Tele with Tremolo Arm

Any trem will do, Bigsby, Strat, Floyd, etc....

I liked this pic of my Tele with my one and only boy.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd171/telechaser/P1000944.jpg

Right there in the avatar. If I had it to do over again I would have used BigsbyTele as my handle ;)

i'm in....

Doublebound 'burst with O.V.'s and the Glendale ChimeMaster built by Ron Kirn

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb37/maestrovert/KirnTeleRob2resized.jpg

Here's my 2004 CIJ 60's Custom with B5. Original pickups recently replaced with Lawrence Keystones.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o67/echorrigan/Custom_Full_Front.jpg

Count me in!

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/9425/img5057m.jpg (http://img522.imageshack.us/i/img5057m.jpg/)

Seymour-Duncan Hot Lead Stack in the bridge and Full Shred in the neck, 4-way switching and push-pull coil cut. Not crazy about the tune-o-matic style bridge that came with the Bigsby, so I'm currently using the ZZ Guitarworks bridge. I miss the old ashtray style bridge though, so I think I'm going to try notching one out to make it work.

Is there such thing as a Thinline ('69 or '72) with a tremolo???

woo hoo - loving my mim 1994 with B5 and fralin blues special :razz:

http://university-park.org/guitar/mimteleb5.jpg

Is there such thing as a Thinline ('69 or '72) with a tremolo???

Yes. Plenty of pics around. Are you planning on building/put together one? As long as there is a centre block, putting a tremolo should be no problem.

here is a nice page that has Bigsbys specifically. I referenced it when I was researching if and how I was going to install the B5: http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/htm/gallery.htm
unaffiliated of course. hth

Anyone else -- I'm more interested in non-Bigsby options like the Les Trem.

Anyone else -- I'm more interested in non-Bigsby options like the Les Trem.

Same here. I'm planning to put together/build something with a Strat Trem (no flloyds though.)

I'm also interested in this one http://www.stetsbar.com/

Same here. I'm planning to put together/build something with a Strat Trem (no flloyds though.)

I'm also interested in this one http://www.stetsbar.com/

Where are you planning to get the body routed with a Strat trem, or are you doing it yourself?

This is the coolest aftermarket Telecaster trem unit I can find:

http://www.tremking.com/prod2.html

Anyone else -- I'm more interested in non-Bigsby options like the Les Trem.

I love the trem and in particular the Khaler now on my tele. Expensive, but quality!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/peterstewartwarmington/blueteleful1/bluetele9.jpg

Very small routing under the trem required, this hybrid version will lock down (to a fixed bridge), and like a bigsby the bridge (adjustable up down and sideways) stays fixed solid...(so, no risk of palm muting putting things out). Unlike a bigsby, it stays in tune! I use locking tuners and an LSR. It's great for a bit of a bigsby like wobble...both up and down...all the way to the most extreme down to slack or string breaking up bends (if that's your thing!).

I love the trem and in particular the Khaler now on my tele. Expensive, but quality!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/peterstewartwarmington/blueteleful1/bluetele9.jpg

Very small routing under the trem required, this hybrid version will lock down (to a fixed bridge), and like a bigsby the bridge (adjustable up down and sideways) stays fixed solid...(so, no risk of palm muting putting things out). Unlike a bigsby, it stays in tune! I use locking tuners and an LSR. It's great for a bit of a bigsby like wobble...both up and down...all the way to the most extreme down to slack or string breaking up bends (if that's your thing!).

That's beautiful mate. Would you be able to post more pics? Like a closer shot of the bridge and the back as well. Where did you get the bridge?

I got the Khaler from "wammi world" who distributes them...also cheapest I found.

The back...well, not much to see there...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/peterstewartwarmington/blueteleful1/bluetele7.jpg

Hahahaha...it works on a cam mechanism so requires a 1" deep route under the bridge that isn't that big really. The springs and such are adjusted from the top of the trem...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/peterstewartwarmington/bluetelebridge.jpg

There are a few tricks required...one is that you want a fair pressure down on the bridge saddles...so on some guitars you might want to add a bit of a shim..tele's are notoriously "flat"...this guitar is set as low as is possible with these things.

Also, if you look closely in that last pic...there is a small grub screw behind the bridge itself...this is the "hybrid" set screw. Screwing it in fixes the bridge in place. This is really useful for installing and setting up intonation and such...or if you wanted it back to a fixed bridge and take out the arm.

You want to adjust the bridge so that when in tune it floats exactly where this grub screw is...spring adjustment and arm rotation tension is adjusted by the screws near where the arm goes in.

One thing to note is that they are not built for extra heavy strings...I use 10-46...but any higher like a 52 bass string won't fit in the ball end retainers of the fine tuners I have found. Also, the extra tension may require stronger springs. Wammi world are pretty good about answering questions and have a range of parts for them...like springs and saddles and roller of different materials.

