What's a "Guild Spec" Bigsby bridge?

[power chord hack]

What, other than the stamp, is different from standard Bigsby bridges?

These are still listed in the 2010 Bigsby parts catalog BTW...


Example:

 

[Walter Broes]

Hans would have the exact answer.


I have one of those - anybody want to give me a silly amount of money for it? :lol:

 

[hideglue]

(edit: nevermind. probably just action or a mod, resting flat on the thumb wheels... the way I like it)

 

[hansmoust]

What, other than the stamp, is different from standard Bigsby bridges?

These are still listed in the 2010 Bigsby parts catalog BTW...

Hello pch,

Maybe you should have another look at the 2010 Bigsby parts catalog. Neiher one of the bridges you posted photos of are available from Bigsby these days:

Your first example:

Is an older conventional Bigsby bridge, probably from the '60s. I can't tell if it was made for Guild but as Hideglue pointed out, it has a modified top part, which enables it to rest flat on 'the thumbwheels and not 'rock back and forth' as it was designed.

Your second example:

That's one of my own photos. It's a similar bridge as in example 1. You can see the 'Guild Spec.' text on the bottom and the 'pointed end parts' that rest on the thumbwheels, which allow the bridge to 'rock' with the movement of the Bigsby handle. The 'Guild Spec' bridge was made by Bigsby for Guild as you would expect.

Both these bridges are what I call the 'vintage' style. Here's a photo of what a clean one looks like:

http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/parts_detail.php?id=39

During the '70s Bigsby replaced the original 'vintage' style by a somewhat lighter alloy bridge that was not 'casted' and therefore looks much cleaner; it also sounds a bit different.

Here's a photo that shows the newer one:

http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/parts_detail.php?id=40

That's the 'conventional' Bigsby bridge that is still offered in the Gretsch catalog these days.
Note that all the forementioned bridges were designed for use with string sets that had a wound G-string.

Now the 'Guild Special' bridge that is listed in the Bigsby parts catalog is a somewhat more recent 'Guild' part that was first used on Bigsby equipped Guild archtops during the second half of the '90s. It is not the same as the 'Guild Spec.' bridge pictured in Example 2. It is what I refer to as the 'updated rocker bridge', which allows the use of string sets with a plain G-string.

Here's what it looks like:

http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/parts_detail.php?id=42

I'm not sure if that last bridge is actually still available from Gretsch/Bigsby but it would be nice if it was. I've been 'sold out' for a while.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[power chord hack]

Ah, so the Guild spec is just the plain G configuration...

Thanks Hans.


It seems odd to me that the wound G config has become the modern production standard when most players these days never use anything heavier than 10's ...


EDIT:

What about this: Here is the bottom of the bridge in the first photo - which appears to be a wound G config yet it still has a "Guild spec" designation??

Now I'm consfused again...

 

[hansmoust]

Ah, so the Guild spec is just the plain G configuration...

It seems odd to me that the wound G config has become the modern production standard when most players these days never use anything heavier than 10's ...

Hello again pch,

No, you don't understand what I was saying. The bridge that had 'Guild Spec,' on the bottom was made especially for Guild but it was not really different from a regular Bigsby bridge. That's why I couldn't tell if example 1 was a regular bridge or a Guild Spec. bridge. It turns out that it was a 'Guild Spec.' bridge too. Both bridges in your examples were from the '60s.
There was nothing else available from Bigsby. All bridges were made for string sets with a wound G. People didn't use anything else in the old days. By the time that string sets with plain G-strings were introduced, Bigsby didn't bother to change the bridge for proper compensation.

The bridge that is in the Bigsby parts catalog and which they call the 'Guild Special' bridge ( not to be confused with the 'Guild Spec.' bridge from the '60s) is the recent bridge, that was made for strings with a plain G. It took till the end of the '90s for Guild to come out with that and it is now listed in the Gretsch/Bigsby parts catalog. Or at least it was in 2010.

Re-read my earlier posting and look at the links that show the photos of the various bridges and the text that explains what they are.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[power chord hack]

OK - I understand now.
Thanks!

 

[Smiert Spionam]

This gets a little more convoluted when you see that the recent plain-G "Guild Special" bridge that Hans talks about is (well, was) often listed as "Guild Spec." That's how Elderly sold it, which is where I bought a couple several years ago.

Those appear to be long gone, but there are now some sold as a Gretsch accessory that are the same thing. They're nice to have if you use a plain G on an archtop with a Bigsby.

 

[power chord hack]

but there are now some sold as a Gretsch accessory that are the same thing.

oh yeah? where did you see them? I could use about 5...

 

[hansmoust]

http://www.guitarsgalore.nl[/url]

 

[Jahn]

Right on topic for me. I had a newer bigsby bridge and base, and that base is definitely lighter, with the thickness reduced in the newer base, and worst for me the radius of the base curve much flatter than the vintage base that Bigsby made for Guild. With the newer modern bigbsy base that thing just wouldn't stay put under tension, it slid all over the place, even with double sided tape on it to pin it down. The vintage guild-branded bigsby base follows the arch of my Starfire perfectly, and it does NOT budge even with heavy handed wanging of the bigsby vibrato bar. that's good stuff. Oh, and cosmetically you can see that the modern one has like a sharp stairstep thing on the ends, while the vintage one kind of organically curves at the ends.

The only thing is, the posts of the vintage bridge are thicker than the modern bigsby posts, so it was a tight fit to put the modern thumbwheels on, and one even needed me to break out the pliers, not a pretty sight. Also the posts seem really tall, because even after the wheels and Tru-Arc bridge are put on there, the posts stick up to poke your palm while you're playing. Just a bit annoying, and I'm wondering if some of those pics above had their posts dremeled down or something.

Anyhow here are the pics of the vintage base I just picked up for my Starfire VI project! If anyone has a lead on some appropriate thumbwheels for it that won't break my bank, let me know thanks!

Compare that to this one that I got on eBay:

 

[Jahn]

BTW all, I found a solution to those posts sticking up - screw some flat acorn nuts on top!

http://www.gretsch-talk.com/forum/vinta ... ridge.html

The posts on mine sticking up look this this guy's, so I'll take a trip to Home Depot soon to grab a pair!