What would a Bigsby do for me?

EricTheWeary

I know they are the subject of many jokes but I've no experience of them; I don't even use the trem on my strat, it's blocked off. However, I quite like the agricultural look of them and they come fitted to a guitar I have an interest in. I think I could use the gentle wobbles but am worried about:
- tuning problems?
- restringing issues?
- affects bends/ multiple bends ( not that my playing has much to worry about)?
- generally getting in the way? 

Ta 

roberty

Bends aren't that bothered by Bigsbys, so long as you have a fairly stiff spring (most do)

Restringing is fine just make a hook with the ball end

Your tuning should be fine as long as your nut is cut properly

They can get in the way of the controls a bit but it's not that bad. Might be a deal breaker for volume and/or tone swells

They are amazing for vibrato on chords, make sure you wobble up as well as down. Slow vibrato can sound amazing too (like warped tape). I like hammering the bigsby during double stops/unison bends

EricTheWeary

Cheers @roberty that’s reassuring. 

Danielsguitars

On a les paul with p90's the tone is bloody fantastic imo to the point I'm not actually that bothered about paf type humbuckers, as long as it's well set up and you use it for what it's designed for it'll be ok, they're beautiful for clean chords and a bit of note wobble as rob said

God i love my new goldtop 

Iamnobody

Gentle wobbled is the key but they’ll take some abuse in the right hands and with a well set up guitar.

I’ve had them on a few guitars with mixed results (tuning) and I suspect looking back that setup was the issue. 

Some of my favourite Bigsby abusers:

Neil Young
Richard Hawley
Bernard Butler 

If you’re not familiar with them check them out on YouTube if you need any inspiration.

stickyfiddle

They’re much nicer sounding than Strat trems imo. As above, a little bit of learning but well worth it and not remotely hard to re-string once you learn the knack.

AlexC

I used to scoff at them - having never actually tried one. I then a saw a bloke on YT who fitted one to his LP and I was astonished at the level of whammy madness he could get. Since tried a few guitars with them myself and - if you’re okay with the visual aesthetic- they’re seem pretty reliable.

Schnozz

They look good, they sound good and they get out the way and let you alternate tune...But I'd still prefer to restring a Floyd rose.

EricTheWeary

Schnozz said:

They look good, they sound good and they get out the way and let you alternate time...But I'd still prefer to restring a Floyd rose.

Well I know I don’t want anything with a Floyd Rose! 

guitarcookie1

What guitar are you thinking of having one on?

On my Epi Dot I find the extra weight of the Bigsby helps with the overall balance of the guitar, but when I put one on a Tele, it seemed to dull the tone of the guitar so I took it off again.

munckee

guitarcookie1 said:

What guitar are you thinking of having one on?

On my Epi Dot I find the extra weight of the Bigsby helps with the overall balance of the guitar, but when I put one on a Tele, it seemed to dull the tone of the guitar so I took it off again.

I've been thinking of putting one on my 335 copy for years but worry about ruining a guitar I love.  Will I lose much sustain?

EricTheWeary

guitarcookie1 said:

What guitar are you thinking of having one on?

On my Epi Dot I find the extra weight of the Bigsby helps with the overall balance of the guitar, but when I put one on a Tele, it seemed to dull the tone of the guitar so I took it off again.

Yamaha Revstar. I do worry about how guitars balance so the thought of extra weight in the right place seems an advantage. 

stickyfiddle

munckee said:

guitarcookie1 said:

What guitar are you thinking of having one on?

On my Epi Dot I find the extra weight of the Bigsby helps with the overall balance of the guitar, but when I put one on a Tele, it seemed to dull the tone of the guitar so I took it off again.

I've been thinking of putting one on my 335 copy for years but worry about ruining a guitar I love.  Will I lose much sustain?

Maybe, but usually not a lot. It does change the overall resonance of the guitar slightly, as any major change like that would do. But in some cases it actually improves things. I've put Bigsbies on 2x Casinos. One lost a fraction of sustain, which was worth it for the additional wobbly character, and the other just got plain better, full stop. 

roberty

stickyfiddle said:

munckee said:

guitarcookie1 said:

What guitar are you thinking of having one on?

On my Epi Dot I find the extra weight of the Bigsby helps with the overall balance of the guitar, but when I put one on a Tele, it seemed to dull the tone of the guitar so I took it off again.

I've been thinking of putting one on my 335 copy for years but worry about ruining a guitar I love.  Will I lose much sustain?

Maybe, but usually not a lot. It does change the overall resonance of the guitar slightly, as any major change like that would do. But in some cases it actually improves things. I've put Bigsbies on 2x Casinos. One lost a fraction of sustain, which was worth it for the additional wobbly character, and the other just got plain better, full stop. 

My experience with Vibramate mounting is that you do lose sustain. I mounted a B5 to an SG in this way and it was not acceptable to me.  Ended up drilling it in and was a night and day improvement.  I've gigged the shit out of that guitar now. Also tried a Vibramount Bigsby on a Les Paul and was disappointed.

Balance-wise I have a 335 with a B7 and it is noticeably bottom heavy on the knee.  Bit of a trick to holding it in place.  It's fine on a strap

If you're unsure about Bigsbys there are plenty of used Gretsch Electromatic guitars out there to either sate or stoke your hunger

TheMarlin

Love a Bigsby. Most of my guitars have one. 

Can’t beat that gentle wobble.   If you’re dive bombing a Bigsby, then you’re missing the point. Get a strat. 

brooom

Having recently acquired a pretty cool Mosrite copy (a 1960s Morales) I'd say the only thing that matches the bigsby wobble in terms of fun is probably the mosrite vibramute.

munckee

roberty said:

My experience with Vibramate mounting is that you do lose sustain. I mounted a B5 to an SG in this way and it was not acceptable to me.  Ended up drilling it in and was a night and day improvement.  I've gigged the shit out of that guitar now. Also tried a Vibramount Bigsby on a Les Paul and was disappointed.

Balance-wise I have a 335 with a B7 and it is noticeably bottom heavy on the knee.  Bit of a trick to holding it in place.  It's fine on a strap

If you're unsure about Bigsbys there are plenty of used Gretsch Electromatic guitars out there to either sate or stoke your hunger

I've been down this road a few times, mine is one of the mythical harley bentons which will increase in value : )

I have upgraded loads on it and considered selling to fund a gretsch (I'm on a strict 2 electrics rule) and none of the gretsch's I have played sound as nice or feel any better as my harley benton believe it or not.  I've tried most of the electromatic and streamliner range.

Plus I'm properly bonded with the 335, and its cherry red!

I've only considered the vibramate route, I don't mind drilling it if that's a better option.

Snags

The Guildsby (knock-off Bigsby) on my Starfire has no tuning problems, and re-stringing is a piece of piss. Gives a nice gentle wobble, nothing to extreme, so as long as you're OK with subtle, I really like them.

Seziertisch

The Duesenberg Tremola is a step up in terms of functionality compared to a Bigsby

Kittyfrisk

If you do have stringing issues with a Bigsby & it's a deal breaker, you could always try a Vibramate String Spoiler.
https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/hardware-parts-c1/bridges-tailpieces-c2/bigsby-c47/vibramate-c190/vibramate-string-spoiler-p3144
Not that cheap, but maybe worth a look.

Whitecat

These are cheap and can assist too: http://stringraytool.com