skibum5545 Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 I've looked at the bigsby product line, and I know they don't make a bass vibrato. Having never seen a Bigsby in person, I don't know how hard it would be to convert a tailpiece into bass form. I assume I'd have to change the spring to something heavier, but what else would I have to do? Also, does anyone know the tension of 4 medium guage bass strings at 35" scale? All the tension calculators I've found don't support bass string gauges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellcaster Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 I've looked at the bigsby product line, and I know they don't make a bass vibrato. Having never seen a Bigsby in person, I don't know how hard it would be to convert a tailpiece into bass form. I assume I'd have to change the spring to something heavier, but what else would I have to do? Also, does anyone know the tension of 4 medium guage bass strings at 35" scale? All the tension calculators I've found don't support bass string gauges. Im assuming you've already seen what I'm about to show you and you just want that bigsby look perhaps, anyway this might be something to look into. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailp...ss_Tremolo.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Hi, I imagine that there would be more work involved. I believe that the studs (?) on the Bigsby, where the strings attach to the tail piece, would not line up with bridge. Also, I don't know if the studs (?) would be strong enough for a bass string. And I do think that you would need a stronger spring. By "studs (?)" what I mean is the piece of metal that sticks out of the tail piece that goes through the grommet at the end of the string. Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Hellcaster: thanks for the link; yes, I've seen the hipshots. Yes, I want the bigsby look. Also, I don't really want to do the whole trem cavity routing thing, and a Bigsby would be a lot easier. Guitar Ed: I looked again at the Bigsby site. Yes, it appears the studs would have to be taken out and re-drilled for larger, properly spaced pegs/studs. I don't know how hard this would be; does anyone who owns a Bigsby know if this would be possible? For anyone who cares, I'm looking to build a 35" scale neckthru Gibson Thunderbird copy. The Bigsby would look cool, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 The Bigsby might also add some weigth to the body of the guitar, as that series of guitars & basses is known for being headstock heavy. Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Hmm... good point! I never thought about that. Well, all the more reason to do it, then! On a related note, does anyone know a good place to buy springs online? My local hardware store has a pretty much useless selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Have you seen these? ebay B5 copy I bought one, "won" it for $39.... he has a new one up every week...if you're going to experiment, you might as well start with this. It mounts to the surface, which seems more appropriate for a bass --you could look into mounting it into ferrules to give it more strength. You can drill out the back rod for bass strings, why not? If necessary, you can fill the existing holes with a bit of welding. I'd say the spring will work just fine, it's pretty heavy duty, but you can always change that if it doesn't ... This kind of whammy isn't appropriate for dive-bombing though...well, you can, but you'll have to retune a lot... Unless of course, it has to say Bigsby on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Thanks for the link! I just might have to pick one up with my Christmas money.... As for redrilling, I betcha my drill press would work fine. I don't care about dive bombing; that's why I want a Bigsby and not that hipshot trem. And no, it doesn't have to say Bigsby on it. Sound's like I'll be going to ebay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Actually, I had one more question; sorry to dig this back up again. Is it possible to recess the TOM instead of using a neck angle when using a bigsby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Actually, I had one more question; sorry to dig this back up again. Is it possible to recess the TOM instead of using a neck angle when using a bigsby? Is this an issue with the B5 style? Since it's mounted to the surface of the guitar? I'm planning on using mine with a Telecaster bridge (which happens to be a top mount version) --I'll use the existing string holes to feed the strings onto the existing saddles --so the angle of the strings from the saddle to the neck/nut won't be changed at all. Actually, I plan to drill out the bridge holes and insert some teflon-based tubing in to them (right now I'm thinking of adapting Graph Tech string trees for the purpose. That way the strings will rub against that material, and not the metal of the bridge itself. Hmm, maybe graph tech has some rejects that can give me? .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debaert Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 try www.allparts.com for the springs theyve got bigsbys and everything else youl need to finish the project too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 idch: I dunno if it's a problem or not. I've only seen the tailpieces used with TOM bridges, so I assumed they needed the proper string drop from the bridge; is the string guide bar between the bridge and the string pegs there to guide the strings at a lower trajectory, or does it serve some purpose for string tension, too? If the former, a regular bass bridge will work, problem solved. I just don't know which it is. debaert: thanks for the link. They carry the bridge, but what I need is a heavier than stock spring to counteract the added tension of a set of bass strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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