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Installed a Bigsby on my Les Paul... With no drilling!!!


GuitarJunkie

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Really sweet; very nice guitar all round GJ.

 

How much either side of true pitch does it deflect the note on, say, a fifth-fret 'A' on the top 'E' string?

 

I haven't really missed not having a trem-arm (even though I had one on my #1 guitar for 24 years) but that V7 may make me consider putting one on something one day!

 

Keep us posted, please.

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BTW' date=' I have a P90 equipped SG Special and a Flying V just screaming out for this bad-boy...

 

[img']http://www.vibramate.com/images/VibramateMaestro640.jpg[/img]

 

I WILL be installing one of those on my SG as soon as it comes out.

 

That's my favorite type of vibrato and I've always wanted one on my SG.

 

I've never heard of that until now. I must have one!

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Da*n you Junkie! You have just caused some damage to my credit card, not to mention the ear-bending I will get from the wife when that package arrives...

 

Question though: On my Standard the top of the tailstop bush lies below the top so I'm afraid tightening the new plate down will cause damage to the finish which I'm keen to avoid. Is the Vibramate flat on the base or are any spacers supplied?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just a quick update: have now installed the vibramate and B7 on my Standard, an easy and painless job but for one thing.

I found that as the thickness of the Vibramate took the Bigsby base some 4mm higher, the tail could not be attached to the original stap button screw hole without applying quite a bit of downward pressure.

I felt this was putting too much strain on the stopbar bushes, so I reluctantly chose to drill a new strap button screwhole 4mm or so above the original. It pained me greatly to desecrate my baby but I couldn't work out any other way, and figure it will be preferable to the bushings pulling out. I scratched my heand over this for a while and read the instuctions a dozen times but I can't see how geometry will allow it to be fitted flat otherwise.

 

I think you can see from the last but one of Junkie's original pictures that his bigsby doesnt appear to be sitting quite flat on the plate either if I'm not mistaken.

 

First impressions of the sound are very positive however, though I havent given her a good thrashing yet.

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  • 1 month later...

I just discovered your fantastic photos/post. Many thanks for taking time to photograph and share your work. Pictures help resolve a lot of questions I've had about the fit and appearance of the vibramate-mounted Bigsby. (I'll read on to see your account, if there is one, of how well it works, stays in tune, etc.)

 

Vibramate owes you an acknowledgment. So does anyone else remotely interested in Bigsby equipped Les Pauls.

 

jhn29

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  • 7 months later...
Guest BentonC

VERY COOL! I had no idea about that product, but if it works as well as you say, it definitely seems worth a try!

 

I'm not the biggest Bigsby fan in the world, but with installation that is non-invasive, it might actually be a little easier to feel good about swapping it out.

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I felt this was putting too much strain on the stopbar bushes, so I reluctantly chose to drill a new strap button screwhole 4mm or so above the original. It pained me greatly to desecrate my baby but I couldn't work out any other way, and figure it will be preferable to the bushings pulling out.

 

I put a vibramate with the same bigsby on an epi '56 gold top. It was pulling the bushings out too. I decided a bigsby wasn't for me after all and wound up selling it so I could get my Traditional. That was a good idea to drill the second hole, so it will fit. This way you're just quasi married to it, in case you change your mind.

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