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NGD - Vibramate and String Tension?

lure555

Swirling Vortex of Sound, Classic Club
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
3,417
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For the first time in, like, 17 years I bought a new Les Paul yesterday. Amazing guitar... and a Classic! The thing is, it allegedly came with 9s, but they feel like 10s. Does the Vibramate change the feel of the tension? I have a regular Bigsby B7 on my other LP and I had to put 11s on because I kept pushing note out of tune.
 

KR1

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
266
I don't have good pics of the B7 and Vibramate, but if the distance between the bridge saddles and the axle (string mount) is different between the two models, yes, they will feel different and probably sound a little different as well. If you put exactly the same string set on both guitars and tune them to the same pitch, the resting string tension will be the same on both guitars. However, the guitar with the longer effective string length (saddle-to-axle distance) will feel easier to bend - more compliant (even though one would have to bend the string further to produce the same pitch change as the guitar with the shorter effective string length).

Related: I've often heard players say that a Bigsby'd guitar sounds a little more "airy" than a stop-tail. Again, it's the effective string length that causes the strings to oscillate, and sound, a bit diminished in the mid-range when compared to the stop-tail guitar.
 

AJCR

Member
Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
124
If you mean the vibramate no drill attaching plate, then it should make the break angle less due to raising the roller bar higher off the top. This should lead to a more slinky feel than if you'd mounted the bigsby to the surface.

Of course you cannot compare 2 guitars and expect the same feel between them - there are many more differences than merely the tailpiece to consider.
 

lure555

Swirling Vortex of Sound, Classic Club
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
3,417
If you mean the vibramate no drill attaching plate, then it should make the break angle less due to raising the roller bar higher off the top. This should lead to a more slinky feel than if you'd mounted the bigsby to the surface.

Of course you cannot compare 2 guitars and expect the same feel between them - there are many more differences than merely the tailpiece to consider.
The weird thing is, The GT has much more tension. The 9s that were on there felt like 10s. I didn’t really want to have different gauges on each LP, but I might have to.
 

AJCR

Member
Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
124
I have guitars tuned to both standard and 1/2 step down. When I make guitars I don't know until they are setup properly which of the two tunings they will 'prefer'.
Its just one of those things to realise - guitars are not all plastic action man figures that come out of the mould the same. They are individuals......you have to treat them as such.
 
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