johnreardon
Member
I raised a thread here a couple of weeks ago about replacing a Bigsby on a Starfire III. My conclusion, right or wrong, was that I would have to drill holes in the guitar or any replacement Harp Tailpiece to make it work.
Kslam pointed me to a Vibramate Spoiler that would make stringing the guitar easier whilst retaining the Bigsby
http://www.vibramate.com/vibramate-string-spoiler.php
So I took a plunge and ordered one. Had a bit of time this afternoon so I snapped off the nearly new strings and went about fitting the spoiler. At first I thought it wouldn't fit as the rectangular holes only appeared to cover 4 of the string pins and I also couldn't get the end pieces Bits that hold both E strings) past the Bigsby sides. After a few minutes of struggling, I raised the Bigsby up away from the guitar, with one hand and managed to snap the spoiler in. It's a tight fit but it will go. Then got a new set of strings out and 5 minutes later, 6 new strings on, way quicker that with the Bigsby.
So has it altered the guitar in any way? The action is maybe slightly up, although to be honest, I didn't really measure it beforehand. The string pull from the bridge is probably slightly straighter, but no issue. The only clear thing, apart from the easier string change, is that the Bigsby arm is a lot tighter when pushed right back. It doesn't matter to me as I never us the thing and as long as it stays back, I'm happy.
So many thanks to Kslam
Kslam pointed me to a Vibramate Spoiler that would make stringing the guitar easier whilst retaining the Bigsby
http://www.vibramate.com/vibramate-string-spoiler.php
So I took a plunge and ordered one. Had a bit of time this afternoon so I snapped off the nearly new strings and went about fitting the spoiler. At first I thought it wouldn't fit as the rectangular holes only appeared to cover 4 of the string pins and I also couldn't get the end pieces Bits that hold both E strings) past the Bigsby sides. After a few minutes of struggling, I raised the Bigsby up away from the guitar, with one hand and managed to snap the spoiler in. It's a tight fit but it will go. Then got a new set of strings out and 5 minutes later, 6 new strings on, way quicker that with the Bigsby.
So has it altered the guitar in any way? The action is maybe slightly up, although to be honest, I didn't really measure it beforehand. The string pull from the bridge is probably slightly straighter, but no issue. The only clear thing, apart from the easier string change, is that the Bigsby arm is a lot tighter when pushed right back. It doesn't matter to me as I never us the thing and as long as it stays back, I'm happy.
So many thanks to Kslam