I have Bigsbys on all my guitars and I just can’t live without them. With the right setup and technique you can go crazy on them without getting out of tune, it’s a beautiful thing.
Agreed, I found due to the short body on my Les Paul the break angle from the B70 to the bridge was so sharp, I had to swap to a roller bridge to prevent the strings hitting the bridge block. Other than that it works fine.
@@paulterl4563 none of my guitars have roller bridges and they all stay in tune very well. A properly cut nut and a Bigsby that is not overly tight should have great tuning stability and I find that a bit of lubricant on the nut and saddles (I use nut sauce) and heavier strings help a lot. And about changing strings you get used to it. I change all of my B7 equipped guitars without any trick quite quickly, the only one that it’s a bit tricky is the low E on my tele with a B5, but I put a piece of foam under the Bigsby just for that string and it does the job well. 👍
As the owner of a VERY old Bigsby that came on my first ever electric I have one tip: after 40 years the grease on the bearings can dry out. If you get a pair of outside snap ring pliers and if you are patient and careful you can clean and regressed it yourself. There are something like 30 needle bearings on each end of the shaft. They look like mechanical pencil leads. Take it all apart and clean off the old grease. Lube the bearings and races with Vaseline or lithium grease and reassemble. Should run another 40 years!
Literally every comment on Chris's videos is about how good his playing is (half of them are probably me). Let's appreciate the great informational content he's putting out as well!
Lol. He is bloody good, but. He's so different to most other guitar players. I just stumbled across this video because I'm fitting a bigsby to a telecaster. So glad I did. The two sections of guitar playing I've seen thus far are top notch. Really tasty stuff. I now want a Les Paul gold top with p90s on it...and a Bigsby.
@@imannonymous7707 you literally mustn't have watched the video then, he exclusively played bigsbys in this and played like 3-4 different guitars with bigsbys
Yes indeed. I use flatwounds on my Duesenberg. They improve the tuning stability massively and act like a natural compressor, ironing out volume inconsistencies between treble and low frequencies.
Biggest problem with tuning with bigsbys is the tension bar models. If you can get a model without one that gives you enough angle over the bridge, and especially if you have a roller bridge or graphite saddles or similar, a well cut nut they work perfectly well.
Yes, this is a big one! I have a Bigbsy B3 on my SG. It attaches at the bottom strap button so no drilling required. The B3 doesn't have a tension bar, but Towner sells an adjustable bar that drops in where your TOM stopbar went. You can set it up to provide just a hair of downward pressure to keep your strings seated during those big bends. My SG has standard factory saddles and provided my strings are new and decently lubed, I can dive my Bigsby until the handle touches the body, let it go, and it will return to pitch. No locking tuners or rolling saddles necessary. Bigsbys can be tricky, but once you figure them out, they're one of the best vibrato systems.
Could just watch Chris play all day. He just plays with such good taste--not just playing around scale patterns or chord shapes. Mixes it all up in a way that surprises. Very nice.
You are amazing. Johnny A. makes good use of a Bigsby. Someone once said something negative about it at a show and Johnny’s reply was, “If it was good enough for Les Paul, it’s good enough for me.”
Agreed! I saw this Gretsch that i absolutely loved in a shop, but it didn't have a Bigsby so i couldn't justify pulling the trigger. I suppose i could've added one.....but that would be missing the point.
Adding a Vibramate String Spoiler means that you can avoid having to hook the ball ends of your strings to the tiny pegs on the roller. I was doubtful at first, but it works very well and doesn’t look out of place.
I've been playing bigsbys for around 20 years and there's still some gems you've shared here that I did not know, and will try for sure! Thank you Chris for your generosity in sharing your knowledge
Thank you Chris. It just happened I received a Bigsby in the mail today to put on my Les Paul. Your video came up right as I was installing the Bigsby on my guitar. Your tips are so useful. Thank you
The way I set up my Bigsby and keep it in tune all the time is by stringing the strings over the tension bar (I've later on sawn off the bar completely since I never used it) That gets rid of the huge break angle and added friction you get on the strings. I've installed a bridge with roller saddles and put some pencil graphite on the nut when restringing. After years of playing that way the string never popped out of a saddle or had any real tuning issues.
