Thinline Tele & Bigsby B16

[RomanS]

Hi guys,
after my great solid-body Warmoth Tele-Partscaster (my main work-horse guitar), I want to build another one: this time I'd like to build a Thinline Tele, and mount a Bigsby B16. Now, the B16 is a tricky b****rd - it demands a very precise distance between the back edge of the body (where it is mounted), and the front edge of the bridge pickup cavity. On this body from a Custom Guitar builder in the USA (not Warmoth), it doesn't fit, the body is slightly too long, so it leaves the pickup cavity exposed:

From placing it on top of my Warmoth solid-body Tele, I think it might work:

- but I want to be 100% sure before I order the Warmoth body, so, can somebody give me a precise measuremnt of the distance between the back edge/butt end of the Thinline Tele, and the front edge of the bridge pickup cavity (the only non-angled edge of that cavity) - like this (preferably in mm, though inches are OK, too):

Second question: Can a Warmoth Thinline Tele be equipped with a TOM-bridge? Is the solid center part wide enough for the mounting studs of those? I'm thinking about one of those instead of the flimsy "bowtie" bridge that comes with the B16...

And if the TOM could be mounted on a Thinline, how far away are the mounting holes from the back edge of the body (because they'd have to be inside the "bridge slot" of the B16).

Thanks!

 

[willyk]

I think the best people to talk to are the warmoth reps. They are super helpful with anything like this. Warmoth can do custom routes for all sorts of applications. TOM bridges should not be a problem, however the only way to be sure is to give your measured requirements to the W guys and let them tell you if it's do-able. Welcome to the board :icon_thumright:

 

[-CB-]

http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/download/pat_d170109.pdf

http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/download/1952b16instruction.pdf

http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/download/neckshim.pdf

READ ALL OF THOSE PDF's ABOVE

 

[bpmorton777]

could this be acomplished with an angled neck pocket? Warmoth offers 1.5-2 degrees angle.

Brian

 

[-CB-]

i do believe the larger angle is the one to use

 

[tfarny]

CB, I believe you have the world's largest collection of Bigsby telecasters!  Somebody ought to give you a medal.

 

[willyk]

I think the best people to talk to are the warmoth reps. They are super helpful with anything like this. Warmoth can do custom routes for all sorts of applications. TOM bridges should not be a problem, however the only way to be sure is to give your measured requirements to the W guys and let them tell you if it's do-able. Welcome to the board :icon_thumright:

What I meant to say was the best people to talk to apart from CB are the warmoth reps :doh:

 

[-CB-]

Hey they ain't mine!

All from the project Telecaster site -

http://www.xs4all.nl/~msengers/htm/gallery.htm

PROJECT TELECASTER - BIGSBY GALLERY

 

[RomanS]

Thanks guys, I do know about the Project Bigsby site, that's where I got my inspiration for my first Bigsby-Tele build with a B50 and a notched ashtray bridge.

Oh, and I'm not really "new" on this board, just haven't posted since the switch to the new board format, that's why my post count is still so low (I did ask a lot of questions here when I built my first Warmoth Partscaster in 2006).

I thought I'd ask the question about the body measurement here instead at Warmoth, because I know that Greg and some other Warmoth guys post here, and I know that a few other people had problems with using a B16 on bodies from various maker - so I thought i'd just direct them to this thread once I got the answers. :rock-on:

 

[-CB-]

Second question: Can a Warmoth Thinline Tele be equipped with a TOM-bridge?
Is the solid center part wide enough for the mounting studs of those? I'm thinking about one of those instead of the flimsy "bowtie" bridge that comes with the B16...

And if the TOM could be mounted on a Thinline, how far away are the mounting holes from the back edge of the body (because they'd have to be inside the "bridge slot" of the B16).

You have several issues at hand. 

One is - the bowtie is a rocker bridge, that helps things stay in tune when the Bigsby is at rest. 

Another is - will the bridge you have in mind FIT in the hole for the bowtie? 

The placement of the bridge is going to be the same, and not measured at all - ever - from the back of the body, but from the fret side of the nut.

I'd be inclined to use the bowtie.  However, a really nice bridge for Bigsby is the Schaller Roller Bridge (stewmac).  I've got one on my L6s, and its a nice bridge, well made.

 

[RomanS]

Another is - will the bridge you have in mind FIT in the hole for the bowtie? 

The placement of the bridge is going to be the same, and not measured at all - ever - from the back of the body, but from the fret side of the nut.

I'd be inclined to use the bowtie.  However, a really nice bridge for Bigsby is the Schaller Roller Bridge (stewmac).  I've got one on my L6s, and its a nice bridge, well made.

