I'm about to install a Bigsby B5 on my SG. Bigsby does make a plate called a Vibramate that mounts where the stop tail piece is removed in then the four screw screw into the plate so one does not have to drill holes into their guitar body. Thank you for sharing your video!
Hey, thanks! Lil tip I didn't mention in the video... Remove the inserts for the tailpiece if you are planning on this as a permanent change... Lol. They can be a pain.
Konnichiwa ! Hey Ryan. ..... I like your laid back style. You make it look so easy. Hassle free. I didn't get stressed like those other install vids. I'm gonna install this trem on my SG400 your way. subbed & liked. Thanks Domo arigato..
Hey! Thanks for commenting. It isn't too tough of an install, as long as you don't mind putting holes in your guitar.. lol. (Insert Japanese for thanks here 😉).
I've been looking at the Bigsby clones like the one in the video, for my Squier Affinity Telecaster that my wife bought me for my birthday. How is your guitar holding up?
@@RyanWright Hi Ryan, Thanks to you, finally installed Swhmc Flat Top trem & a Dopro Roller Bridge on my coil-split red Epi SG400. Figured, it's easier to center the trem with strings attached. Aligned strings right on top of the frets, pups & roller slots. drilling - tightening screws was a cinch. Will install full-face pickguard. Thanks Ryan.
@@fujiwaramichaelm6686 very cool! I thought about getting one of those, but decided to be cheap... lol. When you get done, post a picture of it. I'd love to see how it turns out.
no problem. Only thing I didn't do that I would probably recommend is to actually pull out the bushing that the normal tailpiece screw into as well so they don't (potentially) get in the way of screwing down the bigsby.
Another route would have been the Deusenberg trem which is one an easier installation, and two you place it directly where the stop tail piece goes so no holes in the body on show and keeps better tune than the bigsby style trem, win win
I have a Revelation gold top LP and that is the route I took, also having a wound third helps with tuning stability which you can get at your local guitar shop, preferably a ten set and purchase an 18 guage string to replace the 17 gauge
The Duesenberg is shipped from Germany and it adds up to about the same price as Bigsby licensed tremolo (the $150 Bigsby import ,not the $300 American one) after paying for the shipping. I installed a Bigsby style vibrato like the on in the video on my Squier Affinity Telecaster and I haven't had any problems with the tuning stability but the arm loosened up a little bit after several weeks of usage. My advice to anyone reading this is to remove the arm and put a little bit of LOCKTIGHT on the threads and tighten it up. Maybe find a nut with nylon threads or something. I'm open to suggestions anyone might have. On the Duesenberg front, they look to be a really nice option but like I said after purchasing and having one shipped out from Germany you'll still be out close to $200. Of course with the Duesenberg you can take it off of your guitar and put the old parts back on.
@@spottedsaint957 Awesome, many good points in your comment. I would suggest the blue loctite, just in case you need to break the nut loose, at some point. Red loctite requires a torch to brake it loose. You could try some clear nail-polish on the threads. This is not a high-stress situation, and sometimes it will be enough to stabilize the nut. I'm sure the Duesenberg is cool, and probably much more stable, overall, but a good part of the Bigsby's appeal is the actual machine itself. It's drop-dead beautiful. And we put them on at our own peril. They are not positive contributors to tuning stability. But for measured use, they can be pretty cool. But if you're gonna "whammy-bar" it, you are gonna pay a hefty price in playability, regardless. And some of our guitars (mine, for example) are probably sourced from driftwood, so I wouldn't be yanking on those bolt-holes too aggressively, anyway. Bigsbys, in essence, are just slightly better than bending your ax against your body to get some subtle vibrato. You know what they're really good for? Counteracting neck-dive. lol
Ganja Joe, I came to the same conclusion, about 3-minutes before I came across your comment. I mean, about the necessity of adding a roller-bridge. lol
Amazon has some good imports. I got one off Ebay that was shipped out of China. Not only was it much lower in quality they shipped it in just a plastic bag. It was scratched up and beat up by the time it arrived. The imports are not exact copies.
