So, where to start? I have really fallen in love with this guitar over the last few days. So beautiful, such an incredibly rich tone. But let's start with the criticism.
Somehow I have difficulties to adjust to the golden Bigsby. I have a nickel B7 on a Heritage semi-holllow and it looks and feels a lot better, sturdier in a way and yet smoother operating. I can't escape the impression that this one was made somewhere in the Far East, not in Kalamazoo. But oh well, I will be able to live with that. The bridge also seemed a little cheap but I guess this ResoMax bridge is all but cheap so again it may be the golden color I am not used to. It can't be bad for the tone or the guitar wouldn't sound that good. However, one of the wheels for height adjustment only works if the string tension is nearly fully removed. If you only tune down a little, you can turn the wheel but it does make cracking sounds instead of moving in height, no matter if you turn up or down. Maybe a faulty thread? Well, as long as it stays in place once it has been adjusted, I don't really care.
The neck has a tiny "Gibson hump" where it joins the body. Not bad but noticable, the action cannot be lowered beneath a certain point or you get some string buzz. The lowest possible action without buzz is low enough for me but I've seen straighter necks with lower action without buzz. Anyway, this is no problem as long as it doesn't get any worse. I've just installed heavier strings, let's see what this does to the neck in the next 24 hours.
Now there is another problem I am not yet sure if it is the guitar or something else. It seems that the guitar isn't grounded properly. There is quite some buzzing coming from the amp, as it does with other guitars. But normally this stops when I touch the strings or the tailpiece. Not with the T-500. Strange enough, the buzzing stops as soon as I touch the screw of the pickup switch (or the plug of the cable or any other metal part in the signal path). I am not quite sure what to make of that but my first guess is that the tailpiece isn't grounded.
But enough nitpicking. This guitar is just awesome, the maple flame on the back is so incredibly 3D like I have never seen before. You really have to touch it to understand that the surface is straight not crinkled. I have often read in guitar reviews that you can get lost in the flame, now I know what it means. But after all the staring, it is the tone that really excites me. This guitar sounds rough and strong and twangy yet warm and full and woody at the same time. Lots of overtones, lots of depth. For an electric guitar it sounds big and loud even acoustically but it really puts a smile on my face when I plug it in. It's very versatile and can be used for many genres from Jazz to Country (I wish I could play all that), all with the stock roundwounds. I thought maybe a reason for its great acoustic sound is, apart from quality tone woods used, that the body has been built years ago, then stored in good environmental conditions to let it mature well and that it has been lacquered only recently. Just a thought, not really important.
Thank you all for your comments regarding strings. I totally agree with Jeff that it feels kind of floppy with .010s and I agree with Rudehog, I also like Thomastik Jazz Swings .012s which I use on my X-170, a match made in heaven in my opinion. Very bendable indeed for flatwounds. So since all of you seem to agree that flats and Bigsbys go well together, I have installed Thomastik Jazz Swings .012s. Admittedly I am not satisfied with the results. No problems with the Bigsby but somehow the guitar looses its magic. With flats it sounds just like any other Jazz archtop. Slapback, I fully agree with your statement. Gone are the overtones and the crispness, gone is that heavenly vintage Jazz tone being replaced by just an everyday modern Jazz tone. And gone is the versatility, too. Flats get you in the usual Jazz box territory but then there is no way to go from there. I have never experienced that on an archtop before, usually I like my archtops with flats, even if it gets more bluesy. But those Franz pickups seem to deliver much better with roundwounds. So on goes the search for the perfect matching strings. .011 roundwounds will be the next I try, not sure yet what brand. Maybe Gibson Vintage reissues because I have a set laying around, wanted to try them on a Les Paul but why not try the T-500 first. But I'll play those flats for a few days first, let's see if they start growing on me and of course I am curious how the neck reacts. I haven't touched the truss rod yet and if not necessary, I am glad if I don't have to.