Bigsby for a 330

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kiramdear
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by kiramdear »

I like it! :) 8)
All I wanna do is rock!
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hjarnett
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by hjarnett »

so craig i take it as the b7 will fit a 330 without any mods to the guitar other than a couple screws in the top?
09 360/6 fireglo. 09 360/12 fireglo. A tele a strat and a VOX
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elreydlp
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by elreydlp »

Thanks guys. I'm gonna set my sights on a FG 330 and have my tech put a B-3 on it. From the pics, it looks like the angle of deflection over the bridge is greater (more sustain). Any problems with bridge hang-ups?
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by knavel »

Scastles wrote:340 with a B3.

Image
I am very curious how this was made to work. B3s and B6s are far better than B5s and B7s because there is no tension bar, which really kills sensitivity.

I just put a B3 I have on my 1967 365 as an experiment.

The problem is that the B3 goes further than the ramp and thus sits on top of the guitar. There is little or no arch on a Rickenbacker top so there is in turn no break angle from the Bigsby string pins to the top of the bridge. In fact, even tightening the strings, they couldn't hold the Rickenbacker bridge in place.

Thus to be like that 340 in the picture above, one would have to raise the bridge on it quite high to get a break angle. It would not be a fun guitar to play as a result.

Other small issues can be dealt with--(1) The off centered element of the Bigsby can be compensated and (2) The hanging extra part of the hinge can just be cut off. You can already see how I drilled the B3 already to match existing holes from a G tailpiece on a 58 Gretsch Duo Jet.

The only other option perhaps without a tension bar is a B16 with all the Telecaster related parts cut from it (basically a cut right after the Bigsby spring mount). But B16s have small mounting hinges and I expect it would require adding new holes to the base of the Ric.
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LenMinNJ
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by LenMinNJ »

I added a B-5 to a 330JG. Here's a link to my post with the pictures:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=408501#p792041

I wonder if a VibraMate made for a Tele will fit a 330?

http://www.vibramate.com/vibramate-v5tev2-install.php

If so, no holes would need to be drilled.
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by knavel »

LenMinNJ wrote:
I wonder if a VibraMate made for a Tele will fit a 330?

http://www.vibramate.com/vibramate-v5tev2-install.php

If so, no holes would need to be drilled.
Part of the stability of the Vibramate on the Tele is that those two "teeth" slide under the Vibramate pickup holder (the Tele part that the ashtray cover originally fit on top of). Perhaps the strap button is enough along with the string tension to prevent slippage but I don't know.

If there were sufficient interest in B5s on Ricks Vibramate would probably make something that is held in by the strap button on one end and becomes the bridge base plate, screwed down in the existing holes, at the other end.

My problem is that I don't really like B5s so that wouldn't really help. They are nice but don't have the responsiveness of B3 / B6/ B16.
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B16 on a 365

Post by knavel »

I have now successfully put a B16 on a (1962) 365.

I had to cut off the Telecaster specific part of the B16 and have the hinge made longer by a local welder (so that it would match with the hole from the Ac'cent tremolo).

A B16 cut is the perfect Bigsby for a Rickenbacker for those who don't like the condom-like performance of Bigsbys with the extra tension bar (B5, B7, etc).

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Image20141016_180823_resized
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LenMinNJ
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by LenMinNJ »

No problem with it often going out of tune?
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by knavel »

Not at all. I have Bigsbys on pretty much every guitar I have here in Europe save for a couple of other Rickenbackers, one has the Ac'cent and the other is a 12 string. Bigsby's never go out of tune unless absolutely abused--which I do do sometimes live.

I don't mind the Ac'cent but it seems to have less sustain than a Bigsby.

The only out of tune sounding parts are due to my playing not the Bigsby!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF6aZlRmPhk
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LenMinNJ
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by LenMinNJ »

Rockin'!
Blez
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Re: B16 on a 365

Post by Blez »

knavel wrote:I have now successfully put a B16 on a (1962) 365.

