Gibson 125 fitting a Bigsby and repairing it . .

Hi there

I have Gibson 125 that had a PA drop on it , the owner, an accomplished musician wishes to have a Bigsby fitted. I was wondering if a center piece is required to take some of the forces exerted on the archtop?

I was thinking of fitting a B7, only fixings at the tail end, but there is two small feet that must place quite a lot of force on the body ?

Any thoughts or any suggestions would be appreciated. ..

Also the guitar sides are completely damaged and need to be replaced, the neck is still attached, but I am assuming I will have to remove the neck and completely rebuild the guitar to put it back to its former glory. Its has sentimental value to the owner, but they have decided on the bigsby if its rebuilt .

Look forward to any suggestions...or any info on anyone that has done this..

Regards

Marc . .

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Highland on May 25, 2011 at 5:58pm

A bigsby B7 is screwed to the face of the guitar as well as at the heel

A B3 is more appropriate as long as the neck angle allows a high enough bridge for adequate string angle over the saddle

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Permalink Reply by Marc Vincent on May 25, 2011 at 6:23pm

Thanks Jeff

Thats just solved a puzzle, went the Bigsby site, I have a box that says B70 CR made in Korea?

But the Bigsby inside is a B3, just like the pic at the site!

I will take your advice on the neck angle too, I might be taking to much on here, usual scenario though . .

Has I am replacing the sides on this guitar, the neck is still intact to the top and back, not totally removed the sides yet, can I replace the sides without removing the neck? And as i have never removed a Gibson Neck on a 125, any knowledge on removing these if I have too?

Regards

Mark . .

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Permalink Reply by Marc Vincent on May 25, 2011 at 6:28pm

one more thing Jeff, if you can help?

So no need to place any extra wood to support the bigsby on the front of the body, the pads will not damage the top?

I know there is tension on the strings, would placing any support in the Gibson under the bigsby kill the sound production too much?

Oh and by the way Jeff, cool site and thanks for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated, hope one day I can contribute back and return the favour!

All knowledge is good!

Regards

Marc

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Highland on May 25, 2011 at 6:35pm

No need for extra support, I have an es126tdc which had a b3 which I replaced with a standard trapese tailpiece mainly due to the bridge being a bit low for proper break angle.

Big job replacing the sides, you will need to totally dismantle the neck from the body and pull the body apart..

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Permalink Reply by Marc Vincent on May 26, 2011 at 2:08am

Thanks for your time Jeff

You are a scholar and a gentleman!

I will keep a log and post the guitar in different stages as I intend to remove the Varnish and re lacquer it with Cellulose and finish it with Tobacco sunburst as well!

Sounds like I have a tough Job on my hands . .:-)