Chris, you absolutely RIP on guitar. I love your vocal voiced bends, your doublesteps, and your saturated playing. If I ever go to england, Seeing you play would be one of my highest priorities. You and Robert Fripp are probably my favorite players. Have a good day, dude. Hopefully you get to see/read this.
I save the phrase "my knickers fell off" for the little chats with my wife when I tell her that something amazing, really amazing has happened. Well, we were watching random videos on CZcams and then all of the sudden a guitarist started to play... We both stopped what we were doing to listen and by the middle of the song I just had to say it: "Well, my knickers fell off". She agreed. Amazing guitar player. Now I'm a fan. Really amazing job on that album. Cheers, man.
Chris, you are one amazing player. I love you way you build the solo, slow and smooth, and then come in for the kill. I'm taking notes. Great job, great playing, great channel.
My first Gretsch (Electromatic) had the B-7 Bigsby on it. The nut created most all of the friction spots, especially with that wide headstock that didn't allow the strings to remain in a straight line. All of the friction was at the back of the nut. I invented a bone replacement nut that fixed that problem and sold hundreds of them around the world. The back of the slots pointed directly at the tuning post. Add a little graphite and it worked like a charm. You still can't play it like a Floyd Rose but it returns to pitch every time if used as it was intended.
I bought an aftermarket string shaft from Callaham that has holes where the string can pass through instead of the little pegs. Took 95% of the stress out of restringing!
I modified mine that way, too! Really simplified the restringing process! 👍 And my Duesenberg has a Bigsby-style trem that's already built that way... 👍
I have an ES-330 with a Bigsby. When I bought it, it was one of the best sounding guitars I have ever played. I loved having a Bigsby for vibrato, but I could not keep that thing in tune. I tried buying an ES-330 without a Bibsby, but it didn't have the same magic. After searching the internet for recommendations, I finally stumbled across a video with a guy who said he strings OVER the break bar. I decided to try this the next time I strung my guitar and, VIOLA!, the guitar stays in tune. Now, whenever I pick up the guitar, it is in tune, and after playing for 30 minutes and constantly using the Bigsby, it is still in tune. Break angle is a myth. As long as you have enough that the strings don't pop out, you are good to go.
I fell in love with the 6:32 parts, things that happen few times a year. Great playing. EDIT: Still hypnotized by this solo, astonishing. I love everything about it.
Chris, thanks for your video. I’ve used Bigsby’s for years. Here are two things I’ve found to address the issues you highlighted. The first is adding a Vibramate to the Bigsby. This eliminates the need to wrap around the tailpiece and makes string changes a lot easier than just about any other guitar. The second is swapping out the multipart bridge with a single brass Compton Compensating Bridge. This is made to match your string spacing and gauge. The strings slide more easily over the bridge and replacing a bridge with more than a dozen individual parts with a single piece improves the translation of vibration to the top of the guitar. The tone improvement is very noticeable in any guitar with a chambered or hollow body.
Bigsby tremolos were designed to work with "rocker" bridges. These bridges move with the string by rocking back and forth. Similar design exists on Jazzmaster guitars, or on a factory-installed Bigsby on a telecaster -- you can take the bridge and rock it with the string with your finger, it's as if it has a spring. The bridge needs to move freely-enough with the strings, without any binding, and this is the problem most Bisbsby owners struggle with, as in your example with using chapstick. When you take a tune-o-matic bridge that is not designed to rock back and forth, you are asking for trouble: you have to constantly lubricate the saddles, or it inadvertently becomes a "rocker" bridge, after which it destroys the mounting posts and snaps. What I would highly recommend is getting a roller bridge -- it's a great design and solves all of your tuning stability issues. Unfortunately rollers get in the way of muting, so it's a little bit different feel and sound that you wind up with. Cheers!
Because imho they just do not have that tuning stability like other alternative tremolos do, for example, Duesenberg Les Trem is waaay more stable and smooth. Thanks Chris!
I think another reason the Bigsby has survived is aesthetics. They just look so great and have that classic look that so many guitarists love.
