[freespoken]

Anyone have any experience swapping out a bigsby on an electromatic? I'm looking a upgrading to a B6 possibly with an open V cut. I've noticed that the base of my current B60 is flat and the B6s are pointed. I doubt the holes match up, but was curious if any of you have done this before and if there are any pitfalls or lessons learned about swapping out a Bigsby.

Thanks!

[Paul 500]

I will be doing this to mine in a few months, as I'm having major problems with my B60. Loads of people have done this swap, they say the B6 keeps it staying in tune better.

[freespoken]

Mine stays in tune fine but after getting used to my 6121, I was interested in a little better quality

[rockabilly-rebel]

The holes don't match up - you'll need to re-drill, however the new plate will just about cover the old holes.

[telespank]

I just finished this upgrade on my 5120 about 1/2 hour ago. You have to drill all 3 screw holes. Fill the old holes by dipping a toothpick in wood glue, putting it in the hole and snapping it off. It is quick and simple.

I went with gold B6 and put on some gold locking Sperzel tuners, gold knobs, and a gold switch tip while I was at it.

[freespoken]

Does the grounding wire hook in somewhere around the bigsby?

[rockabilly-rebel]

it's just trapped between the bigsby and body

[HypotenusLuvTriangle]

I have a B6C brand new and unused for sale if you need one.
I was gonna do the upgrade to my G5120. But i decided against it.

[telespank]

Originally Posted by freespoken

Does the grounding wire hook in somewhere around the bigsby?

You'll see a piece of copper tape with a stranded wire on it when you remove the Bigsby. That's your grounding wire. Be careful not to let it fall back into the body

[LATS]

Originally Posted by telespank

You'll see a piece of copper tape with a stranded wire on it when you remove the Bigsby. That's your grounding wire. Be careful not to let it fall back into the body

??? Never seen that, even on high-end guitars. Usually the wire strands are just spread flat and pinched between the Bigsby 'hinge' and the body.

[rockabilly-rebel]

Originally Posted by LATS

??? Never seen that, even on high-end guitars. Usually the wire strands are just spread flat and pinched between the Bigsby 'hinge' and the body.

+ 1 me too

[Neoj4zz]

HypotenusLuvTriangle, Why did you decide against installing the B6?
I've been kicking around the idea of replacing the 5120 Bigsby, solely for looks.

I think the B60 works and stays in tune just fine, if installed correctly. I added some extra felt on the bottom and leveled it out abit. For whatever reason, these bigsbys always look like they are installed a little to the left and off center. The hinge started showing some wear because it wasn't straight. The bridge would scoot over, too.

The 5120 wire can get tangled really easy. Mine fell off due to a loose input jack when I first got it. I replaced the jackplate, jack and the ground wire to a longer length with some radio shack hookup wire, which was thicker. The wire was really cheap and thin. Made working on the pickups and pots abit easier. I must've ripped my 1st 5120 open 5-6 times while learning how to wire.

[JoshHeartless]

One thing that has bothered me is why do the Bigsbys on the higher end guitars seem to have a more loose feel? My Bigsby is pretty stiff. It almost seems like it's all in a matter of a lesser tension spring or something. I had to actually stick a dime or 2 under the spring to keep it up more because I was using heavier strings.

[freespoken]

Thanks for all the info everyone. The process is what I expected, but it's nice to have some 'been there done that info

[telespank]

Originally Posted by LATS

??? Never seen that, even on high-end guitars. Usually the wire strands are just spread flat and pinched between the Bigsby 'hinge' and the body.

Mine has a small piece of copper tape - it came that way from the factory. Maybe it's not normal? It is a good idea, though.

[tartanphantom]

Originally Posted by JoshHeartless

One thing that has bothered me is why do the Bigsbys on the higher end guitars seem to have a more loose feel? My Bigsby is pretty stiff. It almost seems like it's all in a matter of a lesser tension spring or something. I had to actually stick a dime or 2 under the spring to keep it up more because I was using heavier strings.

US Made models: genuine needle bearings, 1" spring

Import models: Nylon sleeve bearings, 7"8 spring.

Big difference in feel. Also, the US-made models are sand cast, and the import models are diecast. One of the big differences here is that Bigsby has been using basically the same sand casting molds for many many years. Relatively speaking, the import die cast molds are much newer, and have tighter tolerance specs. Hence, the US models have a slightly looser feel overall, due to minute variances in the spec measurments and tolerances.

[JoshHeartless]

So if I got a 1" spring it would feel closer? I could do that.

[cowmoo]

Originally Posted by HypotenusLuvTriangle

I have a B6C brand new and unused for sale if you need one.
I was gonna do the upgrade to my G5120. But i decided against it.

You still have this, and the DE arm?

[HypotenusLuvTriangle]

yup still got em. I had sell thread but I think it got deleted somehow. I have had some interest but no go so far.

[thunder58]

put a B6C bigsby and a rocking bar bridge on my 5120 and it was the best thing i ever did . had it done professionally set up at my local music shop