mcgruff Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Got a Wigsby on ebay for only £30. As you've probably guessed, the manufacturer has decided to do a rip off homage of a Bigsby unit. The Wigsby has a couple of interesting features: rollers on the bar which holds the string down and adjustable spring tension. Quite possibly, it will work even better than a Bigsby, and it's cheap. What's not to like? Well... you have to rout out a cavity for the spring assembly, underneath the unit: I'd like to say I did this with exquisite care and skill, and didn't just hack away with a router bit mounted in a hand-held electric drill but you've seen the pictures now and you know I'd be lying. Not to worry though: it's all hidden under the unit. Almost all. There's a curve in the top (Epiphone dot) which has to be levelled out so the unit will lie flat. Can't avoid making a mess but still, not to worry. I was planning on stripping the guitar back to the wood and re-doing the finish anyway so I'm not bothered about that. In fact, I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself so far. I've got a better-than-Bigsby fitted on my guitar, my wallet didn't suffer major trauma, and I'm looking forward to a nice wiggle as I string up for the first time. What could possibly go wrong? Wouldn't it be funny if it didn't work after all that routing and sanding, leaving me with a hole in my guitar and a lump of steel useful only as a boat anchor? Actually, it's not funny at all. That mofo Wigsby mofo tremolo arm won't mofo return to the mofo neutral position after you mofo press on the mofo thing. Mofo! Press it down a little, and it stays down. Press it up a little bit and it stays up. I kid you not. It does have some return-to-centre movement, just not enough to actually return to the centre. When it stops, it stops anywhere within a range of about a whole semi-tone. That's a mofo lot. Oh well. Maybe I can sell it on ebay. Anyone looking for a boat anchor? And I'll need to figure out what to do with that big hole in my guitar. Somewhere to keep my change? Mini-bar? Suggestions welcome. Remember kids: a Wigsby isn't just for Christmas. It's for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Ouch, well let it be a lesson to everyone out there not to gauge out a guitar for a cheap add-on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgruff Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 They actually do look reasonably well-made. Other people seem to have had success with Wigsby units so who knows what went wrong. I'm pretty sure I've strung it up right (front to back, up over the roller bar, down under the front bar). I'm going to dismantle the roller bar, lube everything in sight, and try fiddling with the spring tension. Maybe that will help. Could be there's a little burr somewhere which needs to be filed down. I bought this guitar to experiment with so I can live with the hole - I could even just leave the Wigsby on to cover it up. Most of my experiments have been a great success (JP wiring, winding new pickups, making a tube amp) so on balance I'm still ahead. I'd take good tone and bad looks over good looks and bad tone any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 you win a few..... put another micro phonic pickup over the new sound hole and have a stereo guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midiman56 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Geeze ... what a frappin' mess THAT turned out to be! You know how guys put those "custom made" plates over the old post holes when they install actual Bigsbys? You could do the same thing ... only with a BIG SQUARE custom made plate! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgruff Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 It's annoying but not a catastrophe. To me, an electric guitar is a pair of jeans not a tuxedo. Jeans can stand to have a patch or two. For most people though, the finish is really important so I wanted to warn folks to be careful with Wigsby's. There seem to be two designs. Mine has a single spring underneath: The other has two springs - maybe this one works OK: Of course the hole you need to rout is twice the size... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Jim Nice to see you back. Stop by more often, we miss your input/thoughts/et al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dporto Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 It's a pretty simple machine - not a lot to go wrong. A couple possibilities... Does the "Wigsby" seem to work smoothly when it's not on the guitar/not under tension (i.e.- does it return to center when pulled or depressed)? If so, it seems there may be some obstruction in the route out (depth maybe?). If the route is clear and it still doesn't work properly, the problem might be in the main bearings - so that when under string tension, they're binding instead of rolling smoothly and returning to "center". The other possibility is that the spring is too weak. If it seems to be one of these reasons, maybe you just got a bad one - return it for another and see if it works better. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardog Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Mcgruff, put some wood fill in that hole and refin the guitar like you stated in the first post!!! There is still opportunity for getting in more experience on the experiment!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 I'm thinking this is just one of those "this is why they made project guitars" kind of things. Live & learn so to speak. Would I try something like this on an expensive guitar? NFW. Cheapo guitar, well, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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