A Telecaster without a Bigsby, is like a roast beef dinner without a roast beef dinner.

Excellent job and excellent video!

I just purchased a squier paranormal nashville that I'd like to do this to. Thanks for the video.

I love you for uploading this. Totally doing this to my frankentele.

been planning to do this for a while for fun, thanks for the vid!

Very good simple video, just the facts 👍

Wow, great channel! You have some way cool tools! These in-depth videos are awesome! Maybe a little more playing and demo at the end. Thx!👍

About to do the same, thanks for the lesson

Thanks, very Inspiring and surprisingly calming

Thanks for the instructions. Never done anything like this before but I got an old Tele that I never use.

Every time I play my tele I always reach out and try to grab the tremolo, but nothings there 😂 I was tempting on tossing on a Floyd rose, since I had an extra, but I’m going this route. Thanks for the video!

im so glad i found ur channel im installing a flat bigsby on my semi acoustic and bow theres things u have show me that i must do to make sure it perfect i commend u on ur perfection ur guitar looks beautiful. i hope mine works out as well i will be watching this again when putting it on my guitar thank u rob from Coventry u have a new subscriber you deserve it for aure thanks u so much again i will update u when im done if u get my message.

On the positioning the Bigsby step, I would have used the same method you used for positioning the bridge. Leaving the 1st and 6th strings on, I would have added the 5th and 2nd strings through the Bigsby and then through the bridge to make make sure they both line up correctly.

Great work. Bigsby's are awesome.

Another great video. I have a kit guitar that I'll try applying this video to. Thanks Steve

My Squier Affinity Telecaster is set up exactly like this one , except that I didn't install the arcade style kill switch and mine has fender locking tuners installed. One thing about these aftermarket Bigsby style tremolo setups is that the nut and washer tend to tighten themselves up to where you can't turn the arm. I think that some "thread lock" might be the way to go when doing this type of mod. Great job! I sort of messed mine up doing this😅, but I got it straightened out.

You gained a subscriber! I used this video to help me when i put the trem system on my hollowbody Gretsch, i'm watchin this now to help me with my telecaster project, i built the tele with a kit. Now i am gettin the project done sometime in a few days, thanks for this video

Great video, plan on doing this with my Partscaster, got it off E Bay here in the UK but was ripped off as the neck was useless, had a back bow and the truss rod nut was rounded off, got a new replacement neck (roasted maple), Wilkinson tuners, bone nut, brass compensating saddles, guitar already had a Wilkinson pickup in the bridge and a five way Strat switch, pretty sure the body is Squire as it's 40mm thick, Butterscotch and slightly relic'd, it now plays superb and is currently my favorite guitar. Was looking at a licensed Bigsby B5 kit, can only find them in the US (i'm over in Scotland), shipping and import tax is the killer. Will get one though.

Good job

I did this exact same mod to my 2018 Jazzmaster Affinity. I bought a dremel, a Wilkinson half tele bridge and a cheap Bigsby knockoff (I recently bought a locking nut because the arm would just loose very quickly), it initially had a strat-style 6 saddle hardtail bridge.

Nice work. I'm thinking about doing this to a squier affinity telecaster.

Awesome work. I want to buy a knockoff bigsby for my Mexican telecaster I converted to an Esquire. Was curious about the tray. Seeing you grind solved that. Thanks.

I think that most guitars aren't finished without a tremelo arm. But I'm not sure about Teles. It's a stick and a slab of wood. It's yer bog standard model. No air con, no power steering, no servo, only available in beige. Basic. So that means no extras like tremelo arms.

Great video! I also have a butterscotch Telecaster and I have been thinking of adding a trem. I love my tele but I don't play it as often as I like and that's only because it has no tremolo. I was looking at perhaps adding a Vega-Trem, which is great because it requires few, if any, mods at all. However, I really love the classic look of a Bigsby, so I am a bit torn - plus the Vega-Trem is way more expensive than a Bigsby. ...Also, maybe I missed it, but I don't think you mentioned exactly why you couldn't hang to the old bridge. If I went wit a Bigsby, instead of the Vega-Trem, it would be nice to just drill out the holes and slap it on with as few modifications as possible. I'm in no rush and I suppose that I will figure it out at some point. Either way, great video, so I will go ahead and sub! By the way, there are these bridge extension plates, I forget what they're called exactly, but they go from the end of the bridge and cover the old drill holes nicely; I have seen them on eBay. It looks like it is part of he bridge. You might have to drill out a couple of holes, but some of these plates come already pre-drilled. Hope that info helps!

That Dremal sounds like I'm at my Dentist Office!! Excellent work on installation!!

