Bigsby tailpieces

Mac McKenzie · Post by **Mac McKenzie** » 3 Mar 2006 8:19 pm

A friend in New York sent me a guitar magazine and I notice that SOME guitars have a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece where the strings come from the anchor, over the roller, (usual), then under another roller before going to the bridge. If anyone could tell me why and the benefits, I would be truly grateful. Thanks in advance.

Jim Bob Sedgwick · Post by **Jim Bob Sedgwick** » 3 Mar 2006 9:02 pm

The original Bigsby tailpiece was made for hollow, arch top bodies. These guitars have a natural angle from the tailpiece to the bridge. With solid body guitars, there was no angle over the bridge.
The roller puts the strings lower so they would stay on the bridge. There is a disadvantage to this: the strings tend to hang up and not return to pitch as well as on the arch tops. Hope this answers your question.

Mac McKenzie · Post by **Mac McKenzie** » 3 Mar 2006 10:06 pm

Thanks very much Jim. We had a visit from a friend from Texas, top muso. of many years, showed him the picture and he had not seen them.
Isn't this forum a wonderful invention, and so quick!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 4 Mar 2006 3:41 am

and do keep in mind there are several varietys of Bigsby tailpices available for both Hollow bodies (ES 335/ Gretsch Styles )and for solid body Electrics such as Telecasters.. it is not one size fits all...

As mentioned above the main ingredient for a successful Bigsby set up is the BRIDGE, not the tailpiece...

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Dean Dobbins · Post by **Dean Dobbins** » 4 Mar 2006 10:20 am

I had one of the original Chet Atkins model Gretch guitars (solid body), with that type of tail-piece-the bridge was mounted so it would pivot slightly forward on the lower, and to the rear on the raise. It returned to pitch with a fair amount of accuracy.

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