Advantages of a Bigsby?

[Jeremiah]

Ok, so I've never played a guitar with a Bigsby, but whenever they come up in discussion, it's usually followed by 'they're OK for some mild vibrato, but don't try dive-bombing with one.'

So, is there anything a Bigsby can do that a Floyd/Wilkinson/etc cannot, or does it impart anything unique to the guitar? (Apart from looking cool in a retro kind of way..)

 

[Cletus]

Ok, so I've never played a guitar with a Bigsby, but whenever they come up in discussion, it's usually followed by 'they're OK for some mild vibrato, but don't try dive-bombing with one.'

So, is there anything a Bigsby can do that a Floyd/Wilkinson/etc cannot, or does it impart anything unique to the guitar? (Apart from looking cool in a retro kind of way..)

Here's the advantage.

Without bigsby:

With bigsby:

 

[Steve_Karl]

There's no advantage I can figure out other than you don't have to route out wood to put one on.

 

[Cletus]

There's no advantage I can figure out other than you don't have to route out wood to put one on.

Refer to the above Steve.

 

[Cagey]

So, is there anything a Bigsby can do that a Floyd/Wilkinson/etc cannot, or does it impart anything unique to the guitar? (Apart from looking cool in a retro kind of way..)

In a word, no. They're one of the worst vibrato bridges extant. If you want a vibrato bridge, a Wilkinson or one of its derivatives are the best. Second place would be the Floyd-Rose design or one its derivatives, but it's a distant second. Nothing else is really even worth considering unless you're building a fake museum piece that will see little or no play.

 

[-CB-]

I've got a Bigsby on my ES-333, works great, keeps pitch ok, easy to adjust (VERY!).  And, Bigsby's are cool.

Not a dive bomber, but a great whammy.  Different, but great in its own right.  Its not like a Strat or a Maestro .

 

[Cletus]

So, is there anything a Bigsby can do that a Floyd/Wilkinson/etc cannot, or does it impart anything unique to the guitar? (Apart from looking cool in a retro kind of way..)

In a word, no. They're one of the worst vibrato bridges extant. If you want a vibrato bridge, a Wilkinson or one of its derivatives are the best. Second place would be the Floyd-Rose design or one its derivatives, but it's a distant second. Nothing else is really even worth considering unless you're building a fake museum piece that will see little or no play.

Except the vibratos you mentioned look like poo.

 

[-CB-]

Make that a chromed poo

 

[bbl4ck]

I've got a Bigsby on my ES-333, works great, keeps pitch ok, easy to adjust (VERY!).  And, Bigsby's are cool.

Not a dive bomber, but a great whammy.  Different, but great in its own right.  Its not like a Strat or a Maestro .

I totally agree!
I have a Bigsby on my Warmoth V and I love it.  I don't do dive bombs or anything wacky like that. 
I have no problem with it keeping pitch.  It does everything I need it to do.
Plus, Bigsby's are cooool.  They got the look...  :headbang1:

 

[Chriscross]

What's the advantage of a Bigsby? You can play one of the greatest intros of all time:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMp0z8KLU7Y[/youtube]

Anyway...Bigsby's do look awesome, especially on Gibson style guitars. I've also seen a tele with a Bigsby, and it also looked great. 

 

[hannaugh]

So, is there anything a Bigsby can do that a Floyd/Wilkinson/etc cannot, or does it impart anything unique to the guitar? (Apart from looking cool in a retro kind of way..)

In a word, no. They're one of the worst vibrato bridges extant. If you want a vibrato bridge, a Wilkinson or one of its derivatives are the best. Second place would be the Floyd-Rose design or one its derivatives, but it's a distant second. Nothing else is really even worth considering unless you're building a fake museum piece that will see little or no play.

I have 2 hard-tails.  They are not museum pieces.  They get plenty of play with no vibrato at all. 

Not everyone needs a high performance dive-bombing whammy bar.  If you're one of those people, and you like how the Bigsby looks, do it. The Bigsby is a bit stiff and doesn't have a huge range, but every one I've tried has been rock solid and didn't mess up the tuning.  They're the most badass looking vibratos ever in my opinion.  I think they're awesome! 

