A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Not that I have anything against bigsbys but I'd likely not use it a whole lot. But..OTOH the Bigsby variant of the Gretsch Electromatic 5622 comes in a much wider variety of colors.

What say you all concerning Bigsby guitars and BTW..does anyone know if you can remove the arm on these Gretsch Bigsby guitars ?

Obviously you can because some people replace the "butter knife" (flat) arm with a "rod" (round) arm.
But why bother? The will easily rotate out of your way.

I don't use a trem very much, but if I saw a great guitar with a Bigsby, I'd probably buy it without thinking twice. I think they're relatively stable when not in use. The only downside I really associate with them is that they make string changes more of a pain (because if you give it any slack, the ball will jump off the peg during the process).

If you want to try a trem on a stoptail guitar without one though, I highly recommend the Duesenberg Les Trem II. It's reversible as it just replaces the stoptail and doesn't need any new holes.

A Bigsby sucks, especially if you don’t use it much. It’s a pain to change strings. If a string breaks, the other 5 go out of tune. If you adjust one string, the other 5 go out of tune. Yuck!

Changing strings is no problem, if you have a "Spoiler."

I love my two bigsby guitars. I like tremolo bars in general. I use them.
I put bigsby B7's with tension bars on 2 of my Callisto's. Did need the butt strap button extender which Townsend Tension Bar system offers. And I use the Vibromat spoiler claw that makes string changes much easier. It slides over the string pins and allows for much better string end access.

Like Mickey posted.

I had put a B7 (I think) on my 3100 a while back, I miss it now that it's gone but I traded it to a buddy for a few pedals or maybe even the Tele I got off of him, I can't remember now lol.

Anyway, I didn't really have a negative experience with it, I'd just rather have a Floyd if I'm gonna have a trem.

If you have to ask...probably should stay away. I can not for the life of me understand why anyone would want a guitar without one

I Bigsbyfied mine, but I bought used and the Bigsby was in my parts bin unused. Still need to do something for a tension bar.

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honyock wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:37 pm I Bigsbyfied mine, but I bought used and the Bigsby was in my parts bin unused. Still need to do something for a tension bar.

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I would draw a smiley Face under those two StopBar Post holes...

Tonray's Ghost wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:45 pm
I would draw a smiley Face under those two StopBar Post holes...

Er, Uh, No. That is where he needs to add the pressure bar.

I have one on my Epi Casino. It is okay for a gentile wiggle bar.

The les Paul bigsby with the tension bar built in (B7?) feels stiff to me and does not give you much whammy.

The one without the tension bar on my Gretsch is MUCH better (B6?) but still not as good as a floyd.

I never had any tuning stability issues with either - it’s not fighting a floyd. I took the Bigsby off my les Paul because I didn’t use it and wanted the lighter weight and any incremental tuning stability or sustain improvement I could get.

I never had any issue with string change on either.

Partscaster wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:13 am I love my two bigsby guitars. I like tremolo bars in general. I use them.
I put bigsby B7's with tension bars on 2 of my Callisto's. Did need the butt strap button extender which Townsend Tension Bar system offers. And I use the Vibromat spoiler claw that makes string changes much easier. It slides over the string pins and allows for much better string end access.

Like Mickey posted.

Towner Down Tension Bar with V.BLOCK and Hinge Plate Adapter, yeah, buddy!

Lacking Talent wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:33 pm

Partscaster wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:13 am I love my two bigsby guitars. I like tremolo bars in general. I use them.
I put bigsby B7's with tension bars on 2 of my Callisto's. Did need the butt strap button extender which Townsend Tension Bar system offers. And I use the Vibromat spoiler claw that makes string changes much easier. It slides over the string pins and allows for much better string end access.

Like Mickey posted.

Towner Down Tension Bar with V.BLOCK and Hinge Plate Adapter, yeah, buddy!

Thats the right name, excuse me. Nice looking guitar. I would like one of the banjo edge protecters, too.
Nice even smooth tension on the b7 w/ Towner system. Less stiff than b5's I understand.

Partscaster wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 8:08 am

Lacking Talent wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:33 pm

Partscaster wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:13 am I love my two bigsby guitars. I like tremolo bars in general. I use them.
I put bigsby B7's with tension bars on 2 of my Callisto's. Did need the butt strap button extender which Townsend Tension Bar system offers. And I use the Vibromat spoiler claw that makes string changes much easier. It slides over the string pins and allows for much better string end access.

Like Mickey posted.

Towner Down Tension Bar with V.BLOCK and Hinge Plate Adapter, yeah, buddy!

Thats the right name, excuse me. Nice looking guitar. I would like one of the banjo edge protecters, too.
Nice even smooth tension on the b7 w/ Towner system. Less stiff than b5's I understand.

Here you go! https://www.banjoteacher.com/banjo-supp ... -p101.html

I've had a few guitars with Bigsby vibratos. Generally, I prefer the guitar being lighter to have the Bigsby. I don't hate it, I just don't love it either.

Lacking Talent wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 2:41 am

Partscaster wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 8:08 am

Lacking Talent wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:33 pm

Towner Down Tension Bar with V.BLOCK and Hinge Plate Adapter, yeah, buddy!

Thats the right name, excuse me. Nice looking guitar. I would like one of the banjo edge protecters, too.
Nice even smooth tension on the b7 w/ Towner system. Less stiff than b5's I understand.

Here you go! https://www.banjoteacher.com/banjo-supp ... -p101.html

Thank you very much.