Bigsby on Les Paul R4 Gold top 2014 custom

[dcjekyll]

HI, I would like to put a Bigsby on my gold top r4 (wraparound and no stop) without drilling.
I have seen the Towner kits but I Don’t know which model I have to buy.
Any ideas ?
Have a Nice day !!

 

[LyleGorch]

Thinking the same. Do you lose tone by not drilling? Yes? No?
So many questions, so little time.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

HI, I would like to put a Bigsby on my gold top r4 (wraparound and no stop) without drilling.
I have seen the Towner kits but I Don’t know which model I have to buy.
Any ideas ?
Have a Nice day !!

I've put Bigsbys on a LP Studio, Explorer, and SG, and each time I used a Vibramate to install them. Personally I do not feel like I lost a single bit of tone or sustain. The installation is as easy as it gets too.

I would recommend a good roller bridge to go with it for the best tuning stability. I used Schaller roller bridges, and was very happy with the results. A well cut nut is also mandatory since you probably don't want to get invasive by installing a roller nut.

That said my Explorer was the most stable of all my Bigsby loaded guitars, and it had a roller bridge and roller nut I installed myself. It required filing out the nut slot a bit. By a bit I mean definitely enough to be noticeable and devalue the instrument if you decide you want to convert it back to stock for yourself, or for selling.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

Thinking the same. Do you lose tone by not drilling? Yes? No?
So many questions, so little time.

I've installed 3 Bigsbys on Gibsons with Vibramates, and never noticed a difference in tone or sustain. They still punch, cut, grind, and sing as good as the day before I installed the Bigsbys on them.