Question about Bigsby

[saturn]

I'm not planning on buying or installing one. I'm just curious.

 

I was in GC last week and they had what I considered a very nice Gretsch with a Bigsby hanging in the vault area.

I'm sure it was one of those Korean made because it was only $400 and the Bigsby said something like "Licensed by Bigsby". Anyway it played great and I was tempted to buy it but I really didn't need it. This was the first ime I've actually tried a Bigsby style.

 

Question are:

 

1. It seemed to only "stretch" the strings. Is there no way to "depress" or lessen the tension?

 

2. The tune-o-matic style bridge would rock back and forth on the posts when I used the bigsby. Is that normal?

 

Thanks

[Riffster]

Yep, I wanted one of those Gretsch but I opted for a Casino that has a bigsby and the "licensed by" small lettering as well.

 

These bigsby copies are made overseas and have to be up to bigsby's standards. They are good enough for me.

 

Bigbsys are not floating tremolos, they only work one way and are meant to accentuate notes in a mild way not to dive bomb and tug on th bar hard. They do produce a different type of sound when bent due to the mechanics.

 

The bigsby should lessen the tension and not stretch the strings, maybe they ran the strings wrong on that guitar.

 

The brodge rocks because the manufacturers do not use a rolling saddle brigde, I changed the bridge on my Casino and the bridge does not rock back and forth anymore. If you do not change the bridge the normal saddles die fast, especially the ones on wound strings.

[Dynadude]

A Bigsby style tremolo should work both ways. In to loosen, and out to tighten.

 

It's a true tremolo action tailpiece though. Kind of a floating set up.

[nikko18]

it's already been said but they strings should be loosening and stretching/tightening. looser when you push the bar down and tighter when you pul back just like normal tremolo. i can't think of how you possibly were not able to lossen it, they must of put the strings on totally wrong or something.

[Riffster]

A Bigsby style tremolo should work both ways. In to loosen' date=' and out to tighten.

 

It's a true tremolo action tailpiece though. Kind of a floating set up.[/quote']

 

Not really...I mean by all means you can pull the tremolo arm back and make the strings stretch but you would put a lot of stress on the arm and the guitar. Bigsbys are not condsidered floating tremolos. they are also made of cast metal, not all that flexible, I have see broken and cracked bigsbys.

 

My Casino is 100% hollow, I am not even curious as to what sound I could get by pulling the arm backwards. Bigsbys are maent to be used subtly.

[guitarbob123]

They probbably strung it through not over the bar so it won't work properly

[saturn]

The bar was over the strings and I could only pull back on it. It was sitting as far forward as it would go, so I couldn't push it in any more. On my Strat, I do the opposite. I pull the trem as far back with the springs, so it sits tight on the body and I only use it to push slightly down for a subtle virbo.

[Riffster]

Yea, somebody installed the strings the wrong way or the spring gave out, sometimes the springs is misplaced and gets out of its cradle. I hate changing strings on bigsbys.

 

Bigsbys should only push down unless the resistance spring starts getting soft and the tremolo starts to sag, in that case you could pull back but it is not by design. I am sure there would be more than normal tuning issues too.

 

I have my Stratocatster's trem set at fully floating I can pull back quite a bit but I don't, the reason I have it set up that way is that I like the "springy" sound that IMO a Stratocaster should have.

[:oilpit:]

Bigsby ARE meant to change the pitch both up and down...

This is on every product description off the Bigsby website...

 

BIGSBY TRUE VIBRATO

A brand new device for manually creating a TRUE VIBRATO. The only TRUE VIBRATO is to change the tone above AND below the normal pitch.