620 and bigsby mod

[peteredd]

I purchased a 620 jg last week from pick of the ricks. I put an accent on it and am not particularly happy with the feel of it. Was curious to know whether anyone here has put a bigsby on their 620/660, and if so, what the results have been? It looks like the b5 would be the best fit, but I'm also curious as to whether I have to look into a different bridge.

I know it's a mod to the guitar but i'm ok with that. I did some searching here to see if anyone has done this on this particular model, but didn't really find an answer. Your input is appreciated.

[peteredd]

I gather this is something that isn't done very often based on the amount of replies received. I brought the guitar to a luthier earlier today and he doesn't have experience with this combination either. He recommended I ... post this question on a Rickenbacker forum to get some input before buying any hardware.

[jingle_jangle]

I've done a number of Bigsby-on-Rick installations, but not on a 620 or 660.

I'm concerned that the break angle of the strings over the bridge might be too steep. I'll have to measure this and make a determination.

[peteredd]

Thanks for the note. My luthier friend isn't sure about this either. I may just stick with the accent and see if a thicker gauge may work better.

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Rickenback ... 3f0ff2c955

Peter:

I am not fond of the idea... But here is one example

[jingle_jangle]

Yeah, that angle looks awful steep to me, and with no rollers, you're likely to see tuning problems and/or string breakage...

[JakeK]

Why not consider an Accent vibrato instead? It works just as well as a Bigsby, from what I've compared. Yeah, the tip of the bar is sharp, but if you put a rubber cover on it, no problem. If you don't believe me, let's get Paulie Azpeitia in on this discussion. IIRC, all of his Ric 6-strings have Accents, and all his Gretsches have Bigsbys.

[jingle_jangle]

Why not consider an Accent instead? It works just as well as a Bigsby. If you don't believe me, let's get Paulie Azpeitia in on this discussion. IIRC, all of his Ric 6-strings have Accents, and all his Gretsches have Bigsbys.

See Peter's latest post, 2 above yours...

[JakeK]

I absolutely missed that! Yep, the Accent is the way to go.

[parker_knoll]

i hated my ac'cent at first and took it off, but i refitted it and i'm learning to live with it. And i like to warble a lot. i found it sounded terrible with 10 gauge strings but much better with 11s

[paologregorio]

I do have Accents on all of my six strings, and Bigsbys on all of my Gretsches, but I have no 660, so I do not know how helpful my observations would be. WRT Ricks, I'd say that on reversibility alone, I'd go with an Accent, and I find the Accent to be highly functional. I suggest replacing the rubber bumpers on the underside of the leaf spring with adhesive-backed, grey felt pads; the rubber bumpers will discolor you guitar's finish.

[bluegrassmoker]

I love bigsbys the best whammy bar ever created i hate strats and floyd roses although they have a different tone i like to play in-tune and be in tune for longer and bigsby had done right and its kick *** looks like you lift a car with it sadlly i do not have one on any guitars ....................yet.