Les Paul trem options

midlifecrisis

i fitted the duesenberg trem to my epiphone 339. It really was easy. if i can do it , must be easy, no issues except the trem arm rotaion was a bit stiff and that was a bit fiddly to loosen, but works great. I havnt got a roller bridge but i made sure the saddles were lubricated with graphite and its great, returns to in tune even fairly vigorous pulls on it.  No drilling or modding needed. The bits that rest on the guitar have felt so i dont know if that wouls mark a nitro finish after a while. but on my epiphone with poly laquer im not worried.

WezV

Philly_Q said:

ICBM said:

The thing that has always amazed me is that Bigsby have never made a specific Les Paul model which would fit with no modification - it just needs to be a slightly different version of the B7 with two slots at the front to engage with the stoptail posts, and a hole in the hinge plate for the strap button screw. It's not as if there aren't enough Les Pauls out there that it would be a poor investment to make tooling for - in fact I would expect it to be an instant best-seller - and they're very consistent dimensionally so there would be no problem making it fit. The only slight variable is the strap button position, but even then drilling one extra hole where it's not often seen probably wouldn't be a deal-breaker for most people.

I'm no expert on Bigsbys, I think they look sort of cool but that's not enough to make me want to own one....

From that position of ignorance, I've always been under the impression that they haven't changed any of their designs since some time in the 1950s.  But that's probably completely wrong, and if the designs do evolve then yes, they should certainly have made at least one LP-specific model by now.

The single digit range are based on the original molds and castings from the 50's, although I think they have fixed and redone as needed.  

The 2 and 3 digit variations are redesigns, and usually have a nice crisp font and cleaner look

Seziertisch

MartinBush said:

Thanks all for the feedback... the guitar bears the scars of various knocks and my own hamfisted adornments from the past (stickers, some of which left their colour in the finish)

@ICBM is there a roller type bridge that you would recommend that is not expensive? I'm also not quite sure what you mean that it won't float forward of the rest position.

FYI I use 10s and the guitar has in the past been properly set up and fettled (following a headstock break) so hopefully the nut is OK. I am also not what you would call a subtle player

I'd love a Bigsby but don't have deep pockets and I am hoping that if I did get a trem and it proved not to be to my liking I coudl revert to the stock specs and sell it on (or put it in a drawer for several years!)

If the bridge you have is a Tuneomatic just get some domed thumbwheels from Crazy Parts. Apparently Larry Cragg (Neil Young’s tech) considers them to be a must for tuning stability for Old Black.

MartinBush

As opposed to a roller bridge do you mean?

My LP is similar to Old Black if you squint a bit... maybe Not So Old Black.

Seziertisch

MartinBush said:

As opposed to a roller bridge do you mean?

My LP is similar to Old Black if you squint a bit... maybe Not So Old Black.

The domed wheels would be instead of the roller bridge

MartinBush

Thanks - I will investigate both options. Ideally I'd like to buy parts from the UK simply due to shipping costs - I expect I can find similar parts over here.

Having managed to fit new machine heads and a few other jobs this one seems like it might be one I could tackle... famous last words!

BahHumbug

Stetsbar.....?

MartinBush

BahHumbug said:

Stetsbar.....?

Thanks for the suggestion - I think the required investment is a bit much for me. Although they do a hat I might be able to afford

Seziertisch

MartinBush said:

Thanks - I will investigate both options. Ideally I'd like to buy parts from the UK simply due to shipping costs - I expect I can find similar parts over here.

Having managed to fit new machine heads and a few other jobs this one seems like it might be one I could tackle... famous last words!

Crazy Parts have them up on EBay. Postage is 7 or 8 quid, which is alright, I think. All in for about 20 quid.

There is no fitting with them, just screw off the old wheels, put the new ones on and adjust bridge height. Maybe measure the bridge height as it is currently before making the change.

mikem8634

This is probably incredibly naive. I'm aware that there are loads of fake and unbranded Bigsby clones out there, but are any of the ones that claim to be genuine actually genuine? Do Bigsby actually manufacture in China?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bigsby-Licensed-B500-Vibrato-Tailpiece-for-Flat-Top-Electric-Guitars-Chrome/333615032135?hash=item4dad016747:g:AcQAAOSw8nte1tmx

I'd have no truck with buying a branded fake.

ICBM

Yes, they do - or at least contract production to China. I think that's genuine.

If it was a fake they would probably just go the whole hog and copy the US version without 'Licensed'.

mikem8634

If that's the case then it's a way to knock a fair few quid off a new Bigsby, provided import costs don't inflate it too much.

roberty

I'd go for the Les Trem if I were you to see if you get on with tremolo systems in general. You might be good to go with no other mods. I have had success with Bigsbys and stock Nashville/TOM bridges.  I would try the tremolo system first on its own before looking at other modifications

sixwheeltyrrel

How about one of these?

https://floydrose.com/products/frtx?variant=29837643090

Installation does mean screw holes on the front of the headstock which is probably a deal breaker. 

It's not exactly traditional looking either.

ICBM

sixwheeltyrrel said:

How about one of these?

https://floydrose.com/products/frtx?variant=29837643090

Installation does mean screw holes on the front of the headstock which is probably a deal breaker.

I really can't see the point of that at all. I could if it was possible to fit it without modifying the guitar, but if you're going to have to anyway, why not just fit a normal one properly?

MartinBush

Hi again

I am now in possession of a Les Trem 2 thanks to @Headphones - it looks great.

Having thought about the contributions above I wonder whether it's best to go ahead and try a roller bridge and install the two in one go. With that in mind I wondered whether this one would be right for the job - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Vanson-Roller-Saddle-Bridge-for-Gibson-Les-Paul-SG-ES-Dot-Gretsch-Bigsby/131298959306?hash=item1e92071fca:g:oFgAAOSwRLZUGd2E

It seems cheap enough to take a punt and the supplier seems to be well regarded.