hi, i recently purchased a bigsby b7 with a v7 vibramate(since i couldnt bring myself to drill into such a nice flame top ;)). now i had planned to upgrade a few things on my les paul including bridge, nut, and tuners simple because the guitar is having tuning issues relating to the nut and ive already got gold fading on the bridge. my original thoughts were kluson tuners, bone nut, and abr-1 bridge(changed from a nashville, probably a change id need a professional for) but im curious if that will add unnecessary tuning problems on the guitar. ive seen special equipment for vibrato guitars like graphite nuts, locking tuners, and roller bridges. do you think getting this kind of equipment would be unnecessary? how many people get by fine without graphite nuts, locking tuners, and roller bridges?

Depends on how you play.

If you grab the vibrato bar like it was a baseball bat and shake it like you're trying to get a mad dog off your arm than you probably need all that stuff.

Hi, VetteLPC, and welcome to the forum - I don't have any of that stuff on my Bigsby-equipped guitars. I just use lubrication.

If you grab the vibrato bar like it was a baseball bat and shake it like you're trying to get a mad dog off your arm than you probably need all that stuff.

Yet another nomination for forum quote of the year 2011. I love it.

Yet another protection vs lubrication issue !! :)

And VetteLPC it does really depend on how you play. Watch Jeff Beck use his tremolo and sometimes he will just touch it with a fingertip to get an effect, while the next guy you see on MTV will be swinging his guitar around his head holding onto only the tremolo bar. Like Gringo said, it just depends.

Big Ron

The less extraneous hardware you can get away with the better.

Locking nuts, LSR roller nut - I rest my case:D

Welcome aboard VetteLPC! :D

All those things "fix" problems with players, not problems with guitars.. if you play properly you'll never need any of those upgrades. :) those sort of upgrades are for people who like to thrash the living @$%! out of their guitars.

Graphite nut: you can use "nut lube" instead, a clear graphite liquid, and also make sure your nut is cut properly.

Locking tuners: handy for fast string changes, but really don't do much for tuning stability, which is what I imagine you want them for.. tuning problems are rarely at the tuners, it's more likely to be the nut or the bridge.

Roller bridges: can be handy if you're finding you're having tuning problems, but they also don't transfer the string vibrations down into the body as well as other solid bridges, so you need to weigh up which is more important to you..

Good luck with it :)