Stop Tail Conversions?

[The Fatalities]

Is there anyway to change a stop tail piece to a tremolo?

maybe a bigsby?

all this without having to refinish

ive seen the stetsbar and the kahler.

i dont want anything big and ugly like those.

Edited January 12, 2007 by The Fatalities

[Mickguard]

That depends on the guitar. Flattops usually take a B5 (or B50 or clone) If it's not a flattop, then you'll need a different model. You have to remove the stoptail studs, then drill new screw holes for the bigsby. You can fill the holes from the stop tail studs, they won't be completely hidden by the bigsby. You can do this without refinishing the guitar, although it's never going to look like a factory install. But you can get pretty close if you're careful. And you can always find other ways of hiding the stud holes.

You'd think someone would have come up with a design that would hide the stoptail's footprint though.

As long as you realize that a Bigsby really is a vibrato--you don't use it for dive bombing, just for wiggling the tone about. And you can't go back again --if you get fed up with the Bigsby's tuning problems, the more frequent broken strings and the pain in the ass it gives for changing strings, you'll always have four screw holes on the face of the guitar. Of course, you can solve some of those problems (new saddles, nut, locking tuners).

Personally, I like the Les Trem design, I think it's a good solution. Expensive though.

[WezV]

The 'les trem' is certainly one of the easiest and least invasive ways of doing this, but it doesnt give you much more play than a bigsby and i think i would rather have one of those.

I did fit a floyd rose to a cheap flying v recently, that involves plugging the TOM holes, routing for the trem and sorting the neck angle out for the new bridge. Its not too hard a job on a flattop guitar but i wouldnt want to try it on a carved top like a les paul