I guarantee that exact copies can be had, Ryan. You just have to patiently wade through all the Chinese manufacturers until you find what you're looking for. I live over here. _Everything_ is available, to spec, for a fraction of the cost. Now, metallurgy might be hit-or-miss, but come on. You heard the man. 300+ USD is a lot of dough to invest in a 150 USD instrument. And let us not forget that the original Bigsby would be hard to describe as a precise apparatus. Beautiful, yes. Precise, no.
I get that it's not an actual Bigsby, but what exactly is it? I'm going to hold your sub hostage. If I get an answer to this, I'll let the sub join the others. Just kidding. I already subbed. You've got balls, younger brother.
@@RyanWright Damn. I live in SE Asia. It's pretty much impossible for Amazon to decipher the mailing addresses over here, not to mention the 100 - 200% markup on goods shipped here. I will try to source it, locally. I mean, it almost has to be Chinese, right? And we're pretty much neighbors. In fact, I'm sporting a Chinese vaccine. Life is good.
I've got the same "Bigsby-ish" vibrato on my Squier Affinity Telecaster. I believe that they're probably all being made in China by the same people and being sold on Ebay and Amazon for around $25- $40. Other than function ,I don't think that these are direct copies of Bigsbys' or the "Bigsby licensed" tremolos but they're very close. The shape looks more like the shape of the Trem True tremolo except the Trem True has a string through roller instead of string posts.
@@maekong2010 functionally these Bigsby style tremolo "copies" are identical but the part that you would fix to the guitar body is shaped slightly different. As for the roller, I don't know if it can be swapped out for a string through roller or not. I do know that there are aftermarket rollers available for the Bigsby brand and they can be swapped out, and I believe that there's some available for the imported Bigsby licensed versions as well. However I do know that the Bigsby and "Bigsby licensed" tremolos that you would pay $150& $300 for are prone to the same issues that the inexpensive unbranded $40 copies have that you can get online for on Ebay or Amazon. As for the quality of the Bigsby b5 tremolo? Well it's made in the U.S. and the "Bigsby licensed" b50 is not. They're probably made in China just like the unbranded tremolos that can be had for around $40 off of Ebay and Amazon ,and since the "Bigsby licensed" tremolos often come preinstalled on some of the Gretsch's and Epiphone hollow body guitars, I imagine that they're probably just fine, provided that you don't treat it like Steve Via treated the guitar he played in Crossroads that had the Floyd Rose on it. There's a guy on RUclips that installed one of the unbranded Bigsby style tremolos on his cheap Tele style guitar and after some heavy gigging ,the arm came lose. Even though it was an easy fix, he said that the next time he installed a tremolo that he would probably opt for a "real" Bigsby and considering that all of the Bigsby style tremolos have pretty much the same issues, his comment made no sense.
@@spottedsaint957 I've already got a couple of options for the loose tone-arm, but I have to have it in my hands before I can decide which will be the best solution. As for the wrap-around roller, I would have to find a knock-off that already has it in the design. I'm pretty sure it will be out there. The Chinese are much cleverer than westerners give them credit for. If they see a cool adaptation, they will make it stock. As for Steve Vai and the Floyd Rose, the Bigsby is an entirely different system; it's not meant to be used as a "whammy bar," so that will not be an issue. It would see minimal use, and not under high load. I play 9's, so it won't even be working hard against the strings. I think I agree with your assessment. The classic Bigsbys always had issues. But I do think one of the differences might be the anchor-bolt sizes. Knock-offs always seem to get shit like that wrong.
Huh. I just found the flaw in the Bigsby design. It's gonna drag those wound strings across those god-awful, knife-edged bridge slots now, isn't it? Awesome. On the upside, it seems to be working, at least for the moment. The reason I'm here is I've considered putting one on my LP VE. I was looking for reasons not to do it, and so far, I realize I would also have to invest in a roller-bridge if I were to attempt this. You might want to consider doing the same.
