QUESTION
I have a 1965 Gibson SG Standard guitars. The guitar has been modified and stripped and is a great player but i want to add a tremolo to the guitar what options did Gibson offer and what do you feel is best . Any information you can supply would be great .
REPLY
Great question thank you . Gibson offered four types basically. A bigsby vibrato, a Gibson lyre vibrato , a Gibson Maestro vibrato and a Gibson sideways vibrato for all its solid body and hollow body guitars. All have there advantages and disadvantages. This is a question that is argued quite often because a person who likes bigsby usually do not like Gibson lyre vibratos and visa versa. It is the same as a Chevrolet verses Ford guy both feel they have the best and will argue it to the death . So i Will give you my opinion and I hope that helps.
When dealing with vintage guitar parts and vintage guitars in general many factors have to be taken in to consideration. First of all the type of guitar and the condition of that guitar . Then the condition of the vintage tremolo you want to use. Remember just because its old does not make it usable or great condition is everything and function ability.
For a hollow body guitar i would usually only recommend a bigsby . I know you have an Gibson SG but i have to mention in passing for the others reading this who have hollow or semi -hollow guitars. They usually set up quite well and function efficiently when installed correctly and set up correctly.
The solid body issue is widely debated. the least functional in my opinion is the sideways vibrato and the lyre vibrato. both have come installed on a variety of guitars from the factory over many years but for me they do not work well. there are very hard to keep in tune unless you have a real pro guy who constantly tweaks your guitar. So i would pass on these they look cool as hell but if you are a player pass.
The Gibson maestro vibrola is functional and works well and is easy to set up . This again is not my favoritete but for me is the only one Gibson made that kind of works. It has several variations and al are equally as good and should do the job. These can be fitted on any solid body guitar as well as your sg with no issues .
The bigsby, my favorite if I had to use one of the four. The design is near perfect and can be set up ti stay in tune and can be installed very easily. Again they come in many models just make sure you get the correct one. I feel this Will work the best for you. Unlike vintage guitar parts you can buy a new one cheaper and it will work. I still prefer the older worn look of a vintage bigsby.
I hope this helps a bit if you have any further questions please feel free to e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER and i will answer all e mails within 48 hours
Jim Pasch
Tags: gibson tremolos, gibson vibrolas, vintage gibson parts, vintage guitar parts, vintage guitar vibrolas