Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Biggest difference is reversibility. A B7 would go on like an Accent would--it anchors to the bottom of the guitar. At most, you will have to enlarge or slot the strap anchor hole. A B7 has three other holes, which can be filled for appearances, with screw heads epoxied in place. Don't like it after all? Take it off and sell it.

A B5 requires that 4 holes be drilled in the face of the guitar. Don't like it? Uh-oh...

Tony maybe you can find your answer here.

Thanks for that Ken.

I like the look of the B5 best & this is actually the only bigsby that I have seen on Rics. Not knowing the internal woodworking of a 330, would the screw points be OK without internal mods?

I take your point about reversability Paul, but that B7 looks great on a Gretsch, but a Ric I'm not so sure about. I think your earlier point about product identity is a good & valid one. I play a clients Gretsches regularly, so I know what to expect from a Bigsby & as such, I'm not too concerned with the reversability issue.

Ric bridge or bowtie?

Tony: I am sure Paul has done the measurements on this, however, there are two obstacles to the use of a B7 in my view.

The first is that the leading edge of the B7 is about 4 1/2 inches, I believe, in from the bottom edge of your instrument and I think that its height is about 7/10ths of an inch above the surface of the guitar. On a Gretsch there is roughly another 3 1/2 inches before the bridge saddles which are about 9/10ths of an inch above the guitar surface. This distance is important as the string angle is not that great from the B7 to the bridge.

On your 330 if you measure in 4 1/2 inches or so, there is not a lot of room before you run into the bridge. Having listened to your playing I consider that you will have to stop between strums to put the low E and A back into the saddles. A nice circus act perhaps, but hardly a pretty performance.

Second, you will get better sustain with the B5 than with the B7, with the strings coming under the roller and also as more parts of the vibrato are against the surface of the instrument.

My two cents without having taken any detailed measurements.

Here's a picture of a 360 with a B5, from Ed Roman's site: http://www.edromanguitars.com/guitar/rickenbacker/images/RicBigsby_950.jpg

It is a bravery test installing this on your Rickenbacker but I consider the B5 is the best option, considering sustain and keeping the strings on the saddles. Great photo, thanks John.

I don't have a suitable Rick comparison pic, but here are two of my Gretsches. The one on the right has a B7. The one on the left a B5. The body sizes and bridge placement are identical. The neck on the left-hand, single-cut one is set farther into the body than the double cut. Both play and intonate fine.



This is what leads me to believe that it would work OK on a 330.

I've done a scaled Photoshop using the B7 on my Gretsch:



But I've made a major Boo-Boo, and I seem to recall talking through my hat on this topic once on the gretschpages.com site...the string pressure would force the B7 off of the guitar's surface, necessitating drilling 2 screw holes in the guitar's top. So it's not as reversible as I insisted it was.

So maybe a B3 is the answer. I just think that hollowbodies need the tailpiece to look right.

Having looked at all the 'evidence', then I have decided a B5 is the way to go...but two questions still unanswered!

Bowtie, or Ric bridge?

Is it OK to just screw the B5 on to a 330 without internal mods/bracing?

Also, is there a formula for placement, or do you just offer it up untill it looks right?

OK to screw it on. The top is sturdy enough to hold it. Just be sure you drill the correct sized pilot holes. Drill them too small and the maple will crack. Drill them too large, and the screws will strip. .156" (5/32") is about right. Rub some bar soap on the screw threads just to play it safe.

I'd use a bowtie, unless you can find a Rick roller bridge or convert a Rick standard bridge to roller... I prefer the square look of the Bigsby bowtie to the oval modified one.

Paul, do you have an updated email address? The las tone I emailed to you bounced back. Thanks, John

Anthony,

It would be nice if you took photos of each step once you begin installing the Bigbsy. It would make for a good (and apparently needed) FAQ.

I had a Kustom guitar with a B-5. It had a bridge simular to a Fender Mustang's. I mention it because a Kustom guitar is very simular to a Ric.

A strange pastiche is a Kustom. Rick slash soundhole, 230-looking pickguard, but the cutaways are a cross between a Mosrite and a Rick. The peghead is definitely Mosrite-ish.

And they had some awful colors. I remember seeing one in transparent gray with edges shaded in purple.

I-think-I'm-gonna-be-sick-Burst.

I'm ordering the Bigsby as we speak. When I get it, I'll take pics of what I do. I've got to decide what to put it on yet. I may have to buy another 330, I don't fancy putting it on the ones I have.

BTW Paul....the 230 doesn't have a pickguard. Mine doesn't anyway! I think you mean 430...

Tony: the B5 is definitely a cool look that you can't do without on at least one of the guitars in your stable.