Yeah, I was thinking about a roller bridge, too.
BTW, TOM's have a bolt spacing of about 74mm, and the slot on the B16 is 90mm wide, so it should fit.
Oh, and I do now that the position of the bridge has to be determined from the nut - but I still need the measurement from the back edge of the body, because the B16 is mounted on the back edge, so the position of the slot that the bridge on a B16 sits in, is also determined from the back edge - and I need to know whether the position of the TOMs mounting holes coincide with the slot on the B16...

 

[-CB-]

will the bridge you have in mind FIT in the hole for the bowtie? 

BTW, TOM's have a bolt spacing of about 74mm, and the slot on the B16 is 90mm wide, so it should fit.

Oh, and I do now that the position of the bridge has to be determined from the nut - but I still need the measurement from the back edge of the body, because the B16 is mounted on the back edge, so the position of the slot that the bridge on a B16 sits in, is also determined from the back edge - and I need to know whether the position of the TOMs mounting holes coincide with the slot on the B16...

Well forget bolt spacing - will the bridge fit IN the slot?  Will the rollers be adjustable?

Forget "back of the body"... too many variables.  ALWAYS go from nut.

You're gonna have to get the body, get the neck, lay it all out... and see what is what.  There's no "easy" to this one.

 

[m4rk0]

ok, I have an ignorant question...
What is it that people like about bigsby trems?? is it the looks or the kind of vibrato it produces? Stability maybe? Better Divebombs ?

now my main experience with Bigsby trems is a cheap 70s japanese SG copy that I used to have (one of my first guitars), with their version/copy of a bigsby trem, and I hated it! now that may be because of the inferiour quality, so maybe I need to give them another chance (instead of avoiding them )

 

[RomanS]

I do like the look a lot, but I mainly like the way it functions - it's perfect for adding only a subtle bit of warble or shimmer to chords. With other trem types it's much easier to "overshoot" on the trem action (of course, this could also be interpreted as a negative point for the Bigsby - it doesn't allow for extreme tremolo stuff).
And unlike a floating Strat or FR trem, the the other strings stay in tune when you bend one string, or a string breaks.
I also like that it doesn't reduce sustain like other trem systems.
On my first Warmoth Partscaster  I have a B50 with a notched vintage-style Tele ashtray bridge, a graphite nut, and locking tuners - and the whole system stays in tune very well.
The B5/50 and other Bigsbies with the string pressure bar feels a bit stiffer, though, than the pressure-bar-less Bigsby versions found on fullsize archtops - that's why I want to try a B16, which doesn't have that bar either.

BTW, still need the distance from the back of the body to the front edge of the bridge pickup cavity - so if you just received a Thinlone Tele body from Warmoth, could you break out the tape measure? Pretty please?  :help:

 

[tfarny]

My thinline should come next week sometime, I"ll measure it when it comes.

 

[RomanS]

My thinline should come next week sometime, I"ll measure it when it comes.

OK, thanks!

 

[-CB-]

ok, I have an ignorant question...
What is it that people like about bigsby trems?? is it the looks or the kind of vibrato it produces? Stability maybe? Better Divebombs ?

now my main experience with Bigsby trems is a cheap 70s japanese SG copy that I used to have (one of my first guitars), with their version/copy of a bigsby trem, and I hated it! now that may be because of the inferiour quality, so maybe I need to give them another chance (instead of avoiding them )

Bigsby's don't divebomb. 

 

[tfarny]

Maybe I'm missing something - why not just get this one (B5 model): http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Bigsby_vibrato_tailpieces/1/Bigsby_Vibrato_Tailpieces.html
If you're custom ordering, then you don't need the tele bridge setup anyhow. Mind you, I know nothing about Bigsbys except that they're cool and I'll get one someday. Do they really not lose sustain and tone like a strat trem?

 

[RomanS]

Well, as I mentioned above, I already have a Tele with a B50 (the Asian-made licensed B5 version):

Here is a list of the various Bigsby models:

http://www.bigsbyguitars.com/products_vibratos.html

If you look at those, some, like the B5 or B7 have an extra bar between the bridge and the bar where the strings are mounted; the strings have to pass under this bar, this is supposed increase the string pressure on the bridge saddles; however, by comparing the action of my B50 equipped Tele to a B3-style Bigsby (which does NOT have that extra bar) mounted on an archtop, I found that the B3 has a much softer action, and the difference is supposed to be caused mainly by that extra pressure bar; so, since I want that softer action, I want to try the bar-less B16.



And besides, I already have it here in front of me, I just need a body now to mount it on...

 

[-CB-]

The B16 will be a little softer than the B5 on a Tele. 

Keep in mind though, that the B3 is a floating affair on an archtop and will always be softer feeling.