I have just noticed while in process of intonation prior to pinning my bridge that the Bigsby is pulling the bridge to one side. This pulls the strings out of the center of the pole pieces of the pickups. I know this isn't optimum for sound.

So my question is, is it just better to pin the bridge so it doesn't move or align the Bigsby first THEN do the bridge mods?

Thank you in advance for any help.

Align the bigsby first.

plus one. a poorly aligned bigsby can eventually cause more tuning issues from the Bigsby unit itself.

It's a common problem, and probably already well documented on another thread in this forum. You can use a washer to shim one side of the bigsby hinge plate on the bottom of the guitar to pull it back into alignment. Then whether you proceed with pinning the bridge is up to you. I've started pinning bridges on all my hollowbodies, but it's just my preference, and not strictly necessary.

Do a search and you should be able to find what you're looking for on here.

Thanks guys. I did some searches outside of the forum and it took me to an old forum that had a lot of info on this. It seams if the hinge plate is mounted a few cents off it can cause this. I think I will make sure all is in line and happy even if I have to drill holes to get it right.

Wish me luck.

Good luck! Looks like your on the right track now anyway!

What i do with my bigsby equipped guitars is drill a hole in the middle of the spring pad thingo and screw it to the body. This doesnt apeal to some people who dont want to drill a hole but i dont care. (that bigsby is never coming of my guitars ever!) :D