This. I love the looks of my bigsby but I don't even touch it because my guitar will go majorly out of tune
Looks is all that really matters
Guitar is a feelings based hobby which is good but we really should not expect as much objective thought as we tend to think there should be
Cant beat the looks of a Gretch and a Gibson 335 with a Bigsby
I don’t know a thing about Bigsbys, but I do know this: Chris Buck is a stunningly good player.
Right?
I mean those jams are so gooooooooood
Bigsby Malone! You never heard of him??
Like death and taxes
I once saw/heard him get good tone out of a tennis racquet. True story!
I have Bigsbys on all my guitars and I just can’t live without them. With the right setup and technique you can go crazy on them without getting out of tune, it’s a beautiful thing.
Agreed, I found due to the short body on my Les Paul the break angle from the B70 to the bridge was so sharp, I had to swap to a roller bridge to prevent the strings hitting the bridge block. Other than that it works fine.
So hard to change strings...
@@StealthParrot I have one with rollers from the factory, an Ibanez, but it goes out of tune the same.
@@paulterl4563 none of my guitars have roller bridges and they all stay in tune very well. A properly cut nut and a Bigsby that is not overly tight should have great tuning stability and I find that a bit of lubricant on the nut and saddles (I use nut sauce) and heavier strings help a lot.
And about changing strings you get used to it. I change all of my B7 equipped guitars without any trick quite quickly, the only one that it’s a bit tricky is the low E on my tele with a B5, but I put a piece of foam under the Bigsby just for that string and it does the job well. 👍
@@paulterl4563 I find it dead easy, just bend the ball end of the string and then hook it under. Simple :o)
As the owner of a VERY old Bigsby that came on my first ever electric I have one tip: after 40 years the grease on the bearings can dry out. If you get a pair of outside snap ring pliers and if you are patient and careful you can clean and regressed it yourself. There are something like 30 needle bearings on each end of the shaft. They look like mechanical pencil leads. Take it all apart and clean off the old grease. Lube the bearings and races with Vaseline or lithium grease and reassemble. Should run another 40 years!
This man should have a million subscribers
Agreeed! I have to believe they are coming!!
This man should have a million dollar !!!
Literally every comment on Chris's videos is about how good his playing is (half of them are probably me).
Let's appreciate the great informational content he's putting out as well!
Lol. He is bloody good, but.
He's so different to most other guitar players.
I just stumbled across this video because I'm fitting a bigsby to a telecaster.
So glad I did. The two sections of guitar playing I've seen thus far are top notch. Really tasty stuff.
I now want a Les Paul gold top with p90s on it...and a Bigsby.
True - the excellent playing is a bit distracting from the content!
coz they look cool AF
They sound cool AF too!😉👍✨
i installed one on my les paul epiphone bro it’s gorgeous
A roller bridge works wonders to keep a Bigsby from throwing things out of tune. A graphtech nut or some nut-sauce also helps on the other end.
That's exactly what I was going to say as well. I never have tuning issues with my Bigsby guitars.
Your control over the guitar is astounding. I love your playing.
Chris Buck is not only one of the best guitar players out there, but he's also one of the most articulate and intelligent.
I Agree!
You are related?
He didnt play a bigsby tho...I dont ever remember seeing him play one
@@imannonymous7707 you literally mustn't have watched the video then, he exclusively played bigsbys in this and played like 3-4 different guitars with bigsbys
Flatwound strings and bigsby's are a match made in heaven.
Yes indeed. I use flatwounds on my Duesenberg. They improve the tuning stability massively and act like a natural compressor, ironing out volume inconsistencies between treble and low frequencies.
Could someone elaborate more on this please? I have a bigsby on a Gretsch that I love and if I could make it sound better I will!
@@ciaranw520 flatwound strings are a type of string with a smoother surface, often used by jazz guitarists. Google em, buy a pair, try em out
@@Ndlanding last time I checked the highest three strings aren’t usually wound and the 3rd one can be wound or not, maybe I’m mistaken
@@prod.rh3toric676 you realise he was joking?
Man that piece on the Goldtop with p90s was one of the greatest bits of guitaring I've ever heard.
It was properly awesome. He’s pumping out so many amazing licks in all his videos they seem wasted not being the highlight of a well know hit.
