Juicer13 Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I just bought a new Swingster yesterday....and I love it !!! Everything checked out fine and it plays like a dream with one exception. The high e string pops out of the roller bridge on hard bends. Actually it will usually hold on the bend until you pick the string while bending it, then it pops out. Any suggestions on how to fix this without me having to drive three hours back to where I bought it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 get a file and file the groove in the roller a little deeper ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juicer13 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Thought of that but I don't think it will work. I'd have tonfilenit all the way around uniformly to make it work. I'm thinking of putting a wilkinson bridge on instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dporto Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 If the tailpeice isn't all the way down to the top of the guitar then lower it a bit - this should increase your break angle/string tension a little and make the string stay in the roller. You'll have to experiment a little to find the "sweet spot" between comfortable string tension and where the string pops out of the roller. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyprussid Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hi Guys did any one solve the E string jumping out of the bridge roller problem, seems to do when finger picking or bending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I have a white Royale, IMX, if you are using light gauge strings (10's for example) with a low action setting, I don't know if there's a way around it with the roller bridge. I have 11s on mine with a plain G and the action is pretty low, but the 11s are tight enough to stay put. But seriously a lot depends on each persons touch, if you've a heavy hand, maybe there's no other way than getting a standard abr bridge replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hi Guys did any one solve the E string jumping out of the bridge roller problem, seems to do when finger picking or bending If the tailpeice isn't all the way down to the top of the guitar then lower it a bit - this should increase your break angle/string tension a little and make the string stay in the roller. You'll have to experiment a little to find the "sweet spot" between comfortable string tension and where the string pops out of the roller. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 hmm there is no "tailpiece" per say these come stock with a bigsby... the sting run is just long enough where there's not a lot of tension on the strings- if you're not using at least 11s, and drop that action quite low,,, it's just going to happen,, as mentioned those with a real heavy picking hand, will probably see this a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyprussid Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 i use DR pure blues 11s the E tends to pop out on bends above the 9 fret could it be possible to change the Bigsby to the type with with the extra roller say a b7 type or would these not be suitable on a Swingster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 i use DR pure blues 11s the E tends to pop out on bends above the 9 fret could it be possible to change the Bigsby to the type with with the extra roller say a b7 type or would these not be suitable on a Swingster hmm good question... you may want to run up some one in customer service. I think I would agree, the B7s may solve the problem. I have this same bigsby on my chet atkins country gent and neither have the issue. maybe you have a heavier hand.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 I'm assuming from the spec on the Gibson website that the top is laminated Spruce. I would have no concerns about fitting a B7 to a laminated top - Gibson have been doing this to ES-330s and Casinos for many years. I'm never fitted a B7 to a carved top. With B3s and B6s, the neck should be set to the body so that there is enough break angle over the bridge to stop the strings popping out of the saddles - if they are popping out it's likely that the neck is slightly under set. This shouldn't really be an issue with an instrument intended to be fitted with a floating bridge and B3, but is often the case fitting B3/6s to guitars with tunomatics mounted directly into the top - so I guess the fixes are the same. I'd first off think about losing the roller bridge: they may help a little on Bigsby equipped Les Paul / Wildkat style guitars where there's a very steep break angle over the bridge, but they shouldn't be necessary with a B3/6 equipped guitar. If you have a straight tunomatic on there, you can file the slot a little deeper and raise the bridge up a touch to compensate. Deepen a liitle at a time, as you don't want the slot deeper than necessary. If the issue is marginal this should fix it. If it's still an issue - and it was with my Japanese Casino which is fitted with a B6 - then your other option is as dporto said - lower the tailpiece. Unfortunately, since the Bigsby sits flat against the top of the guitar, that's easier said than done. If you lift the Bigsby up, there should be a little felt pad under there to protect the finish. You don't really need this, and removing it buys you about another mm. Once that is gone, the only option is to remove material from the underside of the Bigsby itself, and that was the path I took on the Casino. It's a lot easier with a US Bigsby as it's made from polished aluminium. I've never done it to a B30 as fitted to the Swingster, but it's chrome plated (steel?) so I wouldn't be too keen to work on it. I took a little under 2mm off the base of mine in the area it contacted the top, and that was enough to get it working correctly without any visible sign of the mod without lifting up the Bigsby. It occurred to me at the time of doing the Casino setup, an alternative solution would be to fabricate a replacement pin bar for the Bigsby with a smaller diameter - that would increase the break angle without needing to permanently modify the unit. Here's where a friend with a metal shop would come in handy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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