I love the look of these on a Tele and I’ll be doing the same on my Artist Tele shortly. Is there any reason you had to change the bridge? My guitar came stock with humbuckers so my bridge is different to the standard Tele. Add to that I’m a lefty, so I’ve bought a Chinese copy and I’ll pull it down and rework it so it suits a lefty. Fun. I guarantee I’ll never use it either lol. I like the kill switch you did too, nice bit of extra chrome!

I think this will be one of my first tele mods. Thanks!

New subscriber in Maine here. I tend toward Fender/Squier guitars and basses for my projects rather than Gibson/Epiphone stuff. I think Leo's designs are just easier for the do-it-yourselfer. I was wondering if you have a preference and why? Love your channel! Thanks.

great video! am hoping to do this on a harley benton te62... kind of a project guitar too though i hope to keep it looking pristine. not quite sure why you changed the bridge AND the plate. can understand why you would different saddles but what's wrong with the plate??? I have a standard ashtray plate with a 3-saddle bridge. would that work? (assuming i use a dremel to route the strings in)

Le quedó bien, la verdad no arruinó nada del diceño, bien trabajo y gracias por darme la idea para hacer eso 👍

Need a little more of the playing demo 😢

I'd want to install this but my affinity tele is already really heavy itself lol. I l'd probably want to make contours before installing that.

While I like the look of the vintage notched 3 saddle much better than the modern 6 saddle, you can do this conversion without changing the bridge. You can buy replacement saddles that have a pass-thru screw on them and a roller saddle that allows the string to go through. They're sometimes used for a B-Bender set up using a modern style bridge.

Hey great video. I’m doing the same modification to a tele of my own. I’m hoping to add a kill switch in the same spot as yours. Do you think you could do a video where you show how you wired it up?

Hi Steve, looks like a fun project! What kind of Dremel and Apex are you using it look like it was powered by air.

Hi there, I love this video Thanks a lot! I am wondering how I would install a bigsby on a Squier Affinity tele with the humbuckers?

Ottimo lavoro! Complimenti! Sto effettuando il tuo stesso lavoro. Vorrei sapere la distanza, in cm, che devo posizionare la faccia esterna del ponte dal tremolo. Grazie

I did the same mods to my Squier Affinity Telecaster about a year and a half ago and it's still an ongoing project. I just put the original bridge plate screws back in. They sort of help with the tone🤡🤪🤡. Naw , I just put them back in to keep the holes filled in, but they do sort of give me a reference point for whenever I remove the bridge plate for any reason. Btw, I used a hacksaw and a couple of cheap minifile sets ,(two of the files snapped in half lol!) ,to cut and grind my bridge plate. Do you have any videos showing the other mods that you have done to your Tele?

I’m not sure if I missed it if you mentioned it… What kind of ashtray bridge is that?

Must use a roller Bridge for better tuner and tremolo effects … 💕

This is the exact set up I have to use on a Meteora tele build I’m doing. Does it work well after having it for a while? Any issues with the strings grinding the saddles? Thanks for all the info

I have a schecter Dimond series Pete dee signature telecaster with a bigsby

I just bought an Affinity Tele and have replaced the pups with Fender Tex Mex pickups and added a Wilkinson plate with brass saddles. It sounds and plays fantastic and was thinking of this mod, but I dont want to ruin a fine playing guitar if it not a quality mod. Question: Is that the Dopro Bigsby knockoff? How is tuning stability? I prefer to play with 9-42 strings due to my bending style and 10s are too heavy for me.

Great video! I started searching for Tele bridge replacement because I just can't cope with the ashtray bridge I have on a otherwise great guitar. Will a Bigsby work with any top loading bridge?

I just wish we could get Fender to sell Teles with the old school internal B-Bender. Hip Shot...just not the same. With Fender owning Bigsby, its also weird that they dont offer it on more of their product lines and even weirder to get a Fender made Gretsch with a licenced Bigsby instead of an original. Seems like they are leaving money on the table for sure by omitting this bit of kit on the 400 dollar-ish Squires at least once in a while.

Great vid! can it work without grinding the string holes ok the bridge? 🙃

This video inspired me to install a B50 on my Tele, thanks. Did you find that you could get correct string alignment without notching those saddles? For me the strings are way off the pole pieces as the B50 has a much narrower string width than a Tele. Im hoping switching in some notched Gotoh saddles will do the job

I want to do that on my telecaster too, does it keep well in tune with that wilkinson saddles? I've got the very same ones but i thought it would be better to mount a roller bridge somehow to get the strings run smoother to avoid intonation issues. What brand of tremolo is that one and where did you get it from? Thanks mate.