I had to cut off the Telecaster specific part of the B16 and have the hinge made longer by a local welder (so that it would match with the hole from the Ac'cent tremolo).

A B16 cut is the perfect Bigsby for a Rickenbacker for those who don't like the condom-like performance of Bigsbys with the extra tension bar (B5, B7, etc).

Image

Image20141016_180823_resized
Hi Everobody,

This B16 adaptation looks so great to me! Well done Knavel, great idea. I really wish to have a bigsby on my 330, but never ever will I drill any hole!! Looking to the hinge, I cannot figure how and why it has to be modified: would you mind giving us some more clue about this? I would be so thankfull. Is this adaptation a hard job? could you post some pics of the job you've done?


Thanks again

Blaise
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by knavel »

Blaise,

The Ac'cent apparatus (my guitar is a 365) has only one hole in the body for attachment. That hole is closer to the backside of the guitar.

The B16, however, has only a very little bit of a hinge to attach to the bottom edge of the guitar--it was made for a Telecaster remember.

So I had to make the hinge longer so it could reach the existing hole from the Ac'cent.

The hinge on the left in the photo is how the B16 is originally from the factory. As you can see--it does not go deep enough to reach the existing hole on the right (it doesn't matter that it is upside down, you can see the result is the same which ever side the Bigsby comes from. Also, the reason that the tailpiece on the 365 had all those extra holes is that it is not an Ac'cent but a Kaufmann I put on there just to get the guitar working.)

**The hinge also needed to be extended by welding because it is a FIXED RIGHT ANGLE. But the Rickenbacker has that ramp up to the main surface on the top. The extra hinge makes it so the Bigsby can land on the ramp without having to be bent as bending this kind of aluminum is likely to be problematic.

Image

If you have a fixed "R" tailpiece, the work would be a little different since that has a number of holes to my knowledge.
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by Blez »

Thanks so much for these very precise explainations, which underline how great a job you've been doing. I fear I don't have such a skill to go on this kind of adventure!

thanks again.
knavel
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by knavel »

Blaise

I went to a welder for the work on extending the hinge. I had to pay for this but that's the cost of making this work.

You would also need to cut the Bigsby B16 (it has a whole apparatus for a Telecaster pickup and bridge that needs to be removed.. This is not as hard. The welder could do that too. That's really all there is to it.
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Re: Bigsby for a 330

Post by Knave101 »

I helped knavel do the repair, so here some more details of the repair.

First, this is the perfect bigsby for a Rick, because the small angle on the top of the Rick gives you little to work with. If the Bigsby is too long, then the angle the strings make with the bridge will not be great enough to put downward pressure on the bridge, thereby effecting playability and sound. This Bigsby B16 length is just right, and there is still enough length left for the strings to put pressure on that bridge. Also, you don't need to put in any extra holes.

For the repair.....First, the Bigsby is aluminium, not pot metal...thus, it can be welded. Welding shops want to know this, as they can't weld "pot metal".

Second, the aluminium used for the tailpiece extension was cut from the part of the B16 that was cut off. This aluminum cuts like butter. Thus, all the parts you need are there when you get the B16. Simply cut off a small piece of aluminium from the throwaway part of the Bigsby, making sure it was the same width as the base.

Then, we called around and found a welder willing to do it. He charged $50 for the weld. We had him fill the holes on the original B16 as well.

What we got back was rough and not finished. We proceeded to sand the tailpiece part to give it a small angle, and to give it the fluting on the side.

Then, we carefully matched the hole on the guitar to the endpin on the rick. You don't want the bigsby to lie flat....it's better to have a little space so that the contact point with the guitar top is the small felt pads....just like any other trapeze style Bigsby.

Aluminum sands very easy, so the final shape was not too tough. We used rubbing, then polishing compound to shine it. It shines easy.

Improvements for next time:? rather than keep the tailpiece section at 90 degrees, a 100 degree angle would be better, but that would take two welds, as the end plate is 90 degrees from the body of the Bigsby.
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