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The Bigsby appreciation thread


Jayyj

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There are a couple of new threads about Bigsby installs today, so what better time to celebrate the noble Bigsby! So, lets see your Bigsby equipped ES guitars: I'll go first, with my two favourite electrics: a '79 ES355 and a '65 ES330.

 

ES355and330.jpg

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Yes yes yes!

 

Beautiful 330 BTW...Here are mine.

 

1st up, 2013 Memphis ES175 with P94s -

 

ES175bodyJan14web_zps8b4a9da7.jpg

 

Notice the break angle over the bridge which is very shallow indeed (if you are thinking of equipping your 175):

 

ES175BridgeWeb_zpsc0c6ba62.jpg

 

And here is the cheapie, a Korean Shine semi model SHC909TO, less than a tenth of the price of the Gibson!

 

Shinefront.jpg

 

I'll be gigging with it on Saturday.

 

I have done quite a bit of work to damp off all the extraneous vibrations, resonances and noises on both these guitars; the Shine doesn't have the even response or bass that the Gibson does but it still sounds good.

 

Great topic!

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Danny those are amazing, just fantastic.....guitar heaven and I noticed the 355 with the L5 neck too...?

I'm wondering if we could see pics of all your current Gibsons sometime....you have some beautiful L5s....

 

There must be someone with a Bigsby ES295?

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Danny, what's the story on the 355 with L5 appointments?

 

It's an ES-355 with an L-5S fretboard and headstock inlay made for me in the early '90's by Roger Giffin, who was Gibson's "Custom Shop West" builder. It's as nice as it looks. If I were to do it again today I'd put a Bigsby on it, but back then I wasn't a fan, so it has a replated Vibrola from the '60's. Today the guitar doesn't get much use because of its weight.

 

 

Danny those are amazing, just fantastic.....guitar heaven and I noticed the 355 with the L5 neck too...?

I'm wondering if we could see pics of all your current Gibsons sometime....you have some beautiful L5s....

 

 

I've posted pictures of quite a few in this forum.

 

Danny W.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here you go Charles, I'll embed it for you. An easy way is to register a Photobucket account, upload the photo, click on the 'copy img' share link, then paste it into the body of the text.

 

It's a great looking guitar by the way, love the red over mahogany. Of everything Gibson have done since the McCarthy era the Johnny A has to be my favourite.

 

2014-12-04%2020.18.22.jpg

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Jayyj...you are tha' man! Thanks for doing that. I think it's not working the way you have described it because I'm on an Ipad. Either way, I'll figure it out and quit wasting this fine forums' bandwidth. It's good guys like you that keep me coming back to learn and share. Happy new year.

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What advantages, if any, does the Bigsby have over the Lyre tail piece?

 

I is a Bigsby virgin why is why I'm asking. They always looked like they would add too much weight to the guitar.

 

The Bigsby has a little more travel than the lyre - more or less a tone downward as opposed to a semitone from the lyre - and I prefer the responsiveness of the spring in a Bigsby. I'm not sure if the Bigsby is necessarily a superior design but my first pro quality guitar was my ES355 and that guitar has remained my no 1 for neatly 20 years, so I know every naunce of how the Bigsby responds and feels as much part of my playing as my left hand vibrato. The lyre doesn't have enough travel, feels kind of loose and flimsy and the arm never stats where I want it: but who knows, if that 355 had come with a lyre I could be saying the opposite.

 

I know everyone goes on about the added weight of a Bigsby, but it's only a few percent onto the weight of a guitar and having handled both Bigsbys and lyres when they've been off the guitar there isn't a huge difference between the two.

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