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LP 60's tribute w/ Bigbsy - rollerbridge or not ?

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:34 am
by Silenus
Hi,
I'm picking up my Les Paul 60's tribute again.
But I was wondering if I need a roller bridge (Gotoh, Stewmac),... now since It has a B7 Bigbsy on it.
Image

Would a Mustang bridge be a solution ? I've never seen one on a LP...
I've been thinking of trying to fit the Tune-O-Matic on my Mustang and maybe the
rounder Mustang rollers could do it any good? (If it 'll all fit ofcourse, with extra tape or not)

Thanks for any advice

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:38 am
by Thomas
The Mustang won't work cos the radius is wrong.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:04 pm
by George
I'd get a GFS roller. Much cheaper.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:10 pm
by ekwatts
George wrote:I'd get a GFS roller. Much cheaper.
Dew.

This.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:22 pm
by Silenus
So it would benefit a roller bridge
Thanks for that GFS tip. Looks good

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:23 pm
by Gabriel
If you really want a roller bridge I'd get this: http://www.axesrus.co.uk/WIlkinson-Ulti ... mtb604.htm

It's what Taylor use on the T3 so it must be pretty good.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:26 pm
by George
Silenus wrote:So it would benefit a roller bridge
Thanks for that GFS tip. Looks good
With trem use I would say so. At the price it should also dip underneath EU import tax.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:58 pm
by Silenus
Oooh that "Wilkinson Ultimate Roller Bridge" has some fine looks...
I like that one. Will it fit directly or does it need adjustements ?

edit: thanks for that radius tip concerning the Mustang bridge...forgot all about it :oops:

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:02 pm
by Gabriel
Silenus wrote:Oooh that "Wilkinson Ultimate Roller Bridge" has some fine looks...
I like that one. Will it fit directly or does it need adjustements ?
You may need to fit the new posts. But they may screw right in? I've had some work and some not in the past. It's likely it'd just screw straight in though.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:42 pm
by cur
Yes, the wilkinson roller bridge with the locking studs that GFS sells is nice. I put one on one of my guitars. It also has lots of room for adjustment.

Re: LP 60's tribute w/ Bigbsy - rollerbridge or not ?

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:10 pm
by Progrockabuse
Silenus wrote:Hi,
I'm picking up my Les Paul 60's tribute again.
But I was wondering if I need a roller bridge (Gotoh, Stewmac),... now since It has a B7 Bigbsy on it.
Image

Would a Mustang bridge be a solution ? I've never seen one on a LP...
I've been thinking of trying to fit the Tune-O-Matic on my Mustang and maybe the
rounder Mustang rollers could do it any good? (If it 'll all fit ofcourse, with extra tape or not)

Thanks for any advice
.

Nice, very Neil young

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:39 pm
by ekwatts
The reason you'll never have seen a Jaguar/Mustang bridge on a Les Paul is that they're rubbish in comparison to a tunomatic.

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:01 pm
by paul_
The Wilkinson will fit, the regular cheapo GFS roller TOM will not as it's Epiphone/import spec. Even the new bushings to take the large post would require some drilling/reaming. Be careful when buying hardware for US Gibsons to buy US spec stuff. Imperial vs. metric plus Gibson vs. copy = a lot of room for error.
You don't need a roller with a Bigsby, though it does reduce friction over the break angle at the saddle, which can reduce string wear/breaks. It does not cause the trem to work drastically better or more efficiently or anything.
Nice guitar, not big on black LPs but it looks better with the soapbars and bigsby.

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:47 am
by Silenus
Thanks for all those tips and such...
If I'll change it, my mind is set on the Wilkinson for now.

So, a TOM will also have different radius on my Mustang = bad idea?

Also have another lil problem with it: the neck PU has a lot less volume then
the bridge PU (even after string-height compansation).
Should I check the wiring or can it be something else?

Thanks to all

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:23 am
by ekwatts
Have you tried raising the pickup closer to the strings?

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:49 am
by Silenus
Yeah, that's what I meant with string height compensation (English not my first language so must have said it wrong)
but the bridge PU is a beast in comparison with the neck PU.
The difference is so big it's like you stamp on a pedal if you switch between 'm.
I know the neck is supposed to be softer/mellower sounding but the volume is also a lot less.
Maybe I'll have to check all the wiring during he weekend...

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:12 am
by ekwatts
Silenus wrote:Yeah, that's what I meant with string height compensation (English not my first language so must have said it wrong)
but the bridge PU is a beast in comparison with the neck PU.
The difference is so big it's like you stamp on a pedal if you switch between 'm.
I know the neck is supposed to be softer/mellower sounding but the volume is also a lot less.
Maybe I'll have to check all the wiring during he weekend...
Pictures are blocked at work so I can't see the guitar, but are the neck or bridge pickup a replacement? Could be a higher-gain pickup replacement, but it could also be the wiring. Had an SG a while back with a bridge pickup that hardly worked in comparison to the neck pickup. COULD NOT get it to work, after going through and resoldering all the bit I suspected it might be. So I took it to a tech, five minutes, fixed.

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:28 am
by Silenus
No, there all stock P90s.
I can do the soldering myself but I don't like to do it on Les Paul's
'cause it's kinda narrow in there 8)
(and don't want to take it all out)

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:11 am
by awfurby
You don't need to change bridges. The TOM will work fine with the Bigsby. I have a pinned TOM on my Gretsch and I wouldn't use anything else - intonation is spot on and I don't have any tuning issues after using the Bigsby, and the way I play (heavy Bigsby use) you'd think I would. The trick is to make sure your strings are properly stretched when you change them - that means you grab your strings one by one and stretch them, then tune them, then stretch them again, then tune them again until they are stable. The second thing you do is make sure that your nut is cut properly and you should also lubricate the slots with graphite or silicon every time you change strings. That's all - that TOM is perfect for a Bigsby, don't change it.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:36 pm
by Silenus
^ thanks for the good info.
I always stretch my strings.
Good advice on lubricating the slots : )