often mounted very close to the bridge, this can force the strings under the tension bar at a severe angle from the bridge. This is particularly bad in Gretsch Pro Jets, Corvettes, and some Les Paul’s. Flat tops guitars such as a tele are often less effected. 

In older Gretsch Pro Jets, the strings would actually scrape over the back of the bridge before going under the tension bar.  Then, the strings leave the tension bar at a severe angle towards string anchor points.  This generates huge tension forces over the roller bar, the bearings fail, it doesn’t roll, and actually grips on the strings and causes tuning issues. 

If the B50/B70 is mounted much further back (such as on the Reverend PA1, these tension forces are reduced and it’s a much better experience. 

However, you can polish this turd, and create something to equal the B6 in sublime silky operation, with superb tuning stability.  

Quick note, I am in no way affiliated with the chap, or product, but I’m a massive far of what results from it. 

A chap called Bill Brickwell suffered the same poor tension bar Bigsby issues I did, but unlike me, he got off his ass and developed a solution. And boy, is it a superb solution. 

Here is a video, it explains the problem better than I have, but it also shows his solution.  This is the first version, his latest product is easier to fit, and doesn’t require you to re-use the old axel.  New version is much easier to fit. 

https://youtu.be/ig5PeUIlYZM

Website here: https://bricksbiggsfix.com/

if you have a stiff and problematic tension bar Bigsby, get his Tuning Stabiliser, and also get the squishy spring while you’re at it.  It’ll transform the feel of the Bigsby, have an incredible effect on the force needed to generate a wobble, and will return to pitch perfectly, and remain stable under any level of abuse. 

Here is one of my favourite guitars, and my longest serving guitar, having bought this in 2009.  It’s a Gretsch G Love Corvette.  Pickups were Powertrons, now Supertrons. 

It modified with the BricksBigsFix tuning stabiliser and squishy spring.  It’s freakin’ awesome, amd feels every big as good as the B6 on my beloved Gretsch Annie. 

See the drastically reduced tension over the tension/roller bar

The other mod on this guitar is the arm. It was made for me by Billkat, now called @Corvus ;

I had this for a year before I bolted it onto the Bigsby, and the effect it had was remarkable.  It’s a rod of steel, longer than than the original Bigsby arm (which I’ve always felt was too short), plus the handle on the end is solid steel.  It’s weighty, it feels great.  But, it did something to the spring, the weight and the length seem to balance beautifully with the tension of the spring, so it now takes the lightest of touches to get a wobble out of it. Honestly, I could pluck a hair off my head, and use it to bend a semi tone without breaking the hair.  Before I nodded this guitar, I had to forcibly ram the guitar into my hip just to get a wobble out of it, no I can just touch it with my pinky while playing to generate a delightful flutter. 

It’s  now my favourite Bigsby, the shiniest and sparkliest, beautifully polished turd. A B50 taken from one extreme to another. 

I’ve pleaded with Bill to make me some more of those arms, I’d buy theee right now, today, but he’s not making them any more. Shame. Was a huge improvement. 

So, if you have a tension bar Bigsby, mod it. It’s not expensive, very reasonable. I guarantee you’ll love the results. 

I’ll shut up now. 

Marlin

Seziertisch

@TheMarlin How does the Billkat’s arm compare to a Chet arm?

Also, Bill Brickwell is a great guy to deal with. I posted him a Callaham front roller to use with his system, but it turned out they were incompatible so he made me some shims from strap buttons which allowed me to raise the B7 off the top of my Les Paul and get the same effect.

TheMarlin

Seziertisch said:

@TheMarlin How does the Billkat’s arm compare to a Chet arm?

Also, Bill Brickwell is a great guy to deal with. I posted him a Callaham front roller to use with his system, but it turned out they were incompatible so he made me some shims from strap buttons which allowed me to raise the B7 off the top of my Les Paul and get the same effect.

Chet arm is light. Billkat/@Corvus arm is heavy and super solid.  

