Arched LP Bigsby?

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marshall409

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Whats the deal? could i put a bigsby on a arched les paul? would i keep the same bridge and only buy a tail piece or would the whole thing need swtiched? is it a pro job? is it worth it? what other tremolo options are out there for LPs? could i ask any more questions in one thread? would that be annoying? should i stop now? :D

Adam
 
Pretty sure they make a bigsby that threads into the inserts for the tailpiece and bridge. Neil young uses one on his paul and wanks the shit out of it. (Like a hurricane). etc.. Gibson actually makes one. I saw it in a music store once. The guy told me they really stink though and wouldn't recommend it.
 
There is a model of Bigsby which is designed for LPs. A stock bridge is a possibility, but they are problematic. Then again, any Bigsby is problematic. They are notorious for going badly out of tune if you use them for anything more than a very gentle vibrato. You can pretty much forget about being in tune if you try to dive bomb with them. At any rate, Bigsby bridges are rock with the change in tension. They don't work great, and most of them don't have adjustable intonation, but they do help a bit. It's just that they are incredibly fussy.


As for other trem options for a LP, you can use just about any trem on an LP. The problem is that you have to rout a bunch of shit out to make it work. Probably the least invasive ones are the Kahlers, but even there you are routing a big gapping hole out of your guitar, and no matter what trem you use (even a Bigsby), it will change the sound of the guitar.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Back in 'the good ole days', I put a Bigsby on my old Les Paul gold top. Light is right but 'fussy' ain't the word for it. We used to do Van Halen covers. Luckily the singer was cute & could talk to the crowd a lot -- plenty 'o retunes between songs ;-)

Too bad, the Bigsby looks great. I still have one in my guitar toolbox. Are they worth anything?
 
Thanks

Thanks Light. I'll reconsider. I was just kinda throwing ideas around...it's probably just one more thing i think i want or need. :cool:

Adam
 
Light said:
As for other trem options for a LP, you can use just about any trem on an LP. The problem is that you have to rout a bunch of shit out to make it work. Probably the least invasive ones are the Kahlers, but even there you are routing a big gapping hole out of your guitar, and no matter what trem you use (even a Bigsby), it will change the sound of the guitar.
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It would be really nice if some genius could engineer a completely non-invasive tremolo for LPs, one that would stay in tune, etc., etc....

OK, I'm awake now. :eek: :D
 
marshall409 said:
Thanks Light. I'll reconsider. I was just kinda throwing ideas around...it's probably just one more thing i think i want or need. :cool:

Adam
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I think the best part of owning a les Paul is that there is no whammy bar to tempt you to knock it out of tune! :)
 
Good call Antone. With prices these days it would probably be worth it to just buy an ibanez or something with a floyd for all my whammying goodness.

then again, the tuning is balls on this LP anyway.

Adam
 
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