String through AND Bigsby?

[stubhead]

The strings ferrules on the rear bar of the bigsby works as a stop point for the strings. With a string through body config, you are simply moving the stop point a little further. Since the tremolo action works with the tension of the strings, it doesn't matter where the stop point is, as long as it's fixed.

Well, people find strings long enough for for 28" scale baritone guitars easy enough... what I see here though, is just an auto-string breaker. Every time you wiggle the bar, the part of the string right where it goes through that back bar is going to be wiggling at least 12 or 15 degrees - and they're already going to be coming up out of body holes at 25, 40 degrees? SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP PING!

Some people have thought through this vibrato stuff. Not well, in my opinion - a vibrato that pulls the strings straight instead of angling them is a better beast - but still. Maybe I don't understand the idea.

 

[Cagey]

The point where you're pulling that quote from has to do with his desire to run strings through the body. String length still isn't an issue there; the mechanics are.

 

[Don]

...just for curiosity's sake, could anybody that has a Tele with Bigsby please see if a new, uncut high e manages to get to its tuning key on the headstock?

Do you think if anybody had a Tele with a Bigsby where a standard string was too short to install, that it would still have a Bigsby?

Here's a couple hundred examples of Teles with Bigsbys, if you're curious about their existence. Rest assured, it's been done a number of times.

I would strongly suggest you use locking tuners and a graphtech or LSR nut. Bigsbys need all the help they can get to stay in tune.

I'm sorry  i forgot to mention that the one doing the measure should string the guitar THROUGH THE BODY as if there was no Bigsby, then AROUND THE BIGSBY'S REAR SPOOL a if the strings went THROUGH it, then UNDER THE BIGSBY'S TENSION BAR, OVER THE SADDLES AND FINALLY TO THE TUNING KEY.
Since it's impossibile to make the guitar to play like this without any mods, i supposed there couldn't have been that many people that have tried to do this.
II just wanted to see if the strings were long enough, that's it.

 

[Don]

The strings ferrules on the rear bar of the bigsby works as a stop point for the strings. With a string through body config, you are simply moving the stop point a little further. Since the tremolo action works with the tension of the strings, it doesn't matter where the stop point is, as long as it's fixed.

Well, people find strings long enough for for 28" scale baritone guitars easy enough... what I see here though, is just an auto-string breaker. Every time you wiggle the bar, the part of the string right where it goes through that back bar is going to be wiggling at least 12 or 15 degrees - and they're already going to be coming up out of body holes at 25, 40 degrees? SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP PING!

Some people have thought through this vibrato stuff. Not well, in my opinion - a vibrato that pulls the strings straight instead of angling them is a better beast - but still. Maybe I don't understand the idea.

yes, after i thought that out for good i had to come to the conclusion that there's no way to make it work. The problem is that the tension is regulated by the the revolving spool. So if the stop point isn't on the revolving spool itself but on a fixed point on the body, no matter where it is, every action on the whammy bar will risult in higher tension, and that's not good, cool "i'm playin' with the vibrato" tension. It bad, rough "i heard strange metallic pings... And what are those cracks on the wood!?" kind of tension.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I can't help thinking that even if you somehow got it working, you'd be disappointed. The lack of twang and attack is due to having a tremolo. The fact is that when you pick, that temporary increase in tension (as you push the string before releasing) can be partly absorbed by movement of the tremolo system. That is bound to create an audible reduction in attack. The only way to get true Tele attack and twang is to either go hardtail, or to try and compensate with "extra-twangy" pickups.

If you want a Bigsby and twang, then my advice would be to mount the Bigsby the normal way and then talk to someone like Ken at Roadhouse about trying to recapture that sound. I bet he could help.