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Topic: Bigsby Volume/Tone pedal |
Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 23 Sep 2021 3:13 pm |
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Just arrived, minty clean inside and out, original string, cap & pots.
That said... what are these extra holes for? I thought the bottom two might be in case someone wanted all the jacks on the port side, but they're too small to accommodate a jack. 
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 23 Sep 2021 3:47 pm
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I can't figure what you'd be adjusting but could it be a screwdriver access point for the slotted screw inside? (another photos shows another screw on the other end too).
That wouldn't address the holes in the top part of the pedal.
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 23 Sep 2021 4:09 pm
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Bingo! When I took the bottom cover, I could see that the three larger holes are aligned with string pulleys and and string anchor point. The smaller hole is aligned with the anchor point for a spring.
The wierd thing is that none of these are difficult to access through the bottom, and could have been made even easier to tighten with hex-head screws and a wrench. And none of them should need periodic adjustment, either. So that answers the question, but I'm still confused as to why Bigsby built it this way. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 23 Sep 2021 4:14 pm
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| I only know the Fender V/T and I can't recall any need for quick adjustments, tensioning or whatever. Yeah, it's puzzling. |
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Joe Burke
From:
Toronto, Canada
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Posted 23 Sep 2021 4:54 pm
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Mine have the holes as well. But hadn’t considered what they were for.
I do love this pedal! |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 24 Sep 2021 11:06 am Re: Bigsby Volume/Tone pedal
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
Just arrived, minty clean inside and out, original string, cap & pots.
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Nice find! I'd be really interested in what the original cap and pot values are. Can you tell if the pots are linear or audio taper??? |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 24 Sep 2021 1:10 pm
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The tone pot says 100K and reads 89.2K. The volume pot markings I can't see without unstringing, but it reads 460K so I assume it's supposed to be 500K. Did they even make audio taper pots back then?
The cap is marked .05 MFD. |
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Bill Fisher
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2021 4:35 pm
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That foot pedal, being shiny like that, is, I believe, one of the newer one's Ted McCarty had made when he owned Bigsby in Michigan, I believe is where he was located with the Bigsby product. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.
Bill. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 25 Sep 2021 3:51 am
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| From the small bit of research I've done, I agree this is one of the later ones. The tone pot code could be 1956 or 1966, but the small logo seems to indicate the later date. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 30 Sep 2021 4:11 pm
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
The tone pot says 100K and reads 89.2K. The volume pot markings I can't see without unstringing, but it reads 460K so I assume it's supposed to be 500K. Did they even make audio taper pots back then?
The cap is marked .05 MFD. |
Audio (log) taper pots have been used for volume controls for about 90 years. The .05 (or .047) uf cap has been the "go-to" value for passive tone controls for almost as long. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2021 10:49 am
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
| From the small bit of research I've done, I agree this is one of the later ones. The tone pot code could be 1956 or 1966, but the small logo seems to indicate the later date. |
Noah, Didn't Bigsby start using the smaller logo in 1951? I only have one early volume tone pedal and it took fifteen years to find it. Its pots have been changed a number of times.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 1 Oct 2021 11:06 am
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| I'm far from an expert on these, but I've found a few large-logo pedals that were said to be from the late '50s. I have no idea if they were misidentified. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2021 1:17 pm
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
| I'm far from an expert on these, but I've found a few large-logo pedals that were said to be from the late '50s. I have no idea if they were misidentified. |
I am a Bigsby steel guitar collector snd I have only seen two large logo pedals. I have seen twice as many volume/tone pedal bags.
The top of the pedal —the part that slides— is from the Thirties.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 1 Oct 2021 1:37 pm
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| The '30s? How is the top of the pedal so much older than the rest of it? |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2021 2:10 pm
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
| The '30s? How is the top of the pedal so much older than the rest of it? |
Because the top of the pedal was not always a Volume/Tone pedal part. It started as a Crocker Motorcycle pedal.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 2 Oct 2021 6:50 am
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| Chris Lucker wrote: |
| Noah Miller wrote: |
| The '30s? How is the top of the pedal so much older than the rest of it? |
Because the top of the pedal was not always a Volume/Tone pedal part. It started as a Crocker Motorcycle pedal.
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...must have been great to be able to vary the volume and tone of the exhaust whilst riding.....independently of the accelerator..... 
_________________
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Jeffery Mercer
From:
Born in Portsmouth Oh. 12/10/1954
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 8:47 am Bigsby Volume pedal
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Where can I purchase a BIGSBY VOLUME PEDAL IN LIKE NEW, TO MINT CONDITION ?
Thanks ðŸ™
Jeff Mercer
_________________
Jeffery S. Mercer |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 2:51 pm
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| Last one I saw on eBay "as new" went for $450, plus shipping. Maybe worth that as a collector piece, but certainly not as a volume pedal. Too big, heavy, and clunky. |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 5:32 pm
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| Chris Lucker wrote: |
| Noah Miller wrote: |
| The '30s? How is the top of the pedal so much older than the rest of it? |
Because the top of the pedal was not always a Volume/Tone pedal part. It started as a Crocker Motorcycle pedal.
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That's a cool piece of trivia! Never noticed that before, but I can certainly see it.
Dave |
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