Do They Make A Bass "bigsby"?

[darwinphilosophy]

So first I was just gonna make a Les Paul sort of look alike guitar now I am wanting to do a Les Paul look alike bass(because well I play bass and not guitar) but anywho I think it would be really cool to put a vibrato sort of thing on it like this Link but I can't find one for bass...I know there are tremolos but I dont want to router the necessarry pockets for one of those...So any ideas?

Thanks

Edited April 12, 2007 by darwinphilosophy

[Jon]

Bigsby does not make one for bass that I know of. The only other tremolo similar to that kind which would require minimal routing is a Kahler trem. I believe Victor Wooten uses one. Remember, bass trem's are very expensive because there is almost no demand for them.

[darwinphilosophy]

Why would you say there is no demand for them? Do they not sound good at all or something or just people that play bass don't like things to sound crazy and "psychadelic" Haha

Edited April 12, 2007 by darwinphilosophy

[biliousfrog]

There's little demand because bass tends to be a solid backing instrument rather than a solo instrument. There are obvious exceptions such as Wooten & Claypool but it would be unlikely that even they would use a whammy on a regular basis.

[ihocky2]

I have never looked at a Bigsy up close, but if the holes are large enough to accomodate bass strings, you could use one if you built a 6 string bass.

[Jon]

Why would you say there is no demand for them? Do they not sound good at all or something or just people that play bass don't like things to sound crazy and "psychadelic" Haha

For the exact reason mentioned, bass is not seen as a solo instrument. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a bass with a trem (when I find the right, reliable one..) but unless you're a solo bassist or a bassist playing solo's in a band setting, a tremolo is useless.

I have never looked at a Bigsy up close, but if the holes are large enough to accomodate bass strings, you could use one if you built a 6 string bass.

I would not recommend this - guitar string spacing is around 12-13mm center to center, correct? That's non-existent for basses, 4-strings are typically 18 and 19mm center to center. Not to mention the bigsby is not designed for bass, the saddles may not be strong enough to handle bass strings (more tension than guitar). I'm all for tight string spacing, but throw in the fact that the low E and B strings are fairly thick and you have almost no room to play with anything besides a pick.

It's a cool thought, but I would not suggest testing it out on a $100+ piece of hardware.