BIGSBY Tremolos

[mikey5]

Righteous I think I will go with the bigsby then thanks my friends you are all righteous.
BTW Obama is a socialist

[ToneMonkey]

Thanks to all. Great information. Couple last questions here. I heard that heavier bridges and tailpieces can increase sustain by a few seconds even. Being that the Bigsby is a big peice of metal like that would it help at all?

Can do in theory, but beware of tone voodoo.  If you're building the axe yourself then the actual build quality of the axe will have much more of a difference.

Never used a bigsby myself, but they certainly look the nuts
 :D

[Bob Johnson]

Here's a pic of a neat little tune-o-matic conversion that I do for folks who want a TOM with a Bigsby. It uses Jag/mustang legs bonded into a modified TOM; it is also a perfect cure for Jazzmaster bridge problems as well.

[Philly Q]

Here's a pic of a neat little tune-o-matic conversion that I do for folks who want a TOM with a Bigsby. It uses Jag/mustang legs bonded into a modified TOM; it is also a perfect cure for Jazzmaster bridge problems as well.

I'm being thick, but what does that do?  Does it let the bridge "float" as the trem's being used so it goes back into tune better?

[Bob Johnson]

Here's a pic of a neat little tune-o-matic conversion that I do for folks who want a TOM with a Bigsby. It uses Jag/mustang legs bonded into a modified TOM; it is also a perfect cure for Jazzmaster bridge problems as well.

I'm being thick, but what does that do?  Does it let the bridge "float" as the trem's being used so it goes back into tune better?

Yeah that's it. It lets the bridge pivot or float on the two pins that protrude from the legs. The pins are threaded so that you can adjust the bridge height with an Allen key down the centre of the leg just like a jazzmaster or jag/mustang. The bottom of the hole in the body inserts is conical to locate the pins centrally.

[Philly Q]

Thanks Bob, that's interesting.  I was thinking along the right lines anyway.  :)

[mikey5]

So Its good to have both right Bigsby and TOM

[Bob Johnson]

So Its good to have both right Bigsby and TOM

It's good to have a floating bridge with a Bigsby. The wound strings can find it difficult to slide over some bridges and the TOM can be one of them depending on which make/model it is.

[mikey5]

Hey would you guys mind sending me an example model

[Bob Johnson]

Hey would you guys mind sending me an example model

Could you expand a little on that Mikey?

[Spitfire]

Hey would you guys mind sending me an example model

me too, i want a free guitar too!!

[mikey5]

I mean an internet link to a model with the floating bridge not an actual peice of hardware sorry.
Mike

[CaptainDesslock]

Here's a pic of a neat little tune-o-matic conversion that I do for folks who want a TOM with a Bigsby. It uses Jag/mustang legs bonded into a modified TOM; it is also a perfect cure for Jazzmaster bridge problems as well.

funny, where have I seen that guitar before? I'm sure it must be super badass :)

BIGSBY LOVE!!!!

[Will]

I mean an internet link to a model with the floating bridge not an actual peice of hardware sorry.
Mike

I am not sure there is actually a production model. Old ABR1 bridges (ones on vibrato guitars) had a bevelled edge and the same with the thumb screws, thats the only other place I have heard of them.

[Bob Johnson]

The bridge in the pic that I posted was made by me out of a TOM with it's base machined flat and height reduced. The bridge is then drilled to accept the legs from a Jazzmaster/Mustang/Jaguar bridge. I first did this to fix some problems on a Jazzmaster which has a notoriously cr@p bridge but have subsequently used the same idea on guitars where the trem is mounted separately to the bridge. The bridge swings back and forth as you operate the trem negating the need for the string to slide over the saddles. Will was right; some old Gibsons with Bigsby trems had curved tops to the saddles to help the strings to slide.