[kfeuerherm]

As noted in my introductory post, I came upon this site because I was looking for an elusive Bigsby B7, and it came up since one member had one advertised for sale. (Never got a reply to my query but that's neither here nor there, now.)

@DavidP kindly suggested the Duesenberg Les Trem II as a viable option, attractive for a number of reasons including the fact that it was available from Cosmo Music.

I spent some time doing research on this and other options, and in the end, I did go with the Les Trem. It's simple and straightforward, and what's more, reversible if one should change one's mind. I figured I should report back here on my experience as it might be of interest to the broader community.

I did a full write-up about this (with photos) on my personal site (I hope it's legit to post links to one's personal site, it makes it easy to share all the details. But I'm also happy to fill this out if that would be preferred). I'm happy to answer questions to the best of my ability.

I'm grateful to members of the forum who offered some initial advice and glad to have found a place that's specifically concerned with the Canadian situation! Thanks!

I'll just add a photo of the completed installation here

 

[kfeuerherm]

Afterthought: now that I look at it and think of what a Bigsby looks like, I wonder whether I should flip the arm over.... Guess I'll see what it's like in practice

 

[silvertonebetty]

How does it hold tune

 

[player99]

The arm usually bends up away from the guitar.

 

[DavidP]

The arm usually bends up away from the guitar.

Yep, just loosen the trem arm allen screw and turn it 180 degrees so it mimics the 'contour' of a Bigsby arm-- works a lot better that way!!
Glad to know you're liking it -- IMHO these are the best (if not better) Bigsby alternatives out there, but still fly under the radar.

 

[kfeuerherm]

How does it hold tune

We’ll, reinstalled the old strings with a bit of difficulty and didn’t do a great job remounting them (so they slip a little over time, but I wanted to save my other set for eh it goes in for a free set-up… but I tried it out such as it is and I’m happy with it. Others who’ve reviewed this (I did a pile of reading before ordering) mostly suggest it performs better than a Bigsby in that regard.

i may take it in shortly and I can report back better after that….

 

[kfeuerherm]

Yep, just loosen the trem arm allen screw and turn it 180 degrees so it mimics the 'countour' of a Bigsby arm-- works a lot better that way!!
Glad to know you're liking it -- IMHO these are the best (if not better) Bigsby alternatives out there, but still fly under the radar.

i did some internet checking, seen it both ways, but it seems a little awkward to me this way so I’m going to turn it as you suggest. In fact I’m just doing that now!!

 

[kfeuerherm]

Ok, so I switched the arm around. This makes more sense, otherwise the bend works against you when you move the arm down out of the way while playing.

Details, details It's just like me to do something backwards!

 

[kfeuerherm]

How does it hold tune

Hi again,

I took some time this morning and carefully redid the strings at the tuners so they'd lock properly, then did another testdrive.

I'm new to the tremolo thing, so not an expert, but I was quite satisfied with the return to pitch, myself.

 

[silvertonebetty]

Hi again,

I took some time this morning and carefully redid the strings at the tuners so they'd lock properly, then did another testdrive.

I'm new to the tremolo thing, so not an expert, but I was quite satisfied with the return to pitch, myself.

Cool , I keep going to grab the wobbly stick when u play my lesPaul but there’s nothing there 😂

 

[kfeuerherm]

Maybe this should be a new thread... dunno....

I was wondering about a roller bridge for this. The fretboard radius is 12", not sure whether the saddle radius is supposed to match (I guess i could try to measure it and see), and according to StewMac there is only one. Not sure whether that's true....

In any case, wondering what recommedations anyone here could make? I'm not necessarily unhappy with how it performs now, it's just that if I'm going to make changes, I should do it before I take it in for its check-up

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Maybe this should be a new thread... dunno....

I was wondering about a roller bridge for this. The fretboard radius is 12", not sure whether the saddle radius is supposed to match (I guess i could try to measure it and see), and according to StewMac there is only one. Not sure whether that's true....

