Hi everyone,
Im currently in the process of purchasing a telecaster due to their beautiful twangy tone. The thing is i love the aesthetics of telecasters with a bigsby and from what ive seen/heard (using youtube ect.) i like the extra sustain it gives, thus i have a few questions

1. Does it really affect the tone, ive read that it adds a little sustain but does anyone who's put one on a telecaster have any opinions on how much difference it actually makes?

2. Tuning my friends been constantly telling me not to get one cause as soon as you touch it it goes out of tune. Any advise

3. Right my plan is to get an american standard tele whap on a bigsby b5 (done by a professionally of course)cause i cant seem to find any teles out there with pre-installed bigsbys except a mij 60 or 62 (cant quite remember) any opinions on them.

4. Finally ive seen people with standard ashtray tele bridges with a bigsby, is this the best option saving having 2 big holes drilled into the guitar? also im finding it very hard to source a b5 or b50 does anybody know where i can find one or whether importing one from america is expensive on taxes?


I appriceate theres alot of questions here so any answer is most welconme.
Thanks
Neil

I just sold my modded Tele/bigsby so I reckon I might be partly qualified to report back... It was a nice enough guitar, but I couldn't be bothered with the hassles of changing strings on a bigsby.

Quote Nelly newbie:

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1. Does it really affect the tone, ive read that it adds a little sustain but does anyone who's put one on a telecaster have any opinions on how much difference it actually makes?

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Not a massive difference to tone, not much I could really tell...

Quote Nelly newbie:

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2. Tuning my friends been constantly telling me not to get one cause as soon as you touch it it goes out of tune. Any advise

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My tele wasn't great for tuning. If you wanted to actually use the Bigsby the tuning was likely to be out of tune.

Quote Nelly newbie:

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3. Right my plan is to get an american standard tele whap on a bigsby b5 (done by a professionally of course)cause i cant seem to find any teles out there with pre-installed bigsbys except a mij 60 or 62 (cant quite remember) any opinions on them.

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There are a couple of MIJ Teles which I myself would be the ones I'd go for. For a Fender I myself would go for this one which is a factory modified Thinline. If you can handle a slightly stranger shaped headstock, probably the best Tele with a bigsby for not too much is a G&L Asat

Quote Nelly newbie:

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4. Finally ive seen people with standard ashtray tele bridges with a bigsby, is this the best option saving having 2 big holes drilled into the guitar? also im finding it very hard to source a b5 or b50 does anybody know where i can find one or whether importing one from america is expensive on taxes?

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It's not too much of a hassle to import it from the States. If you're in the UK taxes should be the price in $'s converted to £'s multiplied by 1.175 for a few weeks til VAT increases then it will be the same figure multiplied by 1.2.

Wow! If i could have described a perfect response that would be it. Thanks a lot man. (I have no further questions)

Just to add...

the tone question isn't clear cut. A lot depends on the string gauges you use. Tele's are in many ways very simple guitars, but their simplicity is also their greatest strength. The through body stringing makes them really responsive to string gauge.

With all guitars, you tend to just hear the string with light strings like 9's and 10's, but as you go heavier the increased string tension helps drive the guitar harder. And as you drive it harder, you start to hear more and more of the woods' contributions to the tone.

All other things considered, I would expect a Bigsby, like any other trem, to take something away from the tone. Some of the string energy is damped by the trem spring(s) and doesn't get to the body. However, trem springs also function a little like spring reverbs. One of the reasons why a strat with a blocked off trem sounds different to a hard tail strat.

So, what some people report as 'more sustain' is actually the spring reverb effect. It's quite distinctive once you learn how to spot it.

Bigsby's aren't the best trems for tuning stability. Well set up they are fine for light use, but can be very unforgiving of harder use. If there's something wrong with your set up, a Bigsby can really highlight that. Having said that, I used to have a Vox Phantom 12 string guitar with a bigsby, and it's tuning stability was amazing.

Having said all that, I do like a Tele with a Bigsby. And once I've bought a Les Paul BFG, made my strat, my hard tail Flying V, my Bigsby Flying V and finished my 2 twelve string electrics, I'll get around to a Tele with a Bigsby and string it with a set of 12's or 13's and go wild

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

slightly OT, hope you don't mind chaps, but didn't seem worth starting a new thread...

