Keeping a PAUL in tune

[Aharon]

I went ahead and bought a guitar with a bigsby from a well known manufacturer.The guitar is gorgeous but wouldn't stay in tune so I got a roller bridge,still not good so got a biggsfix bar and the latest a string butler,holy crap and while installing this shait I find all kids of other issues like the 3 way selector sw is cutting out and the grover tuners were loose.I wrote the manufacturer but nothing yet so I'm waiting ,I don't know how much do you have to spend to get a decent guitar.
Aharon

[Aharon]

At last I got an answer from the company,Apologies and the address of the representative in Canada for warranty repair or other necessary action.
That's all I wanted really,After the string butler arrived I did a proper set up ,intonation,truss rod adjustment etc and now is AOK,A set of Elixir 10s and no issues so far.Oh I still have to clean the contacts on that 3 way sw and tighten the jack sw so it won't crackle (not ok).
Aharon

[bmxguitarsbmx]

I don't see how anyone can expect a bigsby to stay in tune period. Floyd Rose (or Gotoh) or GTFO. Locking tuners can help a ton with any non-locking guitar though.

[Aharon]

Bigsbys are hard to keep in tune but this guitar was just ridiculous,now it stays where it should ,it's not the bigsby as much as the guitar the same biggs on a 335 would have another tailpiece and more room so the strings don't get snagged on the bridge the les paul just doesn't have the room.Plenty of people keep Bigs in tune ,Brian Szetzer comes to mind and recently Page during For your life playing a custom,of course it's not for Van Halen or Satriani stuff.

[Aharon]

One word about the email I got ,I wanted them to acknowledge the fact that they ship shit out of their warehouse,I'm not going for the warranty,or the complimentary set up,I wouldn't let those dipsticks near my guitar ,when I buy a guitar I expect to do some work to make it work properly,the satisfaction I get is priceless.
Aharon

[soulsonic]

I had a Danelectro Hodad with a Bigsby-esque vibrato on it and it stayed in tune fine. I didn't do any wild whammying with it, but is that even possible with a Bigsby? I always thought those were all about the subtle, like an actual vibrato, not a crazy whammy.

[4ab3c1b]

Setzer uses locking tuners, that's a biggie. His are Sperzels IIRC, but you can use Grover Rotogrips that will drop right in to the same screw holes as the full-size Rotomatics. Also you need to make sure your nut doesn't pinch. Sometimes a bit of lube helps, graphite powder or a smidge of grease. Combine those things with the roller bridge you already got and you should be able to wail on that Bigsby, assuming you set it all up right and your strings are stretched.