Been looking into getting one of these, only thing is i dont wanna have to drill holes onto my guitar. Do you think this could fit with the Vibramate V5 adapter?
I just put one on my sg with the vibramate. Having tuning issues so I bought a string Butler if that doesn’t fix issue I’m gonna take vibramat off and drill bigsby to guitar. It lowers bigsby so you can string it over roller instead of under. I heard this fixes tuning issues
@@RyanWright Yep. They're even padded. And you can get'em quite sturdy. Best investment for guitar set-up you can make. Allows you to sit in an actual chair. Height adjustable too.
@@RyanWright Sorry. I misread your punctuation. I thought you got the comment. The ironing-board is a _very_ cost-effective surface for guitar setups, projects, what-have-you. Edit: especially in tight situations. You simply collapse it and stow it away when you're done.
@@maekong2010 Ohhhhhh! I got you now. I was trying to figure out what an Ironing board had to do with anything... thought maybe my shirt needed to be ironed... lol That's actually a good idea. I think we've got one of those things somewhere in the house...
I'm about to install a Bigsby B5 on my SG. Bigsby does make a plate called a Vibramate that mounts where the stop tail piece is removed in then the four screw screw into the plate so one does not have to drill holes into their guitar body. Thank you for sharing your video!
yeah, they do. I wasn't super concerned about it though... it's just a little ole Epiphone. lol
Thanks for posting this. I've been considering this for a while. I read reviews and looked at the pics on Amazon, but your video was really helpful.
No problem. Thanks for watching. It works great, looks good and holds tune ok (for a non locking trem)
Man you rock picking up a black SG today I'm going to put a Bigsby on thanks for the video
Hey, thanks! Lil tip I didn't mention in the video... Remove the inserts for the tailpiece if you are planning on this as a permanent change... Lol. They can be a pain.
Konnichiwa ! Hey Ryan. ..... I like your laid back style. You make it look so easy. Hassle free. I didn't get stressed like those other install vids. I'm gonna install this trem on my SG400 your way. subbed & liked. Thanks Domo arigato..
Hey! Thanks for commenting. It isn't too tough of an install, as long as you don't mind putting holes in your guitar.. lol. (Insert Japanese for thanks here 😉).
I've been looking at the Bigsby clones like the one in the video, for my Squier Affinity Telecaster that my wife bought me for my birthday. How is your guitar holding up?
@@spottedsaint957 still works fine. Finish has held up well on it as well.
@@RyanWright Hi Ryan, Thanks to you, finally installed Swhmc Flat Top trem & a Dopro Roller Bridge on my coil-split red Epi SG400. Figured, it's easier to center the trem with strings attached. Aligned strings right on top of the frets, pups & roller slots. drilling - tightening screws was a cinch. Will install full-face pickguard.
Thanks Ryan.
@@fujiwaramichaelm6686 very cool! I thought about getting one of those, but decided to be cheap... lol. When you get done, post a picture of it. I'd love to see how it turns out.
thank you very much. this video was very useful for me
no problem. Only thing I didn't do that I would probably recommend is to actually pull out the bushing that the normal tailpiece screw into as well so they don't (potentially) get in the way of screwing down the bigsby.
Another route would have been the Deusenberg trem which is one an easier installation, and two you place it directly where the stop tail piece goes so no holes in the body on show and keeps better tune than the bigsby style trem, win win
True, but I hadn't heard of that when I got this... Lol.
I have a Revelation gold top LP and that is the route I took, also having a wound third helps with tuning stability which you can get at your local guitar shop, preferably a ten set and purchase an 18 guage string to replace the 17 gauge
The Duesenberg is shipped from Germany and it adds up to about the same price as Bigsby licensed tremolo (the $150 Bigsby import ,not the $300 American one) after paying for the shipping. I installed a Bigsby style vibrato like the on in the video on my Squier Affinity Telecaster and I haven't had any problems with the tuning stability but the arm loosened up a little bit after several weeks of usage. My advice to anyone reading this is to remove the arm and put a little bit of LOCKTIGHT on the threads and tighten it up. Maybe find a nut with nylon threads or something. I'm open to suggestions anyone might have. On the Duesenberg front, they look to be a really nice option but like I said after purchasing and having one shipped out from Germany you'll still be out close to $200. Of course with the Duesenberg you can take it off of your guitar and put the old parts back on.
