Which Bridge for Compound Radius Neck?

[RiffWildly]

Hi there, and welcome me, my first post. I hope this isn't too stupid of a question:

I have a compound radius (10" - 16") neck on the way, to be fitted to a Gretsch Billy-Bo style body. The neck pocket rout is a standard Strat rout, and (hopefully) the neck will slide right in.

So, Question Part One: What would be the correct, ideal bridge radius for this neck? The way I figure it, the bridge radius would want to be around 18".

I also want to use a Bigsby on this guitar, and I'd like to use a roller bridge, but if there is such a thing as a roller bridge with an 18" radius, I have not found it. I don't want to use a Tele-style bridge with 3 saddles, either. So, Question Part Two: what other options do I have? I have a Schaller roller bridge with a 14" radius, but it's obviously not going to be ideal. Ideas appreciated!

 

[Cagey]

Welcome to the board, Mr. Wildly!

You're correct in that you want an 18" radius bridge. You can get there easily with a bridge that has adjustable saddles, but something that will do that and mate up well with a Bigsby is a little tougher to come by. However, you can get a very nice TOM-Style bridge from Guitar Fetish that is made by Wilkinson that has roller saddles...

...which are pretty important with a Bigsby tailpiece. The saddle heights aren't designed to be adjustable, but they are individual saddles so you can shim them to obtain the correct radius the same way you would do a Floyd. It's a pain in the shorts, but at least you can do it. It's how I did the L5S in my sig.

Helluva deal at $25, especially considering it's brass vs. die-cast zinc or aluminum. Nice part. Highly recommended.

 

[RiffWildly]

Welcome to the board, Mr. Wildly!

You're correct in that you want an 18" radius bridge. You can get there easily with a bridge that has adjustable saddles, but something that will do that and mate up well with a Bigsby is a little tougher to come by. However, you can get a very nice TOM-Style bridge from Guitar Fetish that is made by Wilkinson that has roller saddles...

...which are pretty important with a Bigsby tailpiece. The saddle heights aren't designed to be adjustable, but they are individual saddles so you can shim them to obtain the correct radius the same way you would do a Floyd. It's a pain in the shorts, but at least you can do it. It's how I did the L5S in my sig.

Helluva deal at $25, especially considering it's brass vs. die-cast zinc or aluminum. Nice part. Highly recommended.

Thank you my friend, this is the most hopeful and helpful bit of information I have heard so far in my bridge quest. The fact that it's brass and not pot metal is the icing on the cake. Can you tell me more about how you can shim the individual saddles, what to use as shim material, etc.? And, if it's not too much to ask, can you send me a link to the exact model, or tell me the model number? NOTE: Sorry, I just saw the link you included!

Thanks again! I've gotten more help here with a single post than at any of my "usual" bulletin board sources!

 

[Cagey]

You can get a set of Floyd Rose saddle shims here.

If I remember correctly, they won't fit - they're a hair too wide - but they're very thin so you can grind/cut them to suit. You put two shims under the 1 & 6 strings, 1 under the 2 & 5 strings, and nothing under the 3 & 4 strings to get to an 18" radius from a 12" radius starting point.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

Thanks again! I've gotten more help here with a single post than at any of my "usual" bulletin board sources!

This is a fairly low key place by comparison to other Message Boards.

Lots of knowledge to be shared here, minus the standard side helping of Snark, and Holier than thou attitudes.

Welcome! :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Incidentally, if you haven't bought your Bigsby yet, be sure to spring for the extra cost of a real one. That is, a B5 or B7 vs. a B50 or B70. Bigsbys are notorious for not returning to neutral reliably, but that's partly because there are so many knock-offs out there that use bushings instead of bearings at the pivot points. The originals use needle bearings and if you combine that with a roller saddle bridge, locking tuners and a well-made nut (or an LSR) the problem is largely mitigated.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

This  ↑, + as straight of a string pull in the headstock design as possible.

Basically, you are minimizing friction points to as few as possible.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

All of the above plus locking tuners :icon_thumright: