Angled bridge + Bigsby: recipe for disaster?

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10/14/1999 4:31 PM

Mark Hammer

Angled bridge + Bigsby: recipe for disaster? Looking through the current issue of GP, my eyes fell upon the new Danelectro "Hodad". It's an attractive piece of real estate, and seems to hold tonal delights. However, one of its more curious features is the use of an angled tunamatic-style bridge (not in itself a problem) and a Bigsby-style vibrato. Normally, when Bigsbys are employed, the string angle is constant across all 6 strings. Indeed, I can't think of a single Bigsby-equipped instrument I've ever seen before that had a bridge angled that much (which isn't to say that they don't exist).     So, I'm wondering, is this combination innocuous or should one expect detuning problems or asymmetrical vibrato (i.e., more for some strings than others), or some other sort of glitch? Part of me says that this is a very market-savvy company and they wouldn't peddle anything that wasn't going to work just right. Another part of me says that if I haven't seen it before, then there must be something not quite right about it. Another part of me still says that there are plenty of dumb things that have never changed in guitars for decades e.g., stupid choice of tone control caps) because no one ever got around to changing it.     So, I repeat the question: Is an angled bridge contra-indicated when taken with a Bigsby? Has anyone out there tried one?

 

10/15/1999 11:55 PM

moocow

Perhaps the 'angle' is misleading. The strings still need to intonate properly, so the distance between each bridge saddle and Bigsby should be the same, regardless of bridge angle.     The Hodad bridge would need to be wider than a Tune-O-Matic to accomodate its extreme angle (~7 degrees vs. 3 degrees for a Gibson). The angle itself seems to have been chosen to match the pickup angle.     Steve Soest does guitar design work as a consultant to Danelectro. He really knows his stuff ! His page is at:     http://www.soestguitar.com     If he had anything to do with the Hodad, you can be sure it will work right.

 

10/17/1999 2:57 PM

Mark Hammer

What helps and hurts Bigsby functioning? Cogent points, and I'm glad you raised them, if only to maintain my esteem for Dano's. Indeed, one should not be misled by the *VISUAL* angle, and recognize that the same saddle positions may be obtained within the context of a variety of bridge angles/widths. I guess what threw me off there was thinking about the old "frequensator" tailpieces that were angled (against a bridge ostensibly at right angles to the strings) in order to obtain string-wise differences in bridge to tailpiece angles. Seeing a trapezoidal space between Bigsby and bridge in the picture set off alarms, that were primed by my own dismal experiences with keeping mine in tune.     So, while the topic has come up, I was wondering what Bigsby users and techs out there do to make these things behave better? My own is the type that mounts on a solid body, with two rollers (the under and over type). It finds its home from time to time onto an Epi Coronet, then I grow weary of the weight, frustration, and tuning problems, and go back to a wraparound bridge. Admittedly, the Epi has a catastrophically skinny neck (it's my *other* whammy bar), so the tuning problem is compounded.     What does the folklore say?     Roller bridges? Locking nuts? Graphite nuts? Roller nuts? Sperzels? String gauges? Saddles to roller bar angle/distance? Patience and a love of microtonal music?     I'm curious.

 

10/27/1999 12:22 AM
peter	My experience with a tele with Bigsby is that   you need to make sure the strings move freely   at the nut (I lubricate the nut with graphite)   and you need to make sure the floating bridge is   centered-- tuning the guitar up pulls the bridge   over to one end of it's travel, so you need to   re-center it.     Apologies if you knew these things already.

 

10/28/1999 7:50 PM

Mark Hammer

Thanks. This is all good stuff. The bridge on my guitar is an ancient Leo Quan Badass (bought in 1976) that doesn't seem to sit in the adjustable bridge bolts quite snugly enough (i.e., the bridge has an easily detectable amount of rocker-like travel because the bolts don't hold it perfectly parallel with the body). The nut is a Graphtech, so that end is sort of taken care of, but clearly the bridge is not playing ball. Maybe what I need to do is invest in some new bolts, or perhaps a new bridge. Trouble is, the Badass is a nice wraparound that I am remiss to remove, because it lets me forego the weight of the Bigsby whenever my back tells me its time for a change.

 

10/28/1999 8:21 PM
peter	Doesn't the bridge need to have some freedom   of movement? Otherwise for the bigsby to   work the strings have to slide on the bridge,   which sounds like there would be lots of   friction. In my tele, the bridge sits on   two little pointed screws which sit in little   conical sockets, so when you move the bigsby to   pull the strings the bridge tilts to let that   happen.

 

10/29/1999 6:43 PM
Mark Hammer	Now that you mention it, maybe they do. Of course, maybe the degree of rocker-movement is important. If the bridge rocks forward too much, AND you lack rollers, then the consequence is for wound strings to get snagged at a different point along the windings than they were before you wiggled the stick.     Just out of curiosity, do roller bridges have any forward/backward rocking?

 

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