Bigsby Tele, Part 7: The Wrap-Up!
Some finishing touches you might be interested in. Those of you who come to see Swamp Ash play have already seen this guitar onstage. And if I say so myself, it sounds great, looks great, and plays great!
Thanks to Reverend Guitars for solving the problem of the the Bigsby spring. This model is the B5, and is apparently known for having a very stiff spring, which in turn makes it really hard to move the bar. This spoils all your whammy fun, and that was one of the things I really wanted to enjoy with this build. Reverend rides to the rescue with a lower tension spring that pops right into place, and takes you straight to whammy heaven!
Tuning is settling in nicely. The Electric City pickups are AWESOME, and the body, which is one piece of Eastern white pine, is very happy to be a guitar now. It’s really lively and resonant. If you’re considering your own partscaster build, don’t turn your nose up at pine. Larry Robinson has the good stuff, and it makes consistently exceptional guitars.
Dunlop StrapLok buttons, Gotoh vintage-style locking tuners with staggered posts (only the high E is under the string tree), my usual bone nut, Rutters bridge and control plate, and the amazing USACG neck (my first, and it won’t be the last) are in the mix as well. This one was really fun to put together, and moved right onto the stage guitar list. Check out the band and hear what it will do!