You could really hear Slash coming through the entire last half of that play :D
I think using lip balm is the only thing we have in common! 😆 Your phrasing is absolutely impeccable.
What a wonderful take on a certain very famous solo! I'm numb.
Biggest problem with tuning with bigsbys is the tension bar models. If you can get a model without one that gives you enough angle over the bridge, and especially if you have a roller bridge or graphite saddles or similar, a well cut nut they work perfectly well.
Yes, this is a big one! I have a Bigbsy B3 on my SG. It attaches at the bottom strap button so no drilling required. The B3 doesn't have a tension bar, but Towner sells an adjustable bar that drops in where your TOM stopbar went. You can set it up to provide just a hair of downward pressure to keep your strings seated during those big bends. My SG has standard factory saddles and provided my strings are new and decently lubed, I can dive my Bigsby until the handle touches the body, let it go, and it will return to pitch. No locking tuners or rolling saddles necessary. Bigsbys can be tricky, but once you figure them out, they're one of the best vibrato systems.
That solo on the Les paul was amazing! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
There’s a ton of Slash in this solo. I think it’s Chris’ version of the solo from Anastasia by slash.
Every jam today was amazing. Not that that's anything new! 😂
Could just watch Chris play all day. He just plays with such good taste--not just playing around scale patterns or chord shapes. Mixes it all up in a way that surprises. Very nice.
Genuinely inspirational playing Chris.
Who else clicked this video just to hear Chris' playing and not to hear about the Bigsby.... Great playing man
I wanna hit the thumbs up about 100 times. Thanks Chris your playing is so inspirational to me.
Nooo. If you hit it 100 times it will end up not being a like. :•)
You are amazing. Johnny A. makes good use of a Bigsby. Someone once said something negative about it at a show and Johnny’s reply was, “If it was good enough for Les Paul, it’s good enough for me.”
Those revstars are getting out of control. P90s, single coils, Humbuckers and now filtertrons? That’s awesome
Stop it !!
The nearest I have to a Filtertron is the emulation on my Variax ...
G.A.S. is a hell of an affliction ya know 🤪
@@KozmykJ I’m sure there’s a support group for it. I haven’t found it yet.
@@bengibson3955 Local guitar shop will sort you out !
One which seems to have caught on in the last 12 months, @@KozmykJ.
yah there's never been another guitar with different pickup appointments before!!! wow!!!
Regardless of anything else, Buck's tone is to DIE for.
holyhell that was some incredible playing! That outro was INSANE!!!!!!
Lip balm and using a capo when stringing - gold!! 👍 (plus the usual awesome playing!!)
If everyone could play like Chris they definitely would be.
A Gretsch isn’t complete without a Bigsby.
Agreed! I saw this Gretsch that i absolutely loved in a shop, but it didn't have a Bigsby so i couldn't justify pulling the trigger. I suppose i could've added one.....but that would be missing the point.
Thanks Chris that was wonderful and educational as always, the intro was special
Friday is my favorite day of the week. Thanks Chris. Awesome as usual
THAT INTRO! Farrrrrrk! 🤯
Astonishingly good playing.
Man, your videos are always great to watch, informative and to the point... And damn can you play...
Chris, if you ever decide to market a collection of your demo cuts, I think we can guarantee a Gold Album. I know I would buy it in a heartbeat!
Me too!
Cheers guys! Stay tuned for more on that very soon...
@@ChrisBuckGuitar . Oh my goodness Chris! You're keeping us hanging!!!
Whoooa stop right there, what are you telling us Mr Buck. !!!
@@ChrisBuckGuitar
Yes yes yes!
You floor me with these intros, week after week. Amazing!
Mind-blowing chops!!!
Wowza your playing today was fire!
Adding a Vibramate String Spoiler means that you can avoid having to hook the ball ends of your strings to the tiny pegs on the roller. I was doubtful at first, but it works very well and doesn’t look out of place.
There's one on all 3 of my Bigsbys (along with a roller bridge).
Have a Bigsby in a Cort guitar. I put the Vibramate Spoiler and it is a great improvement for the strings installation.
The latest Bigsby’s from the factory have string through holes where those pesky pegs used to be. Hallelujah!
