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Post subject: Bigsby vibrato.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:56 pm
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Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:14 pm
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Location: Connersville, Indiana, USA
In the Of the Pro Players That Don't Play A Telecaster . . . thread,
bluesjzz wrote:
hello Guys! wanna bye 60 tele guitar with bigsby, but i have some doubts about the tuning and about the way the BIGSBY works. i have never ever used BIGSBY. what can You tell bout this kind of the guitars/

As many of us know, the Tele in question is the '60s Telecaster Custom with Bigsby. As far as tuning stability, although I've not had a chance to try a '60s Telecaster Custom with Bigsby, I'd have to guess that it's the same as any tremolo or vibrato equipped guitar; if you're going to use it extensively, you really need some way to lock the strings from being pulled out of tune, be it locking tuners or a locking nut. A Bigsby vibrato works pretty much the same way as a Fender tremolo, except you can't remove the arm/lever, as with a Fender tremolo equipped guitar.

Typically, a Bigsby vibrato is found on hollow/semi-hollow body electric guitars, like Gretsch, although there are solid body guitars, especially the ones from Gretsch, that have a Bigsby vibtato. Gibson and Epiphone both use Bigsby vibratos on several of their hollow and semi-hollow body guitar models, and Gibson even produces a couple of Bigsby equipped Les Pauls. My experience with a Bigsby vibrato is with my Peavey JF2 EX (hollow body), which has a Bigsby B7, while the '60s Telecaster Custom with Bigsby has a Bigsby B16. There are also Fender "F" logo versions of the Bigsby B16 available. Most of the Bigsby equipped Gretsch Electromatic solid body guitars have a Bigsby B5 (or B50 variant), while the Gretsch Professional solid body guitars have a Bigsby B3. I have two of the Bigsby B5 vibratos; one for my Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker, and one for my Gibson Les Paul Faded Double Cut.

Rockabilly is where you'll mostly find a Bigsby equipped guitar being used, and typically they're playing a hollow body Gretsch, be it an Electromatic or Professional series model. The Gretsch connection to rockabilly tends to come from artists like Brian Setzer (Stray Cats/Brian Setzer Orchestra) and Chet Atkins playing Gretsch guitars. Notice that both artists also have an extensive Signature series of Gretsch guitars. You'll also find Bigsby equipped guitars in blues, and to a lesser extent jazz. Of course surf guitar players typically use a Fender Stratocaster, Fender Jaguar or Fender Jazzmaster, but it's not unheard of for some players to use a Bigby equipped guitar for surf, on occasion.

Aside from my Peavey JF2 EX (and two Gibson Les Paul models, once I actually get the Bigsbys mounted), I have three tremolo bridge Fender Stratocasters (I also have two Strats that are hard tail) and a Fender Bass VI (having the same tremolo as a Jazzmaster/Jaguar), so I'm quite familiar with all three tremolo systems. I also have three Telecasters (two Squier, one Fender), which has a tremolo system older than any of the mechanical ones...bending the notes/chords at the neck.

The only (minor) drawback to a Bigsby vibrato is, when it comes time to change the strings. There are numerous ways folks have devised, to make string changes with a Bigsby as painless as possible, which for me is to slightly bend the ball end of the string, and (carefully) use my diagonal wire cutters to guide the ball onto the post.

Matt

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