@@spottedsaint957 Awesome, many good points in your comment. I would suggest the blue loctite, just in case you need to break the nut loose, at some point. Red loctite requires a torch to brake it loose. You could try some clear nail-polish on the threads. This is not a high-stress situation, and sometimes it will be enough to stabilize the nut.
I'm sure the Duesenberg is cool, and probably much more stable, overall, but a good part of the Bigsby's appeal is the actual machine itself. It's drop-dead beautiful. And we put them on at our own peril. They are not positive contributors to tuning stability. But for measured use, they can be pretty cool. But if you're gonna "whammy-bar" it, you are gonna pay a hefty price in playability, regardless. And some of our guitars (mine, for example) are probably sourced from driftwood, so I wouldn't be yanking on those bolt-holes too aggressively, anyway. Bigsbys, in essence, are just slightly better than bending your ax against your body to get some subtle vibrato. You know what they're really good for? Counteracting neck-dive. lol
Haha i did the same thing with that exact bigsby and a rollerbridge and also some g-400 extreme pickups and some push pull hacks love these sgs
Awesome. They definitely make good projects to modify
@@RyanWright yeah and sounds great aswell
@@junksmith_wizard I think I might put a pair of lace alumatones in mine
@@RyanWright that probably looks and sounds insane
Ganja Joe, I came to the same conclusion, about 3-minutes before I came across your comment. I mean, about the necessity of adding a roller-bridge. lol
Amazon has some good imports. I got one off Ebay that was shipped out of China. Not only was it much lower in quality they shipped it in just a plastic bag. It was scratched up and beat up by the time it arrived. The imports are not exact copies.
Wow.... Yeah, got this one from Amazon.... No issues.
I guarantee that exact copies can be had, Ryan. You just have to patiently wade through all the Chinese manufacturers until you find what you're looking for. I live over here. _Everything_ is available, to spec, for a fraction of the cost. Now, metallurgy might be hit-or-miss, but come on. You heard the man. 300+ USD is a lot of dough to invest in a 150 USD instrument. And let us not forget that the original Bigsby would be hard to describe as a precise apparatus. Beautiful, yes. Precise, no.
I get that it's not an actual Bigsby, but what exactly is it? I'm going to hold your sub hostage. If I get an answer to this, I'll let the sub join the others. Just kidding. I already subbed. You've got balls, younger brother.
JIUWU tremolo unit on Amazon... Lol
@@RyanWright Damn. I live in SE Asia. It's pretty much impossible for Amazon to decipher the mailing addresses over here, not to mention the 100 - 200% markup on goods shipped here. I will try to source it, locally. I mean, it almost has to be Chinese, right? And we're pretty much neighbors. In fact, I'm sporting a Chinese vaccine. Life is good.
I've got the same "Bigsby-ish" vibrato on my Squier Affinity Telecaster. I believe that they're probably all being made in China by the same people and being sold on Ebay and Amazon for around $25- $40. Other than function ,I don't think that these are direct copies of Bigsbys' or the "Bigsby licensed" tremolos but they're very close. The shape looks more like the shape of the Trem True tremolo except the Trem True has a string through roller instead of string posts.