 

[bbl4ck]

They're the most badass looking vibratos ever in my opinion.  I think they're awesome! 

Agreed  :headbang:

Here is a pic of Valentina just to prove it...

 

[JaySwear]

They are just plain classy! Not the precise pitch-changing machine that Floyds can be, and they won't let you change a tremolo block to some random kind of ridiculously expensive metal every time you're unhappy with your guitar's tone. But you could sit a Bigsby on top of a pile of firewood and it would look like a million bucks.

 

[Cagey]

Except the vibratos you mentioned look like poo.

I will allow that the Bigsby is an interesting-looking bit of mechanical gimcrackery, but I wouldn't say the Wilkies or Floyds look like poo.

I can't help myself. I played with the old-fashioned crap for too many years to tolerate it any more when there are superior designs available. Call me practical; I just can't see using gear for misguided emotional or aesthetic reasons. It has to work/play/sound good, or it's out of here. If it can look good as well, that's fine. But, that's at the bottom of the list.

 

[swarfrat]

They're dorky as Buddy Holly glasses. I'm not a dive bomber, haven't even had a trem in 20 years, but I don't like the .. I dunno how to explain it. The bar input to pitch curve is radically different from everything else. More trem input doesn't map to pitch the way you would expect with any other trem (which is pretty much all fulcrum trems, 6 screw included)

 

[hannaugh]

Except the vibratos you mentioned look like poo.

I will allow that the Bigsby is an interesting-looking bit of mechanical gimcrackery, but I wouldn't say the Wilkies or Floyds look like poo.

I can't help myself. I played with the old-fashioned crap for too many years to tolerate it any more when there are superior designs available. Call me practical; I just can't see using gear for misguided emotional or aesthetic reasons. It has to work/play/sound good, or it's out of here. If it can look good as well, that's fine. But, that's at the bottom of the list.

I have a guitar with a decent trem.  I almost never touch the trem on it.  I just don't listen to a lot of music that requires it, so I don't end up using the tremolo very much.  When I do use it, I don't need it to move very much.  So I have no use for a fancy one that does all the high performance crap.  The Bigsby is fine if you just need a basic tremolo.  It does what it's supposed to do and doesn't screw anything up while doing it.  Plus you can still have a TOM bridge. 

Will it appeal to metal heads who like dive bombing and who have lots of guitar heroes who play Explorers with Floyds?  Probably not.  Does it appeal to people like me who like old-timey rock better? Probably. 

 

[Cagey]

I have a guitar with a decent trem.  I almost never touch the trem on it.  I just don't listen to a lot of music that requires it, so I don't end up using the tremolo very much.  When I do use it, I don't need it to move very much.  So I have no use for a fancy one that does all the high performance crap.  The Bigsby is fine if you just need a basic tremolo.  It does what it's supposed to do and doesn't screw anything up while doing it.  Plus you can still have a TOM bridge. 

I'm not a heavy vibrato user, either. But, I'm of the school that says I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. You never know what future requirements might bring. Plus, every once in while you might want to go apeshit <grin>

That said, I want the best unit I can have. I don't want to fight with it, and it had better not get in my way. That's why I like Wilkies - set 'em and forget 'em. Floyds work, but they make you work to use them.

Other than those two designs, they're all crap. I'd rather have a hardtail.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

You guys deals too much in absolutes.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Steve_Karl]

There's no advantage I can figure out other than you don't have to route out wood to put one on.

Refer to the above Steve.

Ahhh .... well that second pic wasn't showing when I was here last.
That makes all the difference in the world.
<cue the voice of the little brown dog pupped from the Conan O'Brian show that smokes cigars and always says "poop on you">

... to a bunch'a posers

</cue ... etc >

Yea ... I tried ... but your joke still rules.

 

[Steve_Karl]

[ It has to work/play/sound good, or it's out of here. If it can look good as well, that's fine. But, that's at the bottom of the list.

What he said!