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Post subject: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 1:58 pm
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Hi everyone, first post from me on here!

So I have a diy relic strat, I’m bored of how it plays and have decided to fit a bigsby to it (I know it might ruin it, but I’ve made the decision).

My plan is to use a B50 tailpiece and then I’m thinking a mustang bridge? Can anyone confirm this would work. Also any documents or instructions on actually fitting it would be super helpful, cheers

Sean


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 3:32 am
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We wish to know why put a Bigsby ?

Update ; OP wrote ;" I’m bored of how it plays "

1- You like the look
2- Strat tremolo do not work properly
3- You think a Bigsby will work better
4-You have too much money :lol:

http://www.strat-talk.com/threads/bigsb ... at.444927/

Image[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eD3H8b]Image[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eD3H8b]


Last edited by stratele52 on Thu May 09, 2019 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 5:23 am
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If you have a tremolo, the challenge is going to be filling the missing wood where the new bridge needs to go.
Being a DIY "relic", I guess a block of pine glued in there would not look out of place.
You are going to need to shim the neck... a lot. The Strat bridge is far too low for anything that will work well with a Bigsby.

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 6:16 am
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Replace a functioning vibrato with a different kind of vibrato.
Drill holes, fill holes, destroy guitar for any other future use.
Dumb idea all around.
REALLY dumb.
You're bored with the guitar?
Sell it.

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 6:59 am
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seancoyle40 wrote:
So I have a diy relic strat, I’m bored of how it plays and have decided to fit a bigsby to it

A different trem is not going to change how the guitar plays.


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 8:01 am
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ghost_of_strings wrote:
seancoyle40 wrote:
So I have a diy relic strat, I’m bored of how it plays and have decided to fit a bigsby to it

A different trem is not going to change how the guitar plays.



+1


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 12:13 pm
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stratele52 wrote:

Image


Well we've seen the Big Apple Strat and the Roadhouse Strat and the Blacktop Strat.

This one is called the RAW-ASS STRAT.

:lol:
Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 12:18 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
stratele52 wrote:

Image


Well we've seen the Big Apple Strat and the Roadhouse Strat and the Blacktop Strat.

This one is called the RAW-ASS STRAT.

:lol:
Arjay


+1 :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 7:16 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
Replace a functioning vibrato with a different kind of vibrato.
Drill holes, fill holes, destroy guitar for any other future use.
Dumb idea all around.
REALLY dumb.
You're bored with the guitar?
Sell it.

OK.
I was trying to be nice.
We were all thinking it.
You said it :D

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 9:04 pm
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CB91710 wrote:
BMW-KTM wrote:
Replace a functioning vibrato with a different kind of vibrato.
Drill holes, fill holes, destroy guitar for any other future use.
Dumb idea all around.
REALLY dumb.
You're bored with the guitar?
Sell it.

OK.
I was trying to be nice.
We were all thinking it.
You said it :D

+1 Image

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 11:47 pm
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Pretty harsh welcome for a new (and I admit, rare & sorta weird - but also interesting) idea. What happened to the "it's your guitar, you can mod it anyway you want to" principle..? 8)

Anyways, Cooder had a Bigsby on a Strat. Bonamassa, too. And with the resent FMIC/Bigsby acquisition, I wouldn't be surprised if we'd see a factory stock Bigsby Strat in a while...


seancoyle40 wrote:
My plan is to use a B50 tailpiece and then I’m thinking a mustang bridge? Can anyone confirm this would work.
I haven't bigsbied a Strat, but I don't see why that combo couldn't work. If you need to tilt/shim the neck a lot, and the new string break angle over the bridge makes the strings hit the bridge's U-box edges, it's (relatively) easy to Dremel a slice off those edges.
IMHO, the big problem is to fill the trem routing properly (= without a pound of Bondo…). Alder is easy to cut, shape & sand, and might work better than pine.


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 8:28 am
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You know what's weird is I can find lots of pictures of Bigsby Teles but not nearly as many strats. Does the Bigsby make more sense on a Telecaster for some reason?

Image


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 8:51 am
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ghost_of_strings wrote:
You know what's weird is I can find lots of pictures of Bigsby Teles but not nearly as many strats. Does the Bigsby make more sense on a Telecaster for some reason?

Good question. I just finished watching a YT video on the history of the Tele that Mike posted. In the 60's, Teles were made with the Bigsby option.

I didn't mean to sound harsh on the OP. The idea of putting a Bigsby on a Strat just sounded so foreign to me. I just changed the bridge on one of my Strats because I wanted stainless steel saddles and a push in trem arm. That was a simple parts upgrade. Putting on a Bigsby is not nearly as easy.

But, it's his guitar and he is the one who has to be happy with it.

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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:01 am
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The shape of a Strat body, the almost-zero neck angle, the regular bridge type and the trem cavities make fitting a Bigsby on a Strat p-r-e-t-t-y difficult. And playability/sound wise it most likely wouldn't give a lot of positive thangs; I'd rather expect some sustain loss. A Tele is somewhat easier (likewise a hardtail Strat).
Marky Forrest wrote:
In the 60's, Teles were made with the Bigsby option.
They've been available now and then, and are on the LtdEd menu even at the moment: https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric- ... 12321.html


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Post subject: Re: Bigsby fitting
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:08 am
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ghost_of_strings wrote:
You know what's weird is I can find lots of pictures of Bigsby Teles but not nearly as many strats. Does the Bigsby make more sense on a Telecaster for some reason?

Image

Because Tele's don't come stock with tremolos, and the Bigsby is an easier retrofit to a slab body than a Strat style trem.

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