I've been playing bigsbys for around 20 years and there's still some gems you've shared here that I did not know, and will try for sure! Thank you Chris for your generosity in sharing your knowledge
FriYAY Fretworks! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
The best "Bigsby" is the Duesenberg Tremola by Dieter Gölsdorf...works very smooth and tuning stability is fantastic
Great video! I pre-bend strings by wrapping the ball end around a pencil. Works like a charm!
Thank you Chris. It just happened I received a Bigsby in the mail today to put on my Les Paul. Your video came up right as I was installing the Bigsby on my guitar. Your tips are so useful. Thank you
that thing u play at 7mins in.......man i replayed it about 7 times!! much love from australia dude
Awesome playing! Such feeling!
Beatifull playing Chris, specialy at 6:38 it gived me goosse bumps..
Three GREAT solos in one video!
I can’t get passed that JAM! at 6:34... wow #rewind #onemoretime
Dude, thanks for the tricks and tips to having my Bigsby on my axe more usable and enjoyable!
Hey, Man. That intro Solo was just beautiful.
Thanks for the video Chris, and for the very tasteful playing with the most tasteful vibrato arm. Have a great weekend man!
Always an interesting listen Thanks Chris
Hi Chris,
Try stringing over the Bigsby pole piece and not under. This will relief the tension greatly and improve stability
Great tips Chris. Thanks!
The way I set up my Bigsby and keep it in tune all the time is by stringing the strings over the tension bar (I've later on sawn off the bar completely since I never used it) That gets rid of the huge break angle and added friction you get on the strings. I've installed a bridge with roller saddles and put some pencil graphite on the nut when restringing. After years of playing that way the string never popped out of a saddle or had any real tuning issues.
Excellent video. A roller bridge helps a lot.
I play guitar and my cat leaves the room. Cue up some Chris buck and me cat is watching Chris play up close. Gee thanks Chris!
🤣👍
Thank you for these Brilliant tips! I’ve experienced every frustration you noted. Thanks for saving my sanity.
As always. . Such tasteful and interesting playing. . Oh yeah. . The stuff about the Bigsby was good too
I gotta say that was one of your best opening jams!
I also don’t know much about Bigsbys but Chris’s demo is making the Revstar very appealing 😊
Beautifully aggressive soulful intro .👌
"wow" Chris you're playing is knockout. Bugger the Bigsby man. What ever you play sounds Fab, pings en all. Best regards. John
I love the Bigsby. So expressive. Mine always stay in tune. I enjoyed the video, thanks
Love it Chris!!
This is definitive: You're an absolute IDOL, Big Thanks
The soul in that playing though 🌈 sick dudee
Great vid, Chris - super clear tips ... very helpful!
That jam at 6m was amazing. You really have the power to inspire.
Chris, you absolutely RIP on guitar. I love your vocal voiced bends, your doublesteps, and your saturated playing.
If I ever go to england, Seeing you play would be one of my highest priorities. You and Robert Fripp are probably my favorite players.
Have a good day, dude. Hopefully you get to see/read this.
I am 1000% in agreement with this comment.
….but he’s in Wales !
I save the phrase "my knickers fell off" for the little chats with my wife when I tell her that something amazing, really amazing has happened. Well, we were watching random videos on CZcams and then all of the sudden a guitarist started to play... We both stopped what we were doing to listen and by the middle of the song I just had to say it: "Well, my knickers fell off". She agreed. Amazing guitar player. Now I'm a fan. Really amazing job on that album. Cheers, man.
Chris, you are one amazing player. I love you way you build the solo, slow and smooth, and then come in for the kill. I'm taking notes. Great job, great playing, great channel.
I could listen to you play all day
You are an amazing guitar player with a lot of good sense. Thank you for sharing.
My first Gretsch (Electromatic) had the B-7 Bigsby on it. The nut created most all of the friction spots, especially with that wide headstock that didn't allow the strings to remain in a straight line. All of the friction was at the back of the nut. I invented a bone replacement nut that fixed that problem and sold hundreds of them around the world. The back of the slots pointed directly at the tuning post. Add a little graphite and it worked like a charm. You still can't play it like a Floyd Rose but it returns to pitch every time if used as it was intended.
