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Les Paul Junior with a Bigsby?

  • 16-12-2008 01:34PM
    #1
    Dord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,815 ✭✭✭✭


    Should I do it? :D :pac:

    This place sells a plate that you can use to mount a Bigsby B5 on a guitar with a tune-o-matic without having to drill. It's very tempting, even more so because its reversable. :)


Comments

  • #2
    Alanstrainor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,146 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    Very cool. And yes, yes you should do it. Have a different bigsby at home which was meant to live on an eastwood tuxedo, but the holes didn't line up so not wanting to go patching holes and redrilling, or having enogh money to pay someone to do it, it lies at home gathering dust...


  • #3
    Johnny Storm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,011 ✭✭✭Johnny Storm


    Sacrilege :eek:


  • #4
    fish-head
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,896 ✭✭✭fish-head


    Dooooo it!

    What's the Bigsby you have lying around, Alan?


  • #5
    Darkstrike
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 476 ✭✭Darkstrike


    Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it!














    DO IT!


  • #6
    Dord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,815 ✭✭✭✭Dord


    *head explodes from peer pressure* :D

    I might give it a go in the new year when I get some money. :)
    I'll post pics of course. :p


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  • #7
    boycey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 513 ✭✭✭boycey


    I'm in two minds Dord. One the one hand you have a really nice Junior that reeks of vintage cool, and what better way to enhance it than a nice Bigsby.
    On the other hand the whole set up thing with Bigsby's bothers me. I have two mates that installed them - one on a 70's SG and the other on an ES347 and neither of them stay in tune, even when the SG owner shelled out for a roller saddle bridge too. Both extremely good guitars, both extremely good guitarists who really only use it for a bit of ambient wobble, but the tuning issues on both guitars would turn me off. Neil Young seems to be able to use and abuse them nicely though!

    To sumarise I am absolutely no help to you in this decision:o


  • #8
    Dord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,815 ✭✭✭✭Dord


    boycey wrote: »
    I'm in two minds Dord. One the one hand you have a really nice Junior that reeks of vintage cool, and what better way to enhance it than a nice Bigsby.
    On the other hand the whole set up thing with Bigsby's bothers me. I have two mates that installed them - one on a 70's SG and the other on an ES347 and neither of them stay in tune, even when the SG owner shelled out for a roller saddle bridge too. Both extremely good guitars, both extremely good guitarists who really only use it for a bit of ambient wobble, but the tuning issues on both guitars would turn me off. Neil Young seems to be able to use and abuse them nicely though!

    To sumarise I am absolutely no help to you in this decision:o

    Typical! :rolleyes: :p

    Yeah, it is a concern; spending €100 - €200 on the kit and finding out you might as well have cheesestrings installed instead of regular strings... :(


  • #9
    Alanstrainor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,146 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    fish-head wrote: »
    Dooooo it!

    What's the Bigsby you have lying around, Alan?

    I think it's a bigsby b7 for an archtop. I have a vintage b5 bigsby on my telecaster which is currently in bits as i never got around to fixing a 5 way selecter switch...i think i should actually finish that project!


  • #10
    fish-head
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,896 ✭✭✭fish-head


    Dord wrote: »
    Typical! :rolleyes: :p

    Yeah, it is a concern; spending €100 - €200 on the kit and finding out you might as well have cheesestrings installed instead of regular strings... :(

    Well, I have two guitars with Bigsby's and when they're properly set up you can wail on them ALL NIGHT and still be in tune. I gig with mine regularly and it never lets me down. You just have to have it set up well.


  • #11
    Seziertisch
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,180 ✭✭✭Seziertisch


    fish-head wrote: »
    Well, I have two guitars with Bigsby's and when they're properly set up you can wail on them ALL NIGHT and still be in tune. I gig with mine regularly and it never lets me down. You just have to have it set up well.
    +1

    Make sure the bridge saddles and the nut are cut properly. Also, a Bigsby and a tunomatic do no play particularly well together. By rights there should be a bit of movement on the bridge piece allowing it to tilt back and forth.

    I seem to remember reading about Larry Cragg (Neil Young's tech) being mentioned in relation to filing down the underside of a tunomatic to get it to do that (I think it was the underside at any rate).

    Also worth a read
    http://www.tonequest.com/pdf_pubs/samples/TQRSep06_Proof.pdf

    I have two Bigsby equipped guitars and they stay in tune about the same as others I have. Heavier strings also work well with Bigsbys. As well as giving even greater tuning stability you also get more wobble out of it.


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