What’s the potential purpose of the video game button? Will it be used as a single coil/humbucker switch?

Hi. Is it necessary to change the neck angle when you add a bigsby ? Does this bridge plate does the job ?

I really want to do this on my harley benton tele

Soo, I've got a tele with the extended bridge plate. Soo I've got it for a drop tune guitar. Why did you change the bridge? I've been wanting to do this to mine but I need it to retain the extended bridge. Would it work?

What are those shims used to check the gap between the fret and the string? What are they called? Where can I buy em?

Got a 72' re-issue deluxe. Is there a specific model bigsby? I have 2 chrome humbuckers on it though. That's why I question. Is it the same model bigsby as your using. I don't need the pick up plate so...just ignorant and curious.

Sad to see the decline of the "Squier by Fender" brand. I really like Squier AND Fender string-through-body hardtails - and especially with the new saddles - because of their versatility. Here again we see the "cheap" "simplified" string-through-bridge manure! 🤔 A bit of historic top-level Bigsby construction. At the end of the 60s, the construction did not have a cylindrical string barrel, but 6/7 stepped ones with different radii - each string has its own depending on thickness and tensile strength. At that time, more attention was paid to the smooth alteration of a full-sounding chord. One mistake was revealed quite quickly - the accuracy of staying in tune depends largely from the strings caliber...

Does the tele stay in tune with the bigsby? Thinking of doing the same with my squire tele baritone.

You sound like my math teacher.

So how do you adjust saddle position since you can’t fit a screwdriver in there? I’m installing my second one tomorrow, and I heard they sell screws which are slotted on both ends.

What Do You Mean By "Arcade" Switch..? What does it replace.How does It work..?

If you tighten those trem screws all the way you will probably have problems getting it to return to 0. That’s what the felt is for.

does this bigsby fit on vibramates for bigsbys?

What parts did you get for this? I've seen the official bigsby kits go for $200, and I'd rather save a few dollars.

Nice. Can you let me know the brand of your capo?

Why not using roller bridge?

I have Special Telecaster made in USA. What type of Bigsby i need?

Just own two telecasters one with one without

How much did this mod cost

why couldn't you just run the strings through the holes in the original bridge ? would they snap ? ...just thinkin.

8:43 what exactly is he doing here?

Yikes… maybe you could add Gibson self-tuning tuning machines and a Floyd Rose bridge too.

4/64ths. Or 1/16th for the rest of us.

Duesenberg tremolo is so superior to anything from Bigsby. Not only improved vintage looks, but improved modern functionality. I'm not talking about the little "les trem" I have no experience with that one

Better have one tele with and one without a bigsby.

Reverse the control plate,

I can't live without vibrato. My SG has a Maestro, Mastery on my Jazzmaster, and a B5 on my Tele. It is, however, just that...a vibrato. It is not a tremolo. Tremolo varies volume. Vibrato varies pitch.

Not a good modification in my opinion. Why would anyone want to disfigure a tele by putting a look alike Bigsby vibrato on it. Too many changes even if the client wants a vibrato fitted. I also don't like the strings passing over the top of the bridge like it is here. Check out Cort's Sunset Junior and the roller bridge it uses. So much better

Bridge cut, coating gone, welcome rust.

Manotick StringWorks...In fact, that is not a ''Bigsby vibrato/tremolo''...It is just a cheap Chinese copy of a Bigsby with cheap white plastic bushings that will cause havoc with tuning in the long run...It is not made by or sold by Bigsby...Even the LICENCED BIGSBY B50 made in Korea have the cheap plastic bushings that cause issues...The LICENCED BIGSBYs are not made by Bigsby but the company the makes them in Korea pays a licencing fee to Bigsby to use the bigsby name and design... Only the USA made Bigsbys have all metal bushings and bearings and are made by Bigsby... just saying...

Nice video. Why do yo keep bouncing back and forth calling it a tremolo and a vibrato which are two completely different things? A Bigsby is a vibrato system nothing more.

Scheiß Werbung

Bigsby alters the tone. In my opinion it makes it worse. But that's just my opinion. Sorry. That's why you don't see many. If they were made for each other you would. Lot of people agree. Then a lot of people say the wood doesn't matter either

All you did was RUINED thar squier affinity tele man. "congrats"

No, never, ever.

Awful work

No

No, that thing looks hideous, only gretsch should have a bigsby cause both look tacky af, they match each other.

NO, Bigby's are not accurate, but it's an afinity squier so no one cares, finity's are junk, that Bigby is worth more than the guitar