Great Chris!
I bought an aftermarket string shaft from Callaham that has holes where the string can pass through instead of the little pegs. Took 95% of the stress out of restringing!
Those work so well.
I modified mine that way, too! Really simplified the restringing process! 👍 And my Duesenberg has a Bigsby-style trem that's already built that way... 👍
Cool - some good ideas on the dreaded Bigsby young Chris. Thanks
Damn Chris that's a great camera angle and even better jam
Breathtaking playing. the feel!
I have an ES-330 with a Bigsby. When I bought it, it was one of the best sounding guitars I have ever played. I loved having a Bigsby for vibrato, but I could not keep that thing in tune. I tried buying an ES-330 without a Bibsby, but it didn't have the same magic. After searching the internet for recommendations, I finally stumbled across a video with a guy who said he strings OVER the break bar. I decided to try this the next time I strung my guitar and, VIOLA!, the guitar stays in tune. Now, whenever I pick up the guitar, it is in tune, and after playing for 30 minutes and constantly using the Bigsby, it is still in tune.
Break angle is a myth. As long as you have enough that the strings don't pop out, you are good to go.
Chris Buck, your playing moves me like Gary Moores! You are excellent!
You're such a tasteful guitarist, I could listen to you play all day.
Never miss Friday Fretworks and the wisdom of my fave guitar guru. Well done mate!
Great and informative as always
Came for the Bigsby, stayed for that right hand technique. Just fantastic. Can’t get enough of those subtitle rakes. Beautiful stuff.
I fell in love with the 6:32 parts, things that happen few times a year. Great playing. EDIT: Still hypnotized by this solo, astonishing. I love everything about it.
Bro that tone!!! Ffs awesome
Great advice Chris - cheers.
Chris, thanks for your video. I’ve used Bigsby’s for years. Here are two things I’ve found to address the issues you highlighted. The first is adding a Vibramate to the Bigsby. This eliminates the need to wrap around the tailpiece and makes string changes a lot easier than just about any other guitar. The second is swapping out the multipart bridge with a single brass Compton Compensating Bridge. This is made to match your string spacing and gauge. The strings slide more easily over the bridge and replacing a bridge with more than a dozen individual parts with a single piece improves the translation of vibration to the top of the guitar. The tone improvement is very noticeable in any guitar with a chambered or hollow body.
Holy crap! The second take (with the Les Paul) was absolutely epic!
OPENING JAM WAS ROCKING
I've replaced the stock spring with the Reverend Spring in ALL my Bigsby equipped guitars. Soft, and stable!
such a helpful video. the step I was missing was that part about the Bigsby being too flush to the guitar body. fixed my tuning issues immediately.
As always, wow.
You've got some incredible picking motions going on there.
Bigsby tremolos were designed to work with "rocker" bridges. These bridges move with the string by rocking back and forth. Similar design exists on Jazzmaster guitars, or on a factory-installed Bigsby on a telecaster -- you can take the bridge and rock it with the string with your finger, it's as if it has a spring. The bridge needs to move freely-enough with the strings, without any binding, and this is the problem most Bisbsby owners struggle with, as in your example with using chapstick. When you take a tune-o-matic bridge that is not designed to rock back and forth, you are asking for trouble: you have to constantly lubricate the saddles, or it inadvertently becomes a "rocker" bridge, after which it destroys the mounting posts and snaps. What I would highly recommend is getting a roller bridge -- it's a great design and solves all of your tuning stability issues. Unfortunately rollers get in the way of muting, so it's a little bit different feel and sound that you wind up with. Cheers!
Good advice, but nylon saddles work well too if you don't mind the (very) slight change in tone.
Wonderful playing !!!
What a fantastic guitarist you are !!!
Because imho they just do not have that tuning stability like other alternative tremolos do, for example, Duesenberg Les Trem is waaay more stable and smooth. Thanks Chris!
Not true, they're very stable if set up correctly.
I have a Gretsch jet with Bigsby and it stays in tune pretty well
My Tenny (with Bigsby) seems to stay I. Tune ok.
IMO pretty well is not ok. It’s either in tune or not… but glad you are happy with it! 🙏