fromnabulax
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Posts posted by fromnabulax
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Hello All,
I picked up a Wildkat in a trade. I love the look and of course the Bigsby. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get more than 3 or 4 songs before it needs to be tuned. It is pretty frustrating. So my question is does anyone have tips to improve the tuning stability.
Thanks for reading my post!
I don't know how you play, but keep in mind that a Bigsby is not constructed to be used like a more modern tremolo system. It's not built for dive bombs or octave and a half pulls, just a nice gentle tremolo.
Make sure your strings are properly stretched with not too many winds at the tuners. No more than three winds is a good rule. The more winds at the tuner, the longer it takes for them to stretch.
New strings need to stretch, but in time will settle in. Maybe you're using brand new strings and they just need to be properly broken in.
Try using a graphite pencil in the slots at the nut. It can help the strings ease their way back to proper pitch after the Bigsby's been used. There are products you can buy to help with that, but a regular old pencil ought to do the trick for cheap.
Are your strings strung properly on the Bigsby unit? I'm not trying to be insulting here, but I have seen several new players to the Bigsby set them improperly raising the action badly and leaving the guitar virtually untunable. You ought to be able to find YouTube videos showing the proper way to thread your strings under and over the Bigsby roller. Check those out if you like.
These are the first things you may want to check. Another more expensive proposition is the purchase of a roller bridge. Rather than stationary saddles, the roller bridge saddles actually do spin as the string gets pulled back and forth with Bigsby use.
Undoubtedly others will chime in here with suggestions, but the above are just a few hints to help you out, and they just may be all that you need.
Good luck, and post what you learn. You may be able to help out someone else with the sane issues.
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Some Day, Some Where
BB King - 1952
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Okay experts, here's some fresh meat.
I bought it last year. Much of it is after market add ons. Tuners, bridge, saddle, all after market. I myself had it freshly rewired with new pick ups, so really about all that's left and original is the wood.
I figure it's a 1992 but dater project doesn't recognize it as a genuine serial number.
The guitar has aged very nicely, the original frets are still on there with the original nibs intact and the 5 piece neck sets it all off with a touch of class. Aside from that, the beast plays and now sounds incredible.
Any info would be considered helpful, and thanks.
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James Whyld Lea, "Therapy." A truly fine fairly recent solo CD from the musical brain behind Slade.
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While I use different strings on different guitars, I have yet to find any string that makes my J200 sing, roar, and whisper like Gibson's own Masterbuilt Premium 80/20 .013s.
I must've tried 4 or 5 different sets from various companies, but none of them has the pizazz and zing of these.
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[quote name='bobouz' timestamp='1428106534' post='1646445'
As for Nick Valensi, he's the guitarist for a New York band called The Strokes (google for more info), and this model is based on his modified '90s Riviera with P94 pickups.
I checked The Strokes out on YouTube. It cracks me up just how far apart our use of the instrument is, but it also points out just how versatile a guitar this one can be.
Thanks bobouz.
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Thanks to a heads up here on another thread I saw that one of these Valensi Riviera P94s was currently available used online through GC. I've had a 50/50 batting average buying used from GC online so I was a bit wary, but since they've never argued with me over a return, I figured I would jump.
First I gave our original poster 48 hours time to buy it for himself. I didn't want to mooch in on his dream guitar, but after seeing it was still available after a couple if days, I jumped on it.
I am surely glad I did. This 2011 Usong Korea made guitar is everything my P93 Riviera is not.
It's a beauty to look at in spite of its somewhat orange tint, it has been expertly set up with perfectly spot on intonation and action, and there is not a single mark anywhere on the neck fingerboard, or body, with what appear to be very few pick marks on the guard.
The previous owner upgraded the strap buttons as well as the tuners. The guitar now sports Grover keystones that are a perfect match and to my mind a touch of class to the headstock.
The metal E insignia has also been removed from the pick guard.
Plugging it in, it has all the warm buttery tones that I love and expect from P94s. The neck is fast, and that frequensator adds just the right amount of warm low end resonance to turn this into a lovely sounding and playing jazz guitar.
I don't actually know who Nick Valensi is, so my only expected modifications will be to get myself a solid black truss rod cover and remove the pick guard entirely, which I usually do all my archtops.
Here she is now...
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Thanks for story, love these old archtops, had a 46' ES150 for 35yrs.
I have kinda sorta given up on restoring my 1935 Tonk Bros Fascinator by Gibson, it has the same lovely binding of your guitar.... but in a world of bad shape. The Fascinator was a low end model and not sure it would ever be worth the trouble. I picked up a 2012 John Pisano by Eastman and well... the Tonk slumbers. regards
Love the inlay on that neck!
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The case story is great. Was there a reason though you did not find the cases for arched top/back guitars made by TKL suitable.
All the different cases I tried were just barely to shallow. With no bridge they would close just fine, with the bridge in place there was perhaps a 16th if an inch to much height.
With a softshell case I could have possibly just latched the top, but of course I sure as heck didn't want to damage either the bridge or guitar.
I tried at least dozen cases, I even tried a few of those Eastman cello style cases. None would latch. Even G and G while using an existing template for shape had to custom cut me a case for height, and now my own guitar shape and dimensions are forever stored as a template in their factory.
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i just wanted share a few pics of one of my favorites. I've owned it for about 5 years now. The only problem I had was finding a good case. The case it was shipped in only worked with the bridge off the guitar.
Problem was that this one is not only anrchtop, it's an archback as well.
I was living in Los Angeles at the time which is the home of G and G Quality Case, which is the company Leo Fender hired to make Fender cases going way back to the early 50s, and in fact they still manufacture the vintage reissue cases today.
They custom built me a case from the ground up. The place was incredible. They had templates of every single guitar case, custom or otherwise, they had made since they started in business.
And oh man, that new case smell? This place was just loaded with it.
They made me a tweed case with a hot pink fur interior. It was costly but the case is built like a tank, and will be around long after I'm gone.
The complete description of the guitar as well as these photos are still online at the Archtop.com site, so you can read all about her there:
http://www.archtop.com/ac_38M5.html
And here are just the pics for the voyeurs amongst you (us)...
I don't know if you can really tell just how incredibly lovely that checkerboard binding really is. It runs completely around the entire neck, as well as the entire front of the body. In spite of the sellers blurb it actually could use a good fret job, but I don't want to damage or lose the fabulous binding or patina.
I use this baby primarily for Jazz and Country. It's loud but not brash with lots of ringing mids. The action is a bit higher than I would use on a flat top.
Hope you all like the pics.
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Here's my second attempt at a pic post. If this works I'll continue in the Gibson Acoustic forum...
Well, I'll be darned, it works!
Tuning Stability for the Wildkat
in Epiphone Electrics
Posted
Morbe, while I did suggest the roller bridge as a possibility, I sure wasn't screaming about it.
As a point of fact I have never bought a roller bridge for any of my several tremolo equipped guitars ever. Not Fenders, not Gibsons, not Epiphones, and I have never experienced any severe tuning issues due to the use of a Bigsby, or any number of tremolo systems. The nut can be an issue, but string grab at the bridge has never been a problem. String grab at the nut can be a problem without the use of a tremolo. If you've ever tuned any guitar and heard that annoying ping and a quarter tone jump in pitch you know what I mean.
I have an Eastwood Airline reissue that came with a roller bridge installed new, and I honestly can't tell any great difference between a stock tune-o-matic and a roller bridge.