Bigsby Bridges

[Gnarls Blunt]

Hey,
I'm putting a bigsby on my lp...Was right about to buy one but I decided to ask people who know first.
It's gonna be the cheaper b-70 and i'll spend the saved money on upgrades to keep it in tune. I did a search and found lots of interesting ways of keeping it in tune (extra wraps with the strings, graphite pencil in the nut, ect..) but couldn't find much info on a good bridge choice.

I was looking at these :
The bigsby roller bridge with ajustable intonation + "rocking motion"
http://www.wdmusic.com/6_saddle_brid...24540_prd1.htm

Or keep my TOM bridge and throw these saddles in:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...0&src=3SOSWXXA

I read roller bridges kill your tone, but will that apply to this type of bridge? Which one has a better chance of staying in tune the longest? ANY bigsby advice is greatly appreciated.

[bobgoblin]

You dont need either one, if you have a TOM or a Nashville-style bridge on your LP you'll be fine. If you WANT to add the Graphtechs, you'd probably see a small improvement, but in my years of using a Bigsby, (on a Gretsch), most were spent with a TOM.

[soybean]

Keep your bridge and put the saddles in. You don't need rollers. They don't really help and can kill some tone.

[es125luv]

I added a Bigby to my Les Paul...

Kept the bridge the same, and no probs.

Just keep in mind when restringing...

Take the time it normally takes you to string a guitar

AND MULTIPLY THAT BY 5.

[geetarman]

Originally Posted by es125luv

I added a Bigby to my Les Paul...

Kept the bridge the same, and no probs.

Just keep in mind when restringing...

Take the time it normally takes you to string a guitar

AND MULTIPLY THAT BY 5.

Your not kidding restringing a Bigsby sucks I hate having to do it on my Hamer Newport.

[Ryguy]

Standard TOM works fine. Two best tips for a bigsby, and I use them heavily on my three guitars, are: keep the nut and saddles lubricated with graphite or whatever, and STRETCH THE STRINGS OUT when you put them on (I usually fret the first fret hard, and then pull up in the strings from right above the neck pup). I really give them a yanking for about ten minutes. This is true even without a bigsby if you do a lot of bending, but esp with one. You know they are fully stretched when you can yank on a string and it doesn't go out of tune.

[Stonefree]

Use a capo, when you are restringing a Bigsby...

[es125luv]

Originally Posted by Stonefree

Use a capo, when you are restringing a Bigsby...

man that's an awesome tip!!! I also use a small nail and bend the string ball end at a 90 degree angle...

[drolling]

And there's also the old eraser trick; cut the tip off the eraser end of a pencil, and push it onto the roller-bar pin after the ball-end of the string. Helps keep it from popping off when you wrap the string around the bar & over the bridge.

Getting back OT, I've got a couple Bigsby-loaded Gretches - One w/a T.O.M. & the other w/the standard Gretsch bar bridge. Prefer the feel, tone & tuning stability of the bar bridge, but the trade-off's that the intonation's always gonna be better w/the T.O.M.

Bigsby also makes a compensated one-piece aluminum bridge that I really dig. This one'll fit right onto the posts of a standard tuneOmatic base..