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bill67

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Posted

Would a Bigsby kill the tone and volume on a straight archtop acoustical guitar.

 

Yes, the physics of the using the vibrato would see to that. The passive unit would still soak up some volume owing to the presence of a spring in the string anchor mechanism.

 

Here is a link to the Bigsby site's FAQ:

 

http://www.bigsby.com/vibe/resources/faqs/

 

You may need more than just a passing acquaintance with Physics to be able to dig how using a vibrato tailpiece will guarantee volume attenuation, however. For that part, you are on your own (for now).

 

[suffice it to say that the pitch deviation of the string to which vibrato is applied can produce amplitude modulation of 15dB (or more). This energy loss can easily be compensated for on a bowed or blown instrument, but the volume attenuation becomes problematic on a plucked string. In the case of electric guitars, ambient sound pressure levels are usually sufficiently high to impart energy to the decaying string vibration by means of sympathetic vibration.

 

With an acoustic arch top guitar, this possibility does not exist...]

 

Happy New Year

[thumbup]

J/W

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