ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

[hydro]

Hi all,

I am considering adding a bigsby to my 335. I've read about Vibramate bigsby mounting adapters and have a couple of questions -

1) Do they work as advertised and allow you to add a bigsby without having to drill holes, etc.? Anything to watch out for?

2) Does anyone recommend the roller style bridge saddles to go with a bigsby? My midtown has a bigsby, and it has a roller bridge and seems to work well. But I have heard that roller bridges are not really necessary. Obviously the concern is staying in tune reasonably well although I am not exactly gonna be throwing dive bombs with a bigsby.

3) I think what I have on my 335 right now is a Nashville, and I have an ABR-2 from Tonepros that I might swap out. Any thoughts on which bridge style would work best?

If the bigsby works out I might just go ahead and permanently attach it but if there's no advantage vs. a vibramate, maybe not.

 

[dystrust]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

Hi all,

I am considering adding a bigsby to my 335. I've read about Vibramate bigsby mounting adapters and have a couple of questions -

1) Do they work as advertised and allow you to add a bigsby without having to drill holes, etc.? Anything to watch out for?

Yes it works, and no drilling is required. The only caveat I can think of is that the felt pads on the Vibramate can leave marks on the guitar. They did on my SG, but I intend to keep the Vibramate so it isn't an issue.

2) Does anyone recommend the roller style bridge saddles to go with a bigsby? My midtown has a bigsby, and it has a roller bridge and seems to work well. But I have heard that roller bridges are not really necessary. Obviously the concern is staying in tune reasonably well although I am not exactly gonna be throwing dive bombs with a bigsby.

I have the Bigsby / Vibramate combo on both my SG and 335 with no roller bridges. IMO a TUSQ-XL nut makes a MUCH bigger difference in terms of tuning stability.

3) I think what I have on my 335 right now is a Nashville, and I have an ABR-2 from Tonepros that I might swap out. Any thoughts on which bridge style would work best?

If the bigsby works out I might just go ahead and permanently attach it but if there's no advantage vs. a vibramate, maybe not.

I have a Nashville on my SG and a ABR-1 on my 335 and it doesn't seem to make a difference as far as the Bigsby is concerned. I don't like Nashville bridges on 335s due to the extra low end and resulting mud.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

i installed a towner down tension bar and hinge plate adapter on my 335 and have not looked back. It is a winning, non invasive product.
http://townerusa.com/

 

[YeRedHouseOverYonder]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

^ I wish I hadn't clicked on that link. Will be a future purchase


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hydro]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

Great tips, thank you!

Is the correct model of Bigsby for a 335 the B3?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

I have a B3 with Vibramate on my Epiphone Casino, no extra tension bar. Caveat is if you strum hard, you can knock the low E off the bridge saddle because the Bigsby rollers give you almost no break angle (which is why you always see the B7 on Gibson thin body guitars.)

 

[townerusa]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

Hey guys, thanks for commenting. I recommend the B6 with B3/B7 hinge plate swap for ES guitar models to accommodate the long guitar bodies ES models have.

 

[dystrust]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

Great tips, thank you!

Is the correct model of Bigsby for a 335 the B3?

My 335 has a B5 with a Vibramate. After I bought mine, they introduced a new model Vibramate to accommodate a B7.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: ES-335 Bigsby/Vibramate bridge question

B7 is the model if you are going old skool and screwing it to the 335 body.
B3 is for if you use the towner bar on a 335 or if you are going barless on a hollowbody archtop like a gretsch.