Members gardo Posted January 2, 2019 Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"E3BC3662-0377-4BBA-9E8C-CE4F4A9D7EC4.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32430799}[/ATTACH][img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/www.harmonycentral.com\/forum\/core\/image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=="}[/img2] MNew Bigsby DayA post by Thatsbunk a while back sold me on the Towner system. Not only does it give those ugly holes a purpose, it improves the tone by adding down pressure to the bridge.After looking at pictures and reading reviews I went with the B3The intallation was simple enough, just remove the strap button, drill the hole a little deeper and install it with one screw.The Towner Bar was just as easy,just slip the cuffs onto the bridge screws slide on the other pieces and screw it on.I did it after the strings to make it easyStringing the Bigsby was not as bad as I had expected.Once the first string was on the rest were simple.A 90 degree bend at the end of the string helped a lotWell time to go try it out some more . It was actually a retirement gift from my wife ,I hope she gives me plenty of time to enjoy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted January 2, 2019 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"92CC2766-4342-4450-9F73-1E650CA91EDE.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32430830}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted January 2, 2019 Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 Looks great congrats. The towner system is a great idea. i keeps little wedge shaped piece of foam in my kit to help restring my bigsby. I wedge it in under the bar to hold the ball end on the post while fitting the string to the tuner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted January 2, 2019 Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 That looks great! Nice job. Happy Retirement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted January 2, 2019 Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 do'h now you give me GAS again to buy a bigsby for my tele custom.... whats that nice looking guitar? frmo the picture it looks like the whammy bar could be a bit too short, how is it when you play it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted January 2, 2019 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 Believe it or not the guitar is an Xavier XV 900 that I’ve had for a few years, Right now it’s my number 1. It really came in to it’s own with the Bigsby.I don’t find the arm to be short,it’s just where I like it. But then I also have a shortened term arm on my strat,so it’s very comfortable . I don’t use a lot of vibrato just a little here and there on a long note or chord .I don’t know if it’s the longer strings or whatever but the guitar has the sound I always wanted it to have. Couldn’t be happier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 That looks really nice gardo! I have never been a fan of the "put a plate over the holes to hide it" approach, and leaving the empty holes just looks funny to me. That looks like a great solution, and as you said, it helps with downpressure at the bridge. Does the bar that replaces the stop tailpiece rotate at all? It's probably not a major point of friction, especially compared to the saddles, but it probably wouldn't hurt... Can you adjust the height of the Towner system bar? How is your tuning stability now vs. when the guitar was stock? I have a B5 Bigsby on my Gretsch Pro Jet, and I always wished it had a 3 series style Bigsby instead, but the lack of downpressure plus the holes such a replacement would leave have kept me from doing the mod... I wish there was something this cool for people in my situation. I'd need to measure everything, but I could possibly use a Towner system with one of the existing screw holes, but another would need to be drilled on the treble side... [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tgfs-minitron-nashville-humbucker-pickups-in-gretsch-copy-2d97d78c.jpg Views:\t2 Size:\t70.4 KB ID:\t32431214","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32431214","data-size":"full","title":"gfs-minitron-nashville-humbucker-pickups-in-gretsch-copy-2d97d78c.jpg"}[/ATTACH] ...and while the two screw holes furthest towards the tail of the guitar would probably be covered by the new vibrato, at least one (in front of the bar and closest to the bridge on the treble side) would remain visible and unused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Hmm... I just looked at their website, and they do have a B3 setup that's intended to work as a replacement for a B5... http://townerusa.com/bigsby-b5/ I just might have to check that out! I'd still have that one hole that I'd have to figure out how to hide though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted January 2, 2019 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 The cross piece on the Towner bar is actually made up of three separate pieces. The center bar is a hollow tube that rides on two offset pins. So yes it should move freely with the stringsThe cuffs have offset holes for the cross bar for more or less pressure I’ll give the new strings time to stabilize then decide if I want or need a roller bridge [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"8229148D-A940-4C4D-A850-0C3FB6203C9C.jpeg","data-attachmentid":32431328}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted January 2, 2019 Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 Happy New Bigsby Day. That looks really nice and it seems to be a very well thought out design. Sweet looking guitar too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted January 5, 2019 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2019 tuning stability is not what I want so a roller bridge is on the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted January 5, 2019 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2019 I sent pics to Towner because they had encouraged me to do so. I got an email from Mr Towner pointing out that the screw may not be seated properly in the strap button and he included a video showing a simple way to mill the screw head for proper fitTalk about suppotrt, they go to a whole new level.. Great people to deal with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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