Zen, what makes for good tuning stability with a bigsby? Can it be improved (for a given string gauge) by modifying the spring?

frankly, there's so much scope for "play" , "slack" or "stored energy" in a Bigsby , the only way to absolutely ensure rock solid tuning is to nail the fecker down.


from an engineering perspective i detest them, (does it show?)


but aesthetically, they look SO cool

and only a bigsby sounds quite like a bigsby.....


even if you re-engineer most of the parts to remove the inherent sloppiness , you're still left with a system that was hiding behind the door when the definition of precision was handed out.

and then there's maintenance....

guitarists , as a rule, are not noted for cleanliness and thoroughness in the upkeep and cleaning of their instruments.... they seem to expect them to "just work" despite the inherent requirement to maintain any movable mechanical system......

Quote Findo:

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Zen, what makes for good tuning stability with a bigsby?

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What Idris says. Although I would drill and pin all the moving parts together rather than use nails. But if you are going to have one, follow his advice and make sure the set-up is top notch and you give it regular TLC. Get the nut slots perfect and smooth, make sure you always wind the strings on neatly and efficiently. Standard saddles should be nicely polished. Regularly clean and lubricate all the moving parts, and pay close attention to the roller saddles if you have them.

And not being too fussy about being perfectly in tune helps a great deal

Quote Findo:

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Can it be improved (for a given string gauge) by modifying the spring?

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Beyond making sure the spring is well seated, not really.

Owning a Bigsby is like getting married. Great at first... then high maintenance. Sometimes you get those moments that remind you why you did it in the first place, but divorce is not uncommon.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote zenguitar:

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Owning a Bigsby is like getting married. Great at first... then high maintenance.

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A bit like owning your first Floyd........ then releasing that you should string it one string at a time, not pull all 6 off in one go!!

Quote TheChorltonWheelie:

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Quote zenguitar:

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Owning a Bigsby is like getting married. Great at first... then high maintenance.

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A bit like owning your first Floyd........ then releasing that you should string it one string at a time, not pull all 6 off in one go!!

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unless you have the knack


which is rare for a first time floyd owner.....

Yep..

one off, all off.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I came across this forum when I was looking for some info on Tele's...I've got nine of them...I'm not an expert, just a whore, but I've done a lot of miles on them.......

1. Does it really affect the tone, ive read that it adds a little sustain but does anyone who's put one on a telecaster have any opinions on how much difference it actually makes?

Yeah , It does,it lowers the sustain on most teles, depends on the set-up, the neck rake and down-force on the bridge...it softens the attack a little( I have hands that seem to generate treble so that's not a problem, for me but I'm a country player and I like the effect

2. Tuning my friends been constantly telling me not to get one cause as soon as you touch it it goes out of tune. Any advise

I play pretty hard, and bend and use vibrato like it earns me extra money , they don't stay in tune as well as a hard tail but if you know how to string a guitar and it's got decent gear on it AND you've got a bypass tuner then shut up and play yer guitar....

3. Right my plan is to get an american standard tele whap on a bigsby b5 (done by a professionally of course)cause i cant seem to find any teles out there with pre-installed bigsbys except a mij 60 or 62 (cant quite remember) any opinions on them.

I've got an 83 Tele factory Bigsby with the bridge plate and jazz bridge( sweet, useable, tune-tight) ...but I've also got a B5/ashtray parts-caster( plunky, woody gorgeous tone, short sustain) and an 82 Elite with a B5 and a Schaller roller ( miltary grade, tune tight, sustain-aroony)....also have a 64 Country Gent with an arm.

4. Finally ive seen people with standard ashtray tele bridges with a bigsby, is this the best option saving having 2 big holes drilled into the guitar? also im finding it very hard to source a b5 or b50 does anybody know where i can find one or whether importing one from america is expensive on taxes?

Problem is getting enough rake, you really need to get the neck pocket re-profiled to get some more neck angle if you want the B5/ashtray approach.

Quote zenguitar:

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J
All other things considered, I would expect a Bigsby, like any other trem, to take something away from the tone. Some of the string energy is damped by the trem spring(s) and doesn't get to the body. However, trem springs also function a little like spring reverbs. One of the reasons why a strat with a blocked off trem sounds different to a hard tail strat.

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Right on the money Andy, you took the words out of my mouth...

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http://www.edgeguitarservices.co.uk

Quote idris y draig:

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guitarists , as a rule, are not noted for cleanliness and thoroughness in the upkeep and cleaning of their instruments.... they seem to expect them to "just work" despite the inherent requirement to maintain any movable mechanical system......

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You knows it byti bach...



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http://www.edgeguitarservices.co.uk