Since we’ve been discussing Bigsby, here is a Youtube clip from a favorite guitar shop of mine, Retrofret. They get some of the harder restoration projects around - in this case, they restored one of Bigsby’s solid-body electrics.
While he is known for the tailpiece design that still carries his name, Bigsby, more than pretty much anybody along with Fender, Les Paul and Rickenbacker, created the first true solidbody Spanish guitars - Les Paul’s log was a solidbody experiment with hollow f-hold “wings” on it to look like a jazz guitar. Bigsby made proto-Fender solidbodies (he and Leo were friends and collaborated on stuff - you can see that Leo clearly lifted Bigsby’s “sideways violin headstock shape” for the Stratocaster…)
This example may be the FIRST solidbody with two pickups that enabled the player to switch between the two or have both on - how cool is that?!?
Oh, man, I just realized: when the camera is on Deke, pulled back, you see Retrofret’s inventory - drool!! But to the right, just to the right of the weird-looking green acoustic, is a small Martin with no pickguard.
I yearn for this guitar tragically.
It is a 1930 0-21 and quite easily one of the best guitars I have ever played. Truly one of a small, small handful of transcendentally world-class guitars I have had the privilege to play. So responsive and dynamic. Every time I play it I get a guitar lesson.
I have tried to work convoluted, complex, multi-guitar deals to find a way to get that guitar - twice. Couldn’t even get close. I think I will have to sell one of my kids
I know I’m a couple of months late, but I wanted to say thanks for posting this. I just watched the video and it was nice to find that not only is Mr. Knopfler a world-class guitarist and songwriter, he is also a truly genuine, nice, pleasant dude. I thought that Mr. Illsley, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Pensa and everyone else all seem to be really cool people.
Hey, they only made so many of those guitars and kids are replaceable (and fun to make…) so I don’t see what the conundrum is… ( Kidding!)
As a side note I am looking at possibly installing a Bigsby on my buddy’s ES-335 or his Ibanez. I suspect the Ibanez will get it as the 335 is from the early 60s and I’m reticent to start hacking into it and lowering it’s value, although it was a woodpile reclaim of sorts.
The guy bought it new in 2010; not a scratch on it, even on the pick guard. Included the hard case, strap and a capo; think I saw a set of strings in there, too. He sold off all his instruments, including a Fender Strat and a set of drums. I should have asked him if the Fender amp he had in his office was also for sale.
I love that kind of deal - they drive it off the showroom floor and you get the benefit of that depreciation.
swampy - yeah, putting a Bigsby on a guitar like that that didn’t already come with one - well, that person must really know that they will use it ALL the time to make it worth it.
Yay Chefguy! Congrats! I’m sure you’re going to get a lot of quality time in. If you live in a drier area or have forced air heating I would strongly suggest, as does Bob Taylor, that you keep the guitar in the case and humidified when you aren’t using it.
Wordman, I forgot to says thanks for the link to the mag, and you are absolutely right on the last point.
Thanks for the link; they have some good videos. We do have forced air heating for several months of the year, and AC for part of the summer. I’m a little concerned about some negative Amazon reviews of the Humidipak that talk about them leaking. :eek: Have you used these at all? I think the strings on this guy are the original (and look a bit rusty), so I’m going to replace them.
I agree with swampspruce and keep my guitars cased. I got a decent hygrometer for each case - think I spent $20-$30 bucks per - and then got a humidifier. The one I got is a Gore-Tex tube you fill with water and which is suspended in the soundhole, held in place by the strings. less of a drip issue.
What about the strat? I just have it on a stand next to my chair so I can grab it whenever the urge hits me. I would think it would be less of an issue than a hollow body.
Yeah, solidbody, Fender bolt-on-neck style guitars are typically far more impervious, and you always have to trade off accessibility. Having one of those on a stand throughout the seasons can work, or I got a Taylor GS-Mini, which is cheap and has laminated back and sides, so I don’t have to care if anything happens…
I’ve ordered a room humidifier for a couple of reasons: Having to remember to keep moistening a case humidifier probably won’t work well for me; also, if I don’t see the guitar, I’m far less likely to play it, so I’d rather have it out. I’ll see how the humidifier works out. Thanks for the advice.
I use two different humidifiers, one is the Kyser that fits over the soundhole, and the other is a Planet waves that fits between the strings. I’ve never used the humidipacks, although I have built my own using a couple of 35 mm film canisters and some of those crystals that retain water and slowly release it.
My first “high end” guitar was a Garrison and it ended up cracking, badly, due to my neglecting to pay attention to how how dry the house was and how sensitive this particular guitar was to temp/humidity variations.
I’ll echo what Wordman said about the solid bodies. It’s generally less of an issue, but doesn’t hurt to keep it in the same room as your acoustics.
One day, I am going to spring for a humidity controlled cabinet, but I have a lot of other things to build and pay for at the moment.
( Kidding!)
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