Question about 1956 Guild Aristocrat bridge break angle

guildguy516

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Recently picked up a '56 Guild M75 and in the case there is (appears to be) a period correct gold Bigbsy tailpiece. There are no holes other than those for the harp tailpiece on the side of the guitar so it would appear the Bigsby was never installed. Just wondering if the break angle of the bridge would be sharp enough to entertain the Bigsby? My thought is the owner bought it back in the day and never installed it.

Please don't attack me as I currently do not have any plans to install the Bigsby, I am only curious as to why it was there and never utilized. Thanks!
 

kakerlak

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My understanding of these is that break angle is too shallow for a B-6 and a B-7 will work, but winds up with the tension roller crammed really close to the bridge. I've seen pictures of '50s ones with B7s, but never had one in hand to see how functional the setup is.
 

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I suspect that the Bigsby is not original, but will wait til Hans clears this up.
 

guildguy516

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I suspect that the Bigsby is not original, but will wait til Hans clears this up.

I don't think it's original as "Guildsby, came with guitar original" but the patina of it looks like it's not new. It's shiny but like 'sitting in case for decades' shiny.
 

shihan

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What? You bought a ‘56 Aristocrat and there’s no pictures? This is an outrage!
 

guildguy516

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What? You bought a ‘56 Aristocrat and there’s no pictures? This is an outrage!

I can never figure out how to attach a picture to a forum post, nor do I have a "cloud" or whatever that I upload them to. I can email! Sorry
 

Walter Broes

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On a typical aristocrat M-75, a single roller Bigsby like a B3 (which would be the right size for that guitar otherwise) doesn't work. From what we've seen on here, and Hans' research, it would seem the Guild Logo'd (tenstion roller) Bigsby B7 was made specifically for these guitars, as there are some early 60's Aristocrats floating around with those installed from the factory. And that was long before Guild started installing them on Starfires.
 

guildguy516

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Here's a quick bump with a follow up/update. I've seen pictures of a few of these with B7 style tailpieces but I don't want to drill into the top. However, I read this discussion and they found that a B3 did work with a some adjusting of the bridge.

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/archive/index.php/t-180785.html

Anyone else out there have a 50's Aristocrat and can comment on Bigsbys working/not working with the break angle. I really don't want to drill into the top, but if it had a Bigsby it would be the PERFECT guitar.
 

Walter Broes

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A B3 is not going to work. It's fairly easy to see/measure. Take the tailpiece off your guitar next time you change strings. Lay the Bigsby on top of the guitar where it would go. Put a straightedge on the roller where the strings are on top of it going towards the bridge, other side of the straightedge on top of the bridge. I'm 99.9% you'll see there's no, or hardly any angle from the bigsby to the bridge.
 
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