@@maekong2010 functionally these Bigsby style tremolo "copies" are identical but the part that you would fix to the guitar body is shaped slightly different. As for the roller, I don't know if it can be swapped out for a string through roller or not. I do know that there are aftermarket rollers available for the Bigsby brand and they can be swapped out, and I believe that there's some available for the imported Bigsby licensed versions as well. However I do know that the Bigsby and "Bigsby licensed" tremolos that you would pay $150& $300 for are prone to the same issues that the inexpensive unbranded $40 copies have that you can get online for on Ebay or Amazon. As for the quality of the Bigsby b5 tremolo? Well it's made in the U.S. and the "Bigsby licensed" b50 is not. They're probably made in China just like the unbranded tremolos that can be had for around $40 off of Ebay and Amazon ,and since the "Bigsby licensed" tremolos often come preinstalled on some of the Gretsch's and Epiphone hollow body guitars, I imagine that they're probably just fine, provided that you don't treat it like Steve Via treated the guitar he played in Crossroads that had the Floyd Rose on it. There's a guy on RUclips that installed one of the unbranded Bigsby style tremolos on his cheap Tele style guitar and after some heavy gigging ,the arm came lose. Even though it was an easy fix, he said that the next time he installed a tremolo that he would probably opt for a "real" Bigsby and considering that all of the Bigsby style tremolos have pretty much the same issues, his comment made no sense.
@@spottedsaint957 I've already got a couple of options for the loose tone-arm, but I have to have it in my hands before I can decide which will be the best solution. As for the wrap-around roller, I would have to find a knock-off that already has it in the design. I'm pretty sure it will be out there. The Chinese are much cleverer than westerners give them credit for. If they see a cool adaptation, they will make it stock. As for Steve Vai and the Floyd Rose, the Bigsby is an entirely different system; it's not meant to be used as a "whammy bar," so that will not be an issue. It would see minimal use, and not under high load. I play 9's, so it won't even be working hard against the strings. I think I agree with your assessment. The classic Bigsbys always had issues. But I do think one of the differences might be the anchor-bolt sizes. Knock-offs always seem to get shit like that wrong.
Almost the same of me but I got a special LP rather than SG
I've got a special too, bit no bisgby on that one... 😀
Good stuff!
Huh. I just found the flaw in the Bigsby design. It's gonna drag those wound strings across those god-awful, knife-edged bridge slots now, isn't it? Awesome. On the upside, it seems to be working, at least for the moment. The reason I'm here is I've considered putting one on my LP VE. I was looking for reasons not to do it, and so far, I realize I would also have to invest in a roller-bridge if I were to attempt this. You might want to consider doing the same.
I have though about it. I probably will eventually
@@RyanWright The alternative would be to invest in a speed-winder and a couple of dozen sets of strings. lol
There is a drop-in bridge replacement that has roller saddles. I know Stewmac has it in several finishes.
Been looking into getting one of these, only thing is i dont wanna have to drill holes onto my guitar. Do you think this could fit with the Vibramate V5 adapter?
that's a good question that I really can't give a definitive answer to. Sorry.
I just put one on my sg with the vibramate. Having tuning issues so I bought a string Butler if that doesn’t fix issue I’m gonna take vibramat off and drill bigsby to guitar. It lowers bigsby so you can string it over roller instead of under. I heard this fixes tuning issues
@@264roy cool. Let us know how it works out!
@@264roy good
@@264roy Through my research, I found most experiences of tuning instability was due to string being new, and the strings did settle in.
I hope, at some point, you invested in an ironing-board. That looked painful.
Ironing board? Huh?
@@RyanWright Yep. They're even padded. And you can get'em quite sturdy. Best investment for guitar set-up you can make. Allows you to sit in an actual chair. Height adjustable too.
@@RyanWright Bit of advice - get a chair/stool with wheels. You're gonna be lapping that ironing board on a regular basis.
@@RyanWright Sorry. I misread your punctuation. I thought you got the comment. The ironing-board is a _very_ cost-effective surface for guitar setups, projects, what-have-you. Edit: especially in tight situations. You simply collapse it and stow it away when you're done.
@@maekong2010 Ohhhhhh! I got you now. I was trying to figure out what an Ironing board had to do with anything... thought maybe my shirt needed to be ironed... lol That's actually a good idea. I think we've got one of those things somewhere in the house...
Why are you using a bigsby(a vibrato system) as a tremolo system😂
Bc Leo fender misnamed the tremolo system way back when and it has just kinda stuck.
@@RyanWright Nice shooting.
its not even straight
Strings are lined up straight...