I don’t know for certain what’s going on here, but I think it the combination of the string tension (DR Pure Blues 11’s), the softer spring, and the weight of the arm (plus length) having an effect on the centre of balance, but the results are remarkable.  It’s incredibly delicate in use now,

the Bigsby by nature is in a locked back position. It’s pretty much a down only trem.  My modded B50 (I actually have a few similarly modded B50’s) feels more like a floating trem, a bit of up, and lots of down.  The arm gives you a floating Bigsby, I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happened. But specifically, it’s the arm that’s done that, helped by the BricksBigsFix  

The Dusey trem is widely acknowledged as being significantly better than a Bigsby B5/B50, and I agree with that.   But, the mods on this B50  plus the Billkat arm kick the Dusey in the ass. 

The Dusey trem loves 10’s, but is much stiffer with 11’s. My modded B50 is the bees knees.  It’s better than a B6, and that’s a very high commendation. It’s as good as it gets. 

Seziertisch

TheMarlin said:

Seziertisch said:

@TheMarlin How does the Billkat’s arm compare to a Chet arm?

Also, Bill Brickwell is a great guy to deal with. I posted him a Callaham front roller to use with his system, but it turned out they were incompatible so he made me some shims from strap buttons which allowed me to raise the B7 off the top of my Les Paul and get the same effect.

Chet arm is light. Billkat/@Corvus arm is heavy and super solid.  

I don’t know for certain what’s going on here, but I think it the combination of the string tension (DR Pure Blues 11’s), the softer spring, and the weight of the arm (plus length) having an effect on the centre of balance, but the results are remarkable.  It’s incredibly delicate in use now,

the Bigsby by nature is in a locked back position. It’s pretty much a down only trem.  My modded B50 (I actually have a few similarly modded B50’s) feels more like a floating trem, a bit of up, and lots of down.  The arm gives you a floating Bigsby, I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happened. But specifically, it’s the arm that’s done that, helped by the BricksBigsFix  

The Dusey trem is widely acknowledged as being significantly better than a Bigsby B5/B50, and I agree with that.   But, the mods on this B50  plus the Billkat arm kick the Dusey in the ass. 

The Dusey trem loves 10’s, but is much stiffer with 11’s. My modded B50 is the bees knees.  It’s better than a B6, and that’s a very high commendation. It’s as good as it gets. 

Interesting that the Chet arm is light compared to the replacement from @Corvus, I found the Chet  to be quite a bit heavier than the original. They describe it as a ‘wire’ but it is fairly hefty.

axisus

@TheMarlin Glad to hear that you are happy with your Bricks BiggsFix tuning stabiliser, but I have to admit that I am no fan, they just look aesthetically so wrong to me. If I bought a guitar with one on I would have to remove it! 

Still we all like different things. It's all good.

TheMarlin

axisus said:

@TheMarlin Glad to hear that you are happy with your Bricks BiggsFix tuning stabiliser, but I have to admit that I am no fan, they just look aesthetically so wrong to me. If I bought a guitar with one on I would have to remove it! 

Still we all like different things. It's all good.

I didn’t like the looks at first, but I don’t see it any more.  It’s a case of function over form.  To be fair, the vast majority of people wouldn’t notice it, and I’ve grown to love the looks as much as the result.  There is so much chrome and metal on that Corvette, that it just hides in the background. 

SRD81

I’m on the lookout for a Tele with a Bigsby at the moment, but don’t want it to be too heavy. What do you reckon would be the lightest I’ll find? Any chance of getting one close to 7Ibs?!

TheMarlin

Al Bigsbys are made from Aluminium, so they don’t really add that much weight. 

Kittyfrisk

Authentic USA ones are made of Aluminum...

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

SRD81 said:

I’m on the lookout for a Tele with a Bigsby at the moment, but don’t want it to be too heavy. What do you reckon would be the lightest I’ll find? Any chance of getting one close to 7Ibs?!

I've never found Bigsbys add much weight, but you may notice a slight change in the weight balance. The balance shift is probably more noticeable in a lighter, hollow-bodied guitar than in a solid slab like a Tele though.

TheMarlin

Kittyfrisk said:

Authentic USA ones are made of Aluminum...

My two far-easy Licensed Bigsby B50’s are aluminium too. 

Kittyfrisk

Spelling...

dazzajl

Kittyfrisk said:

Spelling...

Don’t worry, it wasn’t totally wasted. 

