Bigsby™ units are great! They’re totally cool looking pieces of hardware and can also be a great tool in your armoury for that evocative but subtle shimmery vibrato. Sure, tuning stability can be a pain, if it’s fitted incorrectly by someone who doesn’t have “the knowhow”…but with proper installation and a few logical tips and tricks it’ll stay in tune all night long until the Ghost Riders have all gone to bed! There are a few ways to retrofit a Bigsby™ unit on a Tele™. This method shown here can actually be found on Bigsby’s own website. I think it looks pretty neat and is the most retro….so it’s my favourite.

I’ve made clearance grooves by marking out carefully, before filing, then using a dremel on the back of the standard bridge to give the strings a clear path through to the saddles. I think it looks great and works really well whilst retaining the vintage look of the guitar. What do you think?