I use roller nut (LSR) and locking tuners, the things come with a locking nut and if you are going to go crazy with a full floating trem like this you might need to lock those strings down and use the fine tuners like a floyd.

Even though it is a fully floating wide range device, it shares much with the bigsby all the same. I know bigsbys are traditional and look cool and all...but they are notoriously tricky to keep in tune and kind of primitive. I had one on my first guitar (an SG). There are a lot of rollers and such that the strings will hang up on and the springs loosen up a bit...and by the time you have got a good bigsby and rolling bridge and the mods to the guitar and a good nut and tuners, etc...well...the outlay and mods are probably similar.

I've also tried a few other things on gibsons without success (although there is a gibson-like version of the khaler that is equally good for stud tailpiece guitars). I find that a strat's standard fulcrum trem to be fine though if properly set up, but not suitable for a tele really and not the range or advantages that the Khaler has.

I also like the "sound" of the khaler...it is a heavy duty bridge with brass rollers saddles as standard...it seems to give a very good separation of notes. It is not a "reversable" mod though...you do need to route the guitar under the bridge so you can't put it back...not a lot of wood goes missing though. The only bridge that was kind of flat mount, but not available anymore, was a washburn "wonderbar" thing as I recall.

I routed this tele for the bridge after the custom finish with a lot of care and masking...plus a bit of a wooden "jig" out of scrap to be absolutely sure not to mark up the guitar...can't be too careful with this kind of thing!

I might have an excuse to put together/build a solid body Tele after all. 10-46 is what I use for the Tele with Bigsby. 11-49 on the others.

Wow folks - I've been away for a while, but love the feedback and tips.
THANKS

here is a nice page that has Bigsbys specifically. I referenced it when I was researching if and how I was going to install the B5: http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/htm/gallery.htm
unaffiliated of course. hth

Great Link - even a little overwhelming...thanks a ton!

MPatt

I want a Bigsby Tele for surf guitar... but I also want a Jazzmaster for surf guitar... I want more guitars... :oops:

I'm in!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e323/RomanSonnleitner/teleblasterP6284.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e323/RomanSonnleitner/telebastardP6287.jpg

Bigsby on Tele FTW!

I'm in! Here is my Nashville Deluxe with a B5:

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q311/smogburn/My%20Guitars/FenderNashvilleDeluxeTelecasterW-8.jpg

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q311/smogburn/My%20Guitars/FenderNashvilleDeluxeTelecasterW-7.jpg

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q311/smogburn/My%20Guitars/guitars%20on%20new%20pc/nashvilledeluxe2.jpg

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q311/smogburn/My%20Guitars/guitars%20on%20new%20pc/telecasters.jpg

I'm happy to report that the Bigsby doesn't make my tele go out of tune. This is probably due to using the Bigsby fairly conservatively.

My pic disappeared, whats up with that?! Here she is again...

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/4664/img6313o.jpg (http://img697.imageshack.us/i/img6313o.jpg/)

Wow...all these look great, folks!

Rob

I want a Bigsby Tele for surf guitar... but I also want a Jazzmaster for surf guitar... I want more guitars... :oops:

:lol: LOL! +1. I definitely relate!

where do you get a whammy/tremolo bridge? cost? installation?drilling/sawing involved?

You can get in for as much or as little drilling and routing as you want, depending on the type of tremolo and the method of installation. The Bigsby is a fairly traditional choice for Tele and installs with 4 screws. A Bigsby B5 will set you back around $140 maybe, or closer to $200 for the "F" Logo version. You can opt for the tune-o-matic style bridge with that, which requires some woodwork, or go with a standard 3-saddle bridge altered to let the strings clear, which requires no modification to the body of the guitar. You can do the mod-work on the bridge yourself and come in on the cheap, or get a custom machined one from Taipan Tone for around $150. If you want to go with absolutely no new holes in your guitar, there's a few options out there for no-mod installations, like the ZZ Guitarworks or Vibramate kits. There's a ton of other styles of trems out there, Floyd Rose, Trem King, Khaler (Warmingtone did a great post on those just up the page a bit), but I don't have any experience with them, so perhaps some other folks will chime in for you. Hope some of that helps!

You can get in for as much or as little drilling and routing as you want, depending on the type of tremolo and the method of installation. The Bigsby is a fairly traditional choice for Tele and installs with 4 screws. A Bigsby B5 will set you back around $140 maybe, or closer to $200 for the "F" Logo version. You can opt for the tune-o-matic style bridge with that, which requires some woodwork, or go with a standard 3-saddle bridge altered to let the strings clear, which requires no modification to the body of the guitar. You can do the mod-work on the bridge yourself and come in on the cheap, or get a custom machined one from Taipan Tone for around $150. If you want to go with absolutely no new holes in your guitar, there's a few options out there for no-mod installations, like the ZZ Guitarworks or Vibramate kits. There's a ton of other styles of trems out there, Floyd Rose, Trem King, Khaler (Warmingtone did a great post on those just up the page a bit), but I don't have any experience with them, so perhaps some other folks will chime in for you. Hope some of that helps!

