dbirchett
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 938
- Reaction score
- 92
As some may remember, I bought a gorgeous 2001 Starfire 5 a few months back. When I got the guitar the Bigsby was very stiff, nowhere near the action of the B6 Bigsbys on my Gretsch 6120DC or X-170. I had been using an Epiphone Sheraton to which I had added a B7 and it was nowhere near as stiff as the Starfire.
There had (has) been a lot of discussion of tension bar Bigsbys on various forums and the reaction had been similar to mine with the Guild. Most had opined that it had to do with the break angle over the bridge and a lot of solutions had been offered.
Anecdotally, I had become acquainted with the Chet arm through the 6120DC that I got a few years back. I was amazed at how fluid it was. I added one to the B6 style Bigsby on my X-170 and again it loosened up the action considerably. I don't know why the geometry of the Chet arm would make a difference but I dropped Physics in High School and never had to take it for undergrad or law school. But it does seem to make an appreciable difference to the standard arm.
Another suggestion that was frequently made was to increase the size of the spring to a 1".
So, I got a Chet arm, a 1" spring and some rubber bibb washers and installed them this afternoon. Wow what a difference in the action. Not sure which one made the most difference but the three together sure helped.
This picture shows the washers lifting the Bigsby off the guitar. Before, the Bigsby was right on the guitar top. It didn't raise it a lot but seems to have made a big difference.
This one shows the Chet arm in place:
Nothing that is Earth-shattering or life-changing but it makes me appreciate my beautiful Starfire a little more. Thought it might help someone.
There had (has) been a lot of discussion of tension bar Bigsbys on various forums and the reaction had been similar to mine with the Guild. Most had opined that it had to do with the break angle over the bridge and a lot of solutions had been offered.
Anecdotally, I had become acquainted with the Chet arm through the 6120DC that I got a few years back. I was amazed at how fluid it was. I added one to the B6 style Bigsby on my X-170 and again it loosened up the action considerably. I don't know why the geometry of the Chet arm would make a difference but I dropped Physics in High School and never had to take it for undergrad or law school. But it does seem to make an appreciable difference to the standard arm.
Another suggestion that was frequently made was to increase the size of the spring to a 1".
So, I got a Chet arm, a 1" spring and some rubber bibb washers and installed them this afternoon. Wow what a difference in the action. Not sure which one made the most difference but the three together sure helped.
This picture shows the washers lifting the Bigsby off the guitar. Before, the Bigsby was right on the guitar top. It didn't raise it a lot but seems to have made a big difference.
This one shows the Chet arm in place:
Nothing that is Earth-shattering or life-changing but it makes me appreciate my beautiful Starfire a little more. Thought it might help someone.