Bigsby B16 again; set up advice.

[RomanS]

Very cool!

I just finished a pink B16 project a while ago, too:

 

[Texas Special]

No. I've not looked. Must resist!

 

[teleplayr]

I used a Stew-Mac shim on my MIJ Custom Tele. w/Bigsby.

It worked out well, not even visible.

 

[PeterUK]

I used a Stew-Mac shim on my MIJ Custom Tele. w/Bigsby.

It worked out well, not even visible.

I used two as discussed and they are finished the same colour as the body.

I've still got that huge aluminium slab which looked hideous and as way to much.

 

[Sea Devil]

It looks magnificent! I would slightly enlarge the bridge cutout in the pickguard on the bass side to make the opening symmetrical, but that's all.

I love the look and feel of a B16. It's very direct, it stays in tune really well, and it raises the strings off the body in a way that feels a bit like an archtop.

 

[PeterUK]

It looks magnificent! I would slightly enlarge the bridge cutout in the pickguard on the bass side to make the opening symmetrical, but that's all.

Thanks. I love it.

Re: the symmetry. That's how I've got it to intonate. I feared it would be way off but amazingly it's as close as it's going to get. A small price to pay for being in tune and intonated.

I love the look and feel of a B16. It's very direct, it stays in tune really well, and it raises the strings off the body in a way that feels a bit like an archtop.

I'm astonished how well it plays. The Bigsby naysayers - 99% of whom have never played or owned a Bigsby Tele - will tell you they never stay in tune.

Like my B5 Teles, this one comes out of the case playable and as 'in tune' as my 'normal' Teles. Even after a good waggle if needs the lightest of tweaks.

As I said, I'm astonished. I was expecting to achieve a 7 but this is an 11.5.

The Mary Kaye Pink suggests a kitten guitar but the SD BG1400 turns it into a big snarling cat.

But played clean and a with a waggle. Oh that shimmer! So so sweet.

I put a lot of work up front doing the dry set up and getting the assembly and settings right and it paid off.

I'm a very happy Bigsby owner!

 

[old wrench]

That looks just great Peter .

I've recently been bitten by the Bigsby bug, too.

No experience installing them yet, but that'll change soon enough, like next week when the B5 shows up. I've played a couple of Gibsons that were Bigsby equipped, but this first one I install will be fitted to one of my Teles.

I grew up playing a Strat (at the same time Hendrix was playing his stuff live; was even lucky enough to see him in Cleveland in 1968; and went through the whole Hendrix emulation thing ), but what I really miss on a Tele is just adding that beautiful shimmer.

That B16 is really fine looking; a beautiful blend of artistry and engineering .

I've been checking out lots of Bigsby install threads trying to glean some info. Yours has also been helpful, in particular the neck shimming info, thanks!

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[old wrench]

Question about the bridge on the B16 ???

Do you use the original bridge base with the studs and thumb-wheel adjusters that come with the B16?

If so, I'm curious as to the center to center spacing distance of the studs.

From what I can see of the one-piece saddle that comes with the B16, it's not going come anywhere close to intonating with modern lighter gauge string with the plain unwound G string. No doubt that's why I always see them setup with aftermarket saddles.


edit: I checked out the dBridges site, but it seems they're doing some work on their site and it's down for the time being.

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[Texas Special]

I refer back to my earlier post Peter - suitably set up, they stay in tune just fine. I'm glad that you concur.

 

[PeterUK]

Question about the bridge on the B16 ???

Do you use the original bridge base with the studs and thumb-wheel adjusters that come with the B16?

If so, I'm curious as to the center to center spacing distance of the studs.

From what I can see of the one-piece saddle that comes with the B16, it's not going come anywhere close to intonating with modern lighter gauge string with the plain unwound G string. No doubt that's why I always see them setup with aftermarket saddles.


edit: I checked out the dBridges site, but it seems they're doing some work on their site and it's down for the time being.

.

I would suggest that you start with the bridge supplied with the kit and see what results you get.

I did with my first mock-up/dry build and it sounded okay.

I bought the Tru-arc with a bonus cheque I got and once I realised that the vendor recommended the one I've fitted, I was worried about intonation. And I was a little annoyed that he didn't recommend the one with added intonation. But....

Amazingly it does tune and intonate much closer than I thought it would but it is at an angle.

It uses the original baseplate with threaded studs and the height is adjusted with the thumbwheels.

The scalelength sits somewhere in that gap but it's not dead centre.

Have a look at the photos. I was originally going to use a Mastery Bridge with the B16 with another body with the thimble holes drilled, but despite loving the blue Thinline (not mine) which was the inspiration for this idea, the aesthetics didn't work for me (Mastery can supply extra long posts to work with the B16).

I hope the photos will give some ideas and inspiration.

 

[old wrench]

Thanks Peter, and yes, there is a lot of inspiration in those pics !!!

Yours, @stefanhotrod's, and @RomanS's, all look great.

I'll be working on my B5 Tele first, but who knows, maybe Santa Claus is listening and he (she!) will drop a B16 down the chimney later this month .

The B5 I bought is new old stock that a guy bought a few years back for a project that never got off the ground. He tossed in a complete bridge assembly from a Gretsch that uses a Bigsby, so I'll see what that looks like. I'm going to try using a modified Tele ashtray bridge with either brass, steel, or titanium saddles (whatever is the most slippery) with the B5, but maybe I can use the saddle from the Gretsch with a B16.

I'm always up for new experiments and the experience that comes along, so . . . . . .


edit: I've been looking at the Mastery stuff too. They have some well thought out parts and the engineering and build quality looks top-notch, but they do have some pretty steep prices. Hard chrome, like on their saddles, is pretty dog-gone slippery stuff.

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[old wrench]

At first, I thought the unfinished Tele with the Mastery bridge and the engine-turned control cover in the last set of pics was yours (in a different state of mock-up), but after looking at the graining on the body, I don't think so anymore.

Just a pic from the web?

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[PeterUK]

At first, I thought the unfinished Tele with the Mastery bridge and the engine-turned control cover in the last set of pics was yours (in a different state of mock-up), but after looking at the graining on the body, I don't think so anymore.

Just a pic from the web?

.

That's the next project assembled and waiting for paint.

I've added a few more pictures.

It's a 1-piece swamp ash body I got for a steal in a Guitarbuild UK Black Friday deal around 3-years ago.

The bridge is a SS Mastery Bridge but engine turned by a friend of mine who used to work on hot rods with Danny Gatton.

It's assembled - from which I've learned so much about what needs tweaking on final assembly - and is off to Rexter Guitars in January to have the body and neck finished.

 

[Boreas]

I used two as discussed and they are finished the same colour as the body.

I've still got that huge aluminium slab which looked hideous and as way to much.

Some people use them for wheel chocks...