Well, TRogers hasn't replied yet, but that info was helpful to me. TRogers asked the questions that occurred to me (and to others as well, no doubt) and you answered them, and answered them well. Thanks!

oh thank you

sorry for no reply, the thread was pushed back so far that i didnt expect an answer.

i am not a woodworker, i would like to be, sometime.

Sort of a relic hybrid I made a while ago.
forgot to put the arm in the tremolo for the photo.
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/rockndrtom/telestrat.jpg

Bigsbyfied since 1995

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Rumbletweed/Gear/Able1.jpg

Last toss together. ;)

I've got a MIJ '62 double edgebound that I've just fitted a ZZ Guitarworks to, one of the simplest jobs I've done!

Hey, Im getting a 91 MIM tele soon and i can't decide on which trem to put on.
I want to install it myself, if at all possible. Any suggestions?

http://www.fenderforum.com/userphotos/photo.php?id=43154

http://www.telecastergallery.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10040/My%20_54%20RI%203.jpg

:cool:
I love my baby.

Here's one with a Trem... :wink:

Custom Shop Set Neck HH Tele
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/FenderCSHHSetNeckTele2_3.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/FenderCSHHSetNeckTele2Body_3.jpg

Here's one with a Trem... :wink:

Custom Shop Set Neck HH Tele
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/FenderCSHHSetNeckTele2_3.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1052255/FenderCSHHSetNeckTele2Body_3.jpg

WoW!!!:shock:

Hey, Im getting a 91 MIM tele soon and i can't decide on which trem to put on.
I want to install it myself, if at all possible. Any suggestions?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/peterstewartwarmington/blueteleful1/bluetele9.jpg

I'm still loving the khaler hybrid...so much so am doing an LP with a similar bridge at the moment.

They are not cheap, but really the ultimate in versatility, feel and tuning stability (mine has an LSR nut and staggered locking tuners)...plus, easier and less invasive installation than a standard fender fulcrum bridge.

The route is about an inch deep and 2x1" under the bridge itself in the top (nothing in the back). There are more pics in posts above...

Don't get me wrong, I also like the fender strat type fulcrum style and that can work fine with a tele too and perhaps have a more fender feel and set up.

The bigsby, I know it is probably sacrilege and they do have a retro vintage cool about them, but they are very primitive devices really. There are so many places that strings can get hung up and compromises in bridge design to contend with along with the usual nut and tuner considerations as far as tuner stability. (BTW my first gu9itar many years ago was an SG with bigsby that I loved, but really as a trem, it didn't really cut it on a flat topped guitar like that or a tele).

I do recall shimming the neck just a touch to get a good break angle over the roller bridge, but this kind of thing applies to anything...I have seen people inset the entire bridge to allow it to be a bit flatter but that would be tricky to do...

The Khaler may have "shredder" connotations and won't suit people who like heavy gauges so well (I use 10-42 fine) but it will lock to a fixed bridge, is fully floating and fully adjustable (including string spread), minimum loss of wood to install...but it works well and especially for that classic bigsby like wobble. The bridge saddles themselves are completely locked down so there is no tuning problems with a heavy palm mute (that floating fulcrum trems can have), the strings do not lift as the trem is depressed, the strings easily top load for quick tool-less changes with bonus fine tuners and you can as a bonus drop the strings to completely slack or up till they break if you wanted to!

I would though encourage looking at any trem as a 'system' and take a serious look at the tuner and nut areas as well for any system. The end result and work to have something with the rock solid tuning stability of my tele can get seriously expensive.

My Telesonic stays in tune for days on end.
I use Big Bends Nut Sauce it helps greatly.

:cool:
I love my baby.

Beautiful guitar. What is that bridge you're using? Did this setup require a neck shim?

Beautiful guitar. What is that bridge you're using? Did this setup require a neck shim?

Thanks Paul.
It's the original...Fender Tech-Tonic™ Bridge. Fully Adjustable, Low Profile 6-Saddle Locking Bridge/Tailpiece. No mods were needed it was as if it was ready for the Bigsby. It's a great guitar.:smile:

Hi all, I'm very new to this custom guitars stuff however I was wondering if anyone had some advice on mounting a fender logo B5 on a top carved tele body. At the moment the body has no bridge or saddle holes and is getting two tv jones pick ups put in it so the pickups aren't too separated.
I would love some help with this one, thanks