Poop Knife Experience

Peen Simmons

Peen Simmons

Let’s Get Obtuse!
So I might have a line on a thing with a Bigsby and I ain’t never had no Bigsby-equipped guitar before. Are they truly awful and fussy? I’ve played guitars with em in shops and some have been fine. My friend’s custom shop Esquire with a Bigsby is a mess if you so much as look at the bar.

@Mark Wein — I know you’ve been playing that Kochmaster with the Bigsby in real world situations? Any issues/pitfalls?
 
I’ve never had a Bigsby. I love they way they sound when other players use them properly. I’m Bigsby curious. I’d like to own a Gretsch with a Bigsby, maybe, even a big hollow body, one day.
 
I’ve owned two and not had problems with them staying in tune. Brian Setzer uses the hell out of his and he can get through an entire show with one guitar. They are a PITA to put strings on—you might find that you want to put locking tuners on the guitar if you change strings often.
 
I’m not much of a vibrato guy in general so I rarely actually use one even if my guitar is whang equiped.
I’m not crazy about B5s, they can be fussy more often than not in my experience. Esp on string thru guitars like Teles, and on carved top lp style guitars
But the biggest prob with Bs not returning to pitch is usually the nut. Slots gotta be cut just right.
A B3 is pretty darn great though on a big ol archtop with a floating bridge. The B3 on my White Falcon works perfectly.
But they are a PIA to string unless you get one of those string thrus.
In any case don’t expect dive bombs, they are designed for subtle vibrato.
 
Pine Apple Slim said:
I’m not much of a vibrato guy in general so I rarely actually use one even if my guitar is whang equiped.
I’m not crazy about B5s, they can be fussy more often than not in my experience. Esp on string thru guitars like Teles, and on carved top lp style guitars
But the biggest prob with Bs not returning to pitch is usually the nut. Slots gotta be cut just right.
A B3 is pretty darn great though on a big ol archtop with a floating bridge. The B3 on my White Falcon works perfectly.
But they are a PIA to string unless you get one of those string thrus.
In any case don’t expect dive bombs, they are designed for subtle vibrato.
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I’m not much of a whammy person either. I eventually gave up on floating the Floyd Rose on my Gibson MIII Super Start. I locked it down with a Tremol-No and a Trem Stop.

On my Strat-style guitars, I adjust the springs so that the bridge of the whammy stays fixed against the body. Then, I adjust the saddles for action and intonation.

I bend strings with my fret hand. I seem to prefer fixed bridges. But, Bigsby whammy setups look cool and sound great to me. I prefer subtle whammy sounds.
 
Honestly, with the exception of a cheap knock off version, I've never had a problem with the ones I've had. If you give the strings a little pre-curve bend before restringing, it goes a little easier.
 
I've got a Schecter PT (Tele knockoff) with a Bigsby. Guitar sounds and feels great, but if I touch that fucking Bigsby it all goes to shit.
 
i've had a few B3/5's, and aside from stinging being a bit more work, i've never had an issue.
BUT.....i use them as a subtle effect, not dive bombs. they're really not for that.
and yes, the nut grooves need to be right and not grabby.
 
There's a Bigsby on my Dearmond Starfire Special. I've been playing that guitar for two decades and never had a problem with it.
Restringing is a bit fiddly, but if you do the trick Lerxt mentioned it helps.
 
I've had a few. Never had a problem. Like with any other old-school, non-floyd system it's all about lubricating the nut grooves. I use a pencil once every time when I change the strings. I used 11s on those guitars, like on the Jag I had, and that kind of system seems to like that, and it doesn't feel too flimsy and wobbly that way.

After restringing and pulling/stretching the strings I dive bomb and tune up again a couple of times to make sure everything is running smoothly. After that the guitar will usually only need fine-tuning before a session, and of course if I really, really manhandle it.
 
it's all about the set up. The one on my Gretsch stays in tune great. as mentioned above, it's all about the nut being cut correctly.

also, restringing is a little more annoying than it is with something like a Telecaster or Les Paul, but the trick to making it relatively painless is to use a capo as a "3rd hand" to hold the string in place once you've got it hooked onto the bridge post so you can feed it into the tuner without the ball end popping off the post.
 
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All this poop knife talk got me to pull out the DeArmond and play it all evening, and I've had so much fun with slapback, tremolo, and warbling the Bigsby. There is something supremely satisfying about the sound of a Bigsby; it makes everything sound so dramatic/mysterious/mournful. Hit an E minor chord and give it a wobbly and you instantly feel like you're in a movie.
 
Motorik said:
All this poop knife talk got me to pull out the DeArmond and play it all evening, and I've had so much fun with slapback, tremolo, and warbling the Bigsby. There is something supremely satisfying about the sound of a Bigsby; it makes everything sound so dramatic/mysterious/mournful. Hit an E minor chord and give it a wobbly and you instantly feel like you're in a movie.
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a perfect example of that ^^ (and one of my fav's) is Wicked Thing / Chris Isaak. that guitar is soooo dreamy sounding :love:
 
mongooz said:
a perfect example of that ^^ (and one of my fav's) is Wicked Thing / Chris Isaak. that guitar is soooo dreamy sounding :love:
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Motorik said:
Oh yeah, you just know that was one of the things I was playing. :thu:
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Nothing wrong with using a Bigsby equipped guitar to play Wicked Game. But, on the famous track, that's a '65 Strat.

The amp was a 1964 Fender Deluxe miked with a Shure SM57. Effects used were TC Electronic 2290 and an Eventide H3000 for chorus.
 
jrockbridge said:
Nothing wrong with using a Bigsby equipped guitar to play Wicked Game. But, on the famous track, that's a '65 Strat.

The amp was a 1964 Fender Deluxe miked with a Shure SM57. Effects used were TC Electronic 2290 and an Eventide H3000 for chorus.
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yea, i've seen him/them do it live, and it's the other guitarist in the band that plays it, and yes on an old strat.
but the sound is also very conducive to using a bigsby (gretsch 6120) guitar too. :idea: :Wave:
 
jrockbridge said:
Nothing wrong with using a Bigsby equipped guitar to play Wicked Game. But, on the famous track, that's a '65 Strat.

The amp was a 1964 Fender Deluxe miked with a Shure SM57. Effects used were TC Electronic 2290 and an Eventide H3000 for chorus.
Click to expand...

And what a glorious sound it was. Did you ever communicate with James Wilsey when he used to post on the TDPRI forum?
 
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