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So I removed my Bigsby today...

Discussion in 'Tele Home Depot' started by wabashslim, Mar 6, 2018.

  1. Mar 6, 2018 #1
    wabashslim

    wabashslim Friend of Leo's

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    ...from my avatar Warmoth and it sounds soooo much better, like it did when I built it. Same old strings but now running thru the body again as the Lord intended made the guitar alive again. I had noticed some tone & sustain loss when I put the Bigs on but that was overridden by the joy & excitement of having it. Now I'm loving the sound but missing having something to yank on, plus those empty screw holes....(sigh). Next string change I'll have to try some neck shims and raise the saddles. From scanning the forums I see this is a common issue. How many would concur that increasing the break angle will get my tone back at least partially?
     
  2. Mar 6, 2018 #2
    Pualee

    Pualee Tele-Holic

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    I thought break angle had more to do with sustain than tone?

    Maybe add some saddle benders so you have something to yank on :)
     
  3. Mar 6, 2018 #3
    wabashslim

    wabashslim Friend of Leo's

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    My experience, and it seems common, is the Bigs rounds off some of that sweet Tele high shimmer...makes it warmer IOW. That pretty much counters my pickup choices. But worse, the sustain I'm referring to is what happens immediately after you pick the note; IOW the "bloom". The Bigs kills it (not in a good way), makes the notes thuddier, ruins the character. I've read guys' suggestions to pick softer with the volume up to counteract that effect but I'd rather the problem be fixed at the source.

    Does the word "Bigs" bother people like the word "pups"? It does me but I'm a lazy typist...
     
  4. Mar 6, 2018 #4
    Bob M

    Bob M Tele-Afflicted Silver Supporter

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    For me, to get a Bigsby to work well with a Tele is not an easy task. Certain guitars need Bigsbys-I can't imagine an orange 6120 without one-but Teles, not so much.
     
  5. Mar 6, 2018 #5
    Cheecharron

    Cheecharron TDPRI Member

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    Just last night, I took a Bigsby off of a Les Paul I was thinking of selling. It's so much easier to play without that thing in the way. It makes me rethink selling the Les Paul. To be fair, the Bigsby was equipped with a double-bender. It's a cool contraption, just not a good match with that guitar.
     
  6. Mar 6, 2018 #6
    RickyRicardo

    RickyRicardo Friend of Leo's

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    I've never understood the attraction to them on a Tele. As mentioned, a Gretsch yes but.. They are big, bulky and not very attractive to me at all. To each his own..
     
    Gunny and bender66 like this.
  7. Mar 6, 2018 #7
    chris m.

    chris m. Poster Extraordinaire

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    If you just gotta have vibrato it's the standard choice. If I were building a custom Tele I'd build a JazzTele using a Jazzmaster vibrato since I think they work really, really well,
    at least for the kind of vibrato I like to use.
     
  8. Mar 6, 2018 #8
    BorderRadio

    BorderRadio Doctor of Teleocity Silver Supporter

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    The Bigsby B5 on one of my Teles didn't do anything bad to 'tone', it's in fact my number one. Maybe the one inch neck and Mastery has a lot to do with good tone as well?
     
  9. Mar 6, 2018 #9
    wabashslim

    wabashslim Friend of Leo's

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    Well they're rarely installed just for their good looks. I use a standard vintage-style bridgeplate & saddles on mine rather than the ugly (to my eyes) Tele-Bigsby specific machinery. And yes, I had a nice big orange Gretsch 5120 for a while, something I'd wanted since I was 13 but just never bonded to it.
     
  10. Mar 6, 2018 #10
    FenderLover

    FenderLover Poster Extraordinaire

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    I couldn't say it does anything bad to 'tone' either, and shimming a neck to raise saddles for break angle is some minutia I wouldn't chase. Looks and bulkiness have little to do with what it does. Have you seen a B-Bender? Now, there's some ugly hardware, but also something that can be used to great effect.
     
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