niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Dec 24, 2023 18:40:59 GMT
I joined the Harley Benton club specifically to post this thread concerning the Big Tone leaning Bridge issue.
Quick Recap:
1) Purchased products on 8/30 for $600+-
2) After removing felt from Bridge base, discovered “Leaning Bridge” issue.
3) Found posts indicating this can be resolved by removing the bottom roller.
This essentially changes it from a B7 to a B6.
This did not work for me b/c there was not enough downward force on the bridge to keep it in place.
4) I tried heightening the bridge with the Allen wrench provided. The metal screws penetrated the bottom of the bridge base so that the bridge base was about ¼” above the soundboard.
This left dimples on the guitar and exacerbated the leaning bridge issue.
5) I reached out to Thomann and their response was:
“Upgrading the bridge is not a warranty situation”
Not acceptable.
6) I was preparing to do my best Pete Townsend impression with this guitar when I had an epiphany,
Best Resolution:
1) Using an old bridge from an Aria acoustic, I drilled holes USING the BT bridge base as a template,
I used a hand drill, but if you have a press I highly recommend it,
2) I used plastic shims to fill in the gap between the base and the tune-o-matic bridge.
3) I used self-adhesive felt on the bottom of the base to prevent scratches. I used extra layers of felt toward the ends to fill in the gap between the straight bridge and curved soundboard.
WORKS GREAT!
LOOKS GREAT!
NO DOWNSIDE!
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Dec 25, 2023 7:18:00 GMT
I fully agree
This nice guitar has been sold for years without HB doing anything to fix that, whereas a simple choice for a better fitting Bigsby like model would change it into a Gretsch EM killer
Can you post a few pictures please ? As I'm not native speaking, I do not understand clearly what you did ....
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Dec 25, 2023 7:34:54 GMT
One of our eminent forumers has published an interesting pair of yt videos about it : I believe changing this trem for a B3 would be a better solution, even at the cost of leaving the srcew holes visible.
Here's a pic of an €piphone Emperor Swingter to compare :
Notice that the pressure on the top of my Swingster is minimal, the contact between the B3 and the top is only stabilizing the Bigsby, nothing more
.... and zap this ugly pick guard !
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Dec 28, 2023 3:01:31 GMT
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Dec 28, 2023 3:02:25 GMT
Sorry; Not able to post local jpg's.
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Jan 1, 2024 1:01:32 GMT
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Jan 1, 2024 1:04:01 GMT
linklinkSorry; nothing seems to be working.
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Jan 1, 2024 1:08:54 GMT
Let me know if the links work.
Basically. I took an old bridge from an acoustic that I upgraded. I used the holes in the original bridge to determine what size and where to drill holes in it. I used felt to prevent the bridge from scratching the surface. I used plastic shims (AFTER intonating the bridge) to take up the slack between the wood and metal components.
I have ZERO lean, the bridge stays in place, the guitar stays in tune unless I whale on it like Hendrix at Woodstock.
Yay!
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Jan 1, 2024 1:26:38 GMT
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Jan 1, 2024 4:37:45 GMT
So whaddaya think?
Yay or Nay?
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Jan 1, 2024 17:12:39 GMT
1 ) I think the more you insert between the bridge foot and the top, the more you may kill the sustain. 2) This way you are increasing the pressure ont he top, that is already excessive due to the abnormal angle of the strings. 3) I did put a Gretsh rocking Bar, on my Swingster, that is rocking up to its name ..... and it works very well with an accurate tuning stability 4) A floatting bridge SHOULD rock with a bigsby :
So it is a 4x NAY
TIP : the angle of the strings on the bridge have to be the closest possible to simetry
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niko
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
The smoker you drink, the player you get.
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Post by niko on Jan 1, 2024 21:54:45 GMT
Thank you for the feedback.
I am sure you are technically correct.
For the money I spent on the Big Tone, I would have been happier with a Gretsch Streamliner.
But the issue is getting the Big Tone to work without snapping off the bridge.
This guitar will never compare to a White Falcon or Epiphone Swingster or White Fang.
It is what it is.
If you have a better fix for the Big Tone Bridge issue, let me know, please.
Replacing the bridge with the bridge in your video would just result in another bridge snapping off at the base.
Thanks again!
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Jan 2, 2024 5:10:59 GMT
I think you should cancel your poll because it is irrelevant : the good answer is YES THE BRIDGE SHOULD LEAN LIKE THE PISA TOWER BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY A FLOATTING BRIDGE MUST WORK WITH A BIGSBY, AND IT WORKS FINE
Is the Bigsby featuring on the Big Tone not fitting ? yes we already told you, and as you can see on the video above, even Gretsch hapen to do the same mystake.
Can you push/pull a Bigsby arm as far as you could with a Floyd Rose trem ? the answer is NO WAY
Then if you still think you are reason against all the professional luthiers who are making this kind of guitar since the 50', it is your problem, not ours
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