Members Ebsy Posted April 29, 2006 Members Share Posted April 29, 2006 Howdy, Here's my Squier Telecaster from my other thread I've got a Bigsby B-5 lying around and I'm currently considering installing it on the Tele, from the pictures I've seen of Tele's with Bigsby's, it definitely looks great but there's a few things I need to consider. Currently it's string-thru, will the toploading Bigsby option significantly alter tone?. Will I need to shim the neck? if so, what will be the best way of doing it? (I've read you can use a .5mm pick as a shim, is this alright?) Lastly, I'll need a new bridge, I'm considering the wilkinson compensated 3 barrel. Or this which is also nice Any opinions? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nevermind Posted April 29, 2006 Members Share Posted April 29, 2006 Everything looks better with a Bigsby! I'd stick one on my wife if she'd stand still while I attach it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members InterpolJaguar Posted April 29, 2006 Members Share Posted April 29, 2006 Yeah, You should definitely put a Bigsby on that guitar. The lower bridge plate is for a Jaguar or Jazzmaster bridge, right? I'd recommend that one over the other because you'll be able to intonate it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ebsy Posted April 29, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 29, 2006 with the 3-barrel it'll look similar to this... With the ashtray-shaped plate it'll look more like this...... I'm really warming to the latter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted April 29, 2006 Members Share Posted April 29, 2006 Go for it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ebsy Posted April 30, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Shameless bump!. Could someone help me out with these questions?... Currently it's string-thru, will the toploading Bigsby route significantly alter tone?. Will I need to shim the neck? if so, what will be the best way of doing it? (I've read you can use a .5mm pick as a shim, is this alright?) Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members supercow3 Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by nevermind Everything looks better with a Bigsby! I'd stick one on my wife if she'd stand still while I attach it. lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members supercow3 Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by Ebsy with the 3-barrel it'll look similar to this... With the ashtray-shaped plate it'll look more like this...... I'm really warming to the latter! Whats the difference mounting the bigsby the first way from the second way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vendor Defendor Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by supercow3 Whats the difference mounting the bigsby the first way from the second way? refering to the plate around the pickup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jack White 3 Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 would definitely go for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nevermind Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 I've never noticed a difference in tone or sustain from putting the Bigsby on my tele. I did shim the neck a little, I used a piece of screen folded over once to get the thickness needed for mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members comfortablynumb Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Here's mine.. and it's a weird one. Whoever put the Bigsby on had an interesting way of doing it. From what I can tell the Bigsby is a B16.. .. that was sawed off at the bridge. I guess they wanted the original bridge. He drilled holes in the back of the bridge for the strings to pass through. As you can see in the second pic, the strings rub on the top of the holes. There's no rollbar on the Bigsby and I don't know if he shimmed the neck or not.. but there doesn't seem to be a problem on it. When I changed strings on it a while back, I thought I'd run them through the body.. just to try it out. I didn't notice any tone difference. Good luck if you go through with it. Your Tele will look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vinnie Vintage Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by nevermind I've never noticed a difference in tone or sustain from putting the Bigsby on my tele. I did shim the neck a little, I used a piece of screen folded over once to get the thickness needed for mine. What on earth is that monstrous guitar? (sorry) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Thanks for posting this Esby as I'm cusious to do it on a tele also. Apparently there more than one way to skin that cat. Comfortablynumb, doesn't that setup saw the strings where they pass through the bridge? Any breakage issues? Bruce Bennett posted recently about adding a .020 brass shim plate under a (strat's) neck to improve sustain - swore it worked... if you end up needing a shim you might look into brass. A local sheet metal shop should be able to shear one for you and maybe even drill the holes too. After you get the Bigsby in place you could probably do a dry fit with the neck and a straight edge to see what thickness worked best - stack up business cards till the height was right then take your stack into the metal shop and have them caliper it for the closest gague brass in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members supercow3 Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by Vendor Defendor refering to the plate around the pickup oops my bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voneville Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 One thing to consider is that if your Squier Tele is heavy (like mine are) it's going to add a very noticeable amount of weight. In my experience it seemed like it lost a little sparkle in the tone, but it could have been pyschological. I used a top loader GFS hardtail bridge and routed the strings the holes. I had some binding issues, so if I were to run it that way again I would notch them out. I ultimately decided to remove the bigsby and buy a strat so I could have a guitar with Trem. I'm eventually going to put that Bigsby on something, but probably not a tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ebsy Posted April 30, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Thanks for the replies everyone. Originally posted by nevermind I've decided I'm definitely going for that look, with the ashtray-shaped plate. And thanks for the advice regarding the brass shim id-man, sounds good!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nevermind Posted April 30, 2006 Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by Vinnie Vintage What on earth is that monstrous guitar? (sorry) Actually, that was kind of the look and reaction I was going for. Custom made maple body with a WD neck. The hardware was all sand blasted back to the copper plating and then had steel wool used to sheen it a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ebsy Posted April 30, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2006 Originally posted by nevermind Actually, that was kind of the look and reaction I was going for. Custom made maple body with a WD neck. The hardware was all sand blasted back to the copper plating and then had steel wool used to sheen it a little. I really like it myself. you look at it and think 'oooh that's a nice tel....ooh! it's not a telecaster!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members comfortablynumb Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 Originally posted by id-man Comfortablynumb, doesn't that setup saw the strings where they pass through the bridge? Any breakage issues? Surprisingly no.. I don't think I've broken a string yet on it. However I rarely play it as it has some electronic issues I haven't taken care of yet. Either way I would'nt recommend doing a Bigsby like mine.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sufidancer Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 Personally, I would only put a Bigsby on it if you like the way they sound and use them in your style of guitar playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 Originally posted by nevermind Actually, that was kind of the look and reaction I was going for. Custom made maple body with a WD neck. The hardware was all sand blasted back to the copper plating and then had steel wool used to sheen it a little. That's a neat look..especially the hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members playdabluze Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 Originally posted by Ebsy I've decided I'm definitely going for that look, with the ashtray-shaped plate. That's what mine is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cosmic_Monkey Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 I think they look cool, but otherwise suck. Ever consider something like a Hipshot or string-bender, they are kinda fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chevette Posted May 1, 2006 Members Share Posted May 1, 2006 Originally posted by sufidancer Personally, I would only put a Bigsby on it if you like the way they sound and use them in your style of guitar playing. Good point, are you only putting it on cuz've how it looks, or will you use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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