In any case, wondering what recommedations anyone here could make? I'm not necessarily unhappy with how it performs now, it's just that if I'm going to make changes, I should do it before I take it in for its check-up

Before you even asked, I was going to recommend this Schaller Roller Bridge - StewMac

I put a Bigsby on a Epi Dot a couple years ago, along with a bunch of other stuff, and I was SOOOO impressed with this bridge. I have pretty much no issue with going out of tune and honestly the bridge is just very nice looking and obviously made out of better materials than an Epiphone TOM.

Now, getting it from Stewmac?.......... It took a while (about a month) and the shipping wasn't great value, and I seem to remember getting hit with duty.

And yet, totally satisfied with the thing, and the saddles can move laterally so you can perfect your string spacing. Oh and I have not broken a single string now that I think about it!

 

[kfeuerherm]

Cool , I keep going to grab the wobbly stick when u play my lesPaul but there’s nothing there 😂

Before you even asked, I was going to recommend this Schaller Roller Bridge - StewMac

I put a Bigsby on a Epi Dot a couple years ago, along with a bunch of other stuff, and I was SOOOO impressed with this bridge. I have pretty much no issue with going out of tune and honestly the bridge is just very nice looking and obviously made out of better materials than an Epiphone TOM.

Now, getting it from Stewmac?.......... It took a while (about a month) and the shipping wasn't great value, and I seem to remember getting hit with duty.

And yet, totally satisfied with the thing, and the saddles can move laterally so you can perfect your string spacing. Oh and I have not broken a single string now that I think about it!

I don’t think I’ve broken a string in years! Still….

I was in fact eyeing the Schaller as my most impressive find so far, but IIRC it’s 14” radius, no? Does that matter (much)?

Also wondered as the post holes aren’t through and through…

bit if you put it on a Dot…. Should work for me…

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

I don’t think I’ve broken a string in years! Still….

I was in fact eyeing the Schaller as my most impressive find so far, but IIRC it’s 14” radius, no? Does that matter (much)?

Also wondered as the post holes aren’t through and through…

bit if you put it on a Dot…. Should work for me…

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Yeah should just drop in.

I think(?) it came with two sets of uhhhh studs? I'm sure you can find more information or even shoot Schaller an email.

My Dot is like 2016 made in China I think. I also reversed the screws to the back which is not hard to do (I watched a YouTube video) so that it's easier to intonate from behind, the photos don't show that because I hadn't done that yet.

 

[kfeuerherm]

Yeah should just drop in.

I think(?) it came with two sets of uhhhh studs? I'm sure you can find more information or even shoot Schaller an email.

My Dot is like 2016 made in China I think. I also reversed the screws to the back which is not hard to do (I watched a YouTube video) so that it's easier to intonate from behind, the photos don't show that because I hadn't done that yet.

Yeah, I can drop them a line…. I hope they’re more communicative than Duesenberg, who wouldn’t send me detailed specs and just passed the buck…

I dropped a line to my local Long and McQuade, too, see what they say….

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Is it a Sheraton? Maybe I should check what radius my Dot is, because even if it's not a match, I haven't felt any problem with playing action or anything.

 

[kfeuerherm]

Is it a Sheraton? Maybe I should check what radius my Dot is, because even if it's not a match, I haven't felt any problem with playing action or anything.

Yeah, Sheraton II Pro Wine Red bought in March of this year. Specs here (I’m assuming colour doesn’t matter; the wine red pages have been taken down).

 

[nnieman]

That looks great on that guitar

Im not familiar with those trems but most of my guitars have bigsbys.

Most of the time tuning issues have to do with the strings binding in the nut.
I personally hate tom type bridges with bigsbys.... but I also dont like roller bridges.
A solid bar bridge is my preferred bridge with a bigsby. Aluminum or brass.

Nathan

 

[kfeuerherm]

Most of the time tuning issues have to do with the strings binding in the nut.
I personally hate tom type bridges with bigsbys.... but I also dont like roller bridges.
A solid bar bridge is my preferred bridge with a bigsby. Aluminum or brass.

As I mentioned, no tuning issues that I’ve noticed yet, just planning ahead.

I’ll look into those!