Putting aside science, logic, reason and open mindedness for a moment. A real Bigsby doesn’t have a tension/roller bar.

ThePrettyDamned

TheMarlin said:

It may have come across in a few of my posts, but I love a Bigsby.  

At the moment, every single electric guitar I have has a Bigsby, or equivalent. This includes a strat trem (er...on a strat), a Dusey trem (on a Caribou), Supro Belmont, and Maestro (on a surprising lovely Vintsge SG)

My favourite stock Bigsby ever is a B6. If you set it up properly with a nice squishy spring, it’s a pure delight to use, almost impossible to better. 

 

I my humble opinion, the worst Bigsby you can get is one with a tension bar, particularly the Bigsby B50/B5 and B70/B7.  But, I like to single out the B50, probably most people’s first experience of a Bigsby. It’s stiff, it can’t cope with the tension forces it generates, it’s unpleasant to use, and a common source of tuning stability. 

The problem with these tension bar Bigsbys is that they are often mounted very close to the bridge, this can force the strings under the tension bar at a severe angle from the bridge. This is particularly bad in Gretsch Pro Jets, Corvettes, and some Les Paul’s. Flat tops guitars such as a tele are often less effected. 

In older Gretsch Pro Jets, the strings would actually scrape over the back of the bridge before going under the tension bar.  Then, the strings leave the tension bar at a severe angle towards string anchor points.  This generates huge tension forces over the roller bar, the bearings fail, it doesn’t roll, and actually grips on the strings and causes tuning issues. 

If the B50/B70 is mounted much further back (such as on the Reverend PA1, these tension forces are reduced and it’s a much better experience. 

However, you can polish this turd, and create something to equal the B6 in sublime silky operation, with superb tuning stability.  

Quick note, I am in no way affiliated with the chap, or product, but I’m a massive far of what results from it. 

A chap called Bill Brickwell suffered the same poor tension bar Bigsby issues I did, but unlike me, he got off his ass and developed a solution. And boy, is it a superb solution. 

Here is a video, it explains the problem better than I have, but it also shows his solution.  This is the first version, his latest product is easier to fit, and doesn’t require you to re-use the old axel.  New version is much easier to fit. 

https://youtu.be/ig5PeUIlYZM

Website here: https://bricksbiggsfix.com/

if you have a stiff and problematic tension bar Bigsby, get his Tuning Stabiliser, and also get the squishy spring while you’re at it.  It’ll transform the feel of the Bigsby, have an incredible effect on the force needed to generate a wobble, and will return to pitch perfectly, and remain stable under any level of abuse. 

Here is one of my favourite guitars, and my longest serving guitar, having bought this in 2009.  It’s a Gretsch G Love Corvette.  Pickups were Powertrons, now Supertrons. 

It modified with the BricksBigsFix tuning stabiliser and squishy spring.  It’s freakin’ awesome, amd feels every big as good as the B6 on my beloved Gretsch Annie. 

See the drastically reduced tension over the tension/roller bar

The other mod on this guitar is the arm. It was made for me by Billkat, now called @Corvus ;

I had this for a year before I bolted it onto the Bigsby, and the effect it had was remarkable.  It’s a rod of steel, longer than than the original Bigsby arm (which I’ve always felt was too short), plus the handle on the end is solid steel.  It’s weighty, it feels great.  But, it did something to the spring, the weight and the length seem to balance beautifully with the tension of the spring, so it now takes the lightest of touches to get a wobble out of it. Honestly, I could pluck a hair off my head, and use it to bend a semi tone without breaking the hair.  Before I nodded this guitar, I had to forcibly ram the guitar into my hip just to get a wobble out of it, no I can just touch it with my pinky while playing to generate a delightful flutter. 

It’s  now my favourite Bigsby, the shiniest and sparkliest, beautifully polished turd. A B50 taken from one extreme to another. 

I’ve pleaded with Bill to make me some more of those arms, I’d buy theee right now, today, but he’s not making them any more. Shame. Was a huge improvement. 

So, if you have a tension bar Bigsby, mod it. It’s not expensive, very reasonable. I guarantee you’ll love the results. 

I’ll shut up now. 

Marlin

Drool! 

usedtobe

I’ve never owned one, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never used one, but I’ve always thought they looked cool.