KVR Audio

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:00 pm

I've been searching for a long time and finally found a Reverend Double Agent (in black):
http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend ... nt_II.html
I traded my Phantom Teardrop for it (plus $100 for the case). You can't play the Teardrop without a strap so it had to go

Well, I LOVE this Reverend. It is nearly perfect. It needs a Bigsby. The locking tuners make this guitar a little neck heavy. The Bigsby 5 weighs 10.1 oz. I put a 10 oz weight on my back strap button and it seemed to balance the guitar better, so that's good. Although it might end up being a bit heavy overall...

So with the Vibramate:
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/4951

roller bridge:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... ridge.html

and Bigsby 5:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... brato.html

I should be able to try this out without messing up the guitar.

What I want to know is, does anybody have any experience adding a Bigsby? I know my action will have to be re-set. I'm guessing I'll want to move to lighter strings because the Bigsby will sharpen the angle of the strings approaching the saddles from behind. Right now I have flat-wound 11s on it.

Am I going to experience a drastic change in tone? Any particulars to watch out for?

Thanks!

susiwong · Post by **susiwong** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:47 pm

No big problems to be expected, I was just about to recommend the VibraMate myself, it works great, a friend's got two of them.

A roller bridge needs regular maintenance, I would not recommend it for constant sweaty gigging, in the studio or at home it should be fine.
By all means stick with your 11s, Bigsbys love fatter strings.
11 to 52 here atm on my Gretsch ...
One important warning though:
If this is your first Bigsby you might initially be disappointed by tuning stability, you really need to stretch the strings to the max and tune the strings while stretched

, this feels brutal at first ...

You'll be rewarded by great feel and reliability.

Btw, a well set up graphite nut will help, looks like it's already there ?
Very nice guitar btw, going by the specs.

Cheers,
susiwong

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:07 pm

Hey susiwong,
What is the extra maintenance with a roller bridge? (This guitar will be staying at home.) Do you think the roller bridge is worth the extra maintenance? I've never owned one. Right now the guitar has the usual Tune-O-Matic. Does Tune-O-Matic + Bigsby = tuning nightmares?

Thanks for answering.

susiwong · Post by **susiwong** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:31 pm

Cordelia wrote:Hey susiwong,
What is the extra maintenance with a roller bridge? (This guitar will be staying at home.) Do you think the roller bridge is worth the extra maintenance? I've never owned one. Right now the guitar has the usual Tune-O-Matic. Does Tune-O-Matic + Bigsby = tuning nightmares?

Thanks for answering.

Cleaning and lubricating, basically.
A sticky roller bridge is worse than any Tune-O-Matic (which works fine on my RHH btw).

Not my photo, but identical

Mind you, string angle is different and the B6 has no bar ...
I'd probably try the Tune-O-Matic first, it's already there.
Additionally check here for all the Bigsby knowledge you'll ever need :
http://gretschpages.com/forum/
Good luck, this is a cool project !

Cheers,
susiwong

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:43 pm

Thank you, susiwong! Great information.

I am loving this guitar. I played until my fingers were worn out.

I've got blisters on my fingers!

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:09 pm

[quote="Cordelia"I've got blisters on my fingers![/quote]
Now where have I heard that before...?

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:48 pm

robojam wrote:
Cordelia wrote:I've got blisters on my fingers!
Now where have I heard that before...?

susiwong · Post by **susiwong** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:19 pm

Cordelia wrote:Thank you, susiwong! Great information.

I am loving this guitar. I played until my fingers were worn out.

I've got blisters on my fingers!

I've heard that happens ...

Next time buy quality.

Lol,
susiwong

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:30 am

Yay! Bigsby arrived. Installed (with jude's help) the Bigsby and the new roller bridge. It was fun. Thanks for the encouragement.

The new bridge is great, it has easy access locks for the saddles. So you can unlock the saddle, move it (with your finger) while the string is still tuned, get the intonation perfect, lock the saddle. It took just a few minutes to adjust the intonation. Technology!

I love this guitar.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:03 pm

looks nice cordelia, interesting pick-up combo

I appreciate susiwong fielding this question as well because I have zero experience with a bigsby

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:44 pm

Thanks, Hink. (I love this DIY forum, by the way.)

This is the first guitar I've ever owned with a P90 style pup. I like the sound and feel a lot.

I went to .10s for the health of my hands, but the guitar definitely had more "sing" with the .11s on, not much, just a little extra something. But now I've got the action set and the intonation perfect, I'm going to play it this way for a while.

The guitar is almost perfectly balanced now, just sits there patiently on my knee, it seems like this guitar was in need of this Bigsby.

susiwong · Post by **susiwong** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:23 pm

Cordelia,
that's a beauty !

The Bigsby looks absolutely stock ...
Well done !

And P-90/HB is a very versatile combination.

Have fun,
susiwong

xtp · Post by **xtp** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:46 pm

Cordelia wrote:
This is the first guitar I've ever owned with a P90 style pup. I like the sound and feel a lot.

Wow looks cool and that P-90 makes it even cooler.

new guitar installing bigsby