The Steel Guitar Forum

Got the camera out and had take a few quick shots of the Bigsby...Hope you enjoy!

Very nice and here's the other one.

Where did those pulleys come from? They look like the pulleys Dick Miller used to add two pedals on the Mike Young Bigsby for Terry Bethel.
Is the Maurice T8 Bigbsy still for sale in Oklahoma?

I have only seen one other Bigsby with the turned swirls on the necks other than your Maurice T-8 and "Fireball" an 8-10-8 I have.

Looks like the neck and keyhead were milled out of the same piece of aluminum. If so...Wow!

Chris,

I plan on keeping this one, unless someone out there really wants it. I love it, has a sound you just cant duplicate.

I believe Ray Montee's quad has the swirl necks too!?
Too cool Larry!!

Jussi, I thought so too -- that was the one other that i was referring to. But rereading I was not clear that I was already counting "Maurice T8" and "Fireball."

All three Bigsbys are from 1956, aren't they? I wonder if any other 1956 Bigsbys have engine turned swirls on the necks?

Good question, Chris

This one is indeed a 56..

Larry S....Thank you so much for posting the pictures of my first Bigsby guitar and for your recent call in which we discussed my Bigsby. I had the pleasure of visiting Paul Bigsby at 8114 East Phlox St.(if memory serves correct) at about the time he was ready to begin building it. He was a fine gentleman.

Looking at the pictures closely you will see that the distance between ftets 8 and 9 are "wider" than the distance between the lower frets 7 and 8, AND the distance between frets 13 and 14 are WIDER than the distance between the lower frets 12 and 13. I have often wondered why.

If anyone has a theory I would love to hear it.

Charles...Thank you for posting pictures of my single 10 Bigsby. When I first ordered it Paul Bigsby said the setup I wanted was not possible, however he later contacted me and said he had found a way to do it. I played this guitar extensively with Bob Wills.

Looking closely on the top in front of the neck (if you haven't seen it already) you will find Willie Nelson's signature where he laid a piece of paper on my guitar during one of our engagements and signed an autograph. The ball point pen went through the paper and into the finish.

Talk about bringing back great memories, thanks again to both of you..

Reece, good to hear from you. Willie's signature is still there. The guitar was a basket case when I got it and I had to do a complete rebuild of all of the mechanics. Since there was nothing to salvage, I took that as permission to do it the way I wanted it. I did leave the tuner bender, but it's not in use.

Chas, so she's basically a Bigsby/ 2hole & Barrel now ?
a fairly standard E9 co-pedent ?

Stan, somebody had hacksawed the Bigsby fingers and unsuccessfully tried to connect them to a Sho-Bud "birdcage" changer. Not a bad idea, because the birdcage is a particularly great sounding changer and since the "business end" of the changer is below the finger and axle and pillow blocks, the guitar would still have the Bigsby sound.

What I did was weld a tab on the bottom of each finger and an offset tab on the top of each changer to marry them. It had to be offset to clear the geometry under the neck.



The tuning is not E9, it's C6 and I played it with the Radio Ranch Straight Shooters (here, at the Gene Autry Museum), which was western swing from the 30s and 40s. I did tape over Maurice's name so that he wouldn't be blamed for my hacking around in the changes...

chas smith wrote:

Amazing work there !
One of the most impressive under carriages I've ever seen, including the ones from professional manufacturers.

Reese, did you do any recording sessions on your T8 ?
I have often wondered what you were playing in the 50's.
I love your recordings from the late 60's with the Case brothers.
Lee

Chas S......It's very meaningful for me to know my old Bigsby single 10 has found it's way to such a great and caring home. You have done an outstanding job both on top and on the bottom.

If you have time I would appreciate a private email from so we may someday have the opportunity to get together. I would like to meet you and reunite with my old 10 string friend.

Lee J.....Although I done some recordings with my triple 8 Bigsby, it's been too long to remember who or when. I can say with certainty I played that guitar while on the road with Tex Ritter, Sons Of The Pioneers, Jimmy Wakely, Smoky Rogers and others. I also used that guitar on what I understand to be the first nationwide weekly country TV show called the "Red Foley Show" which originated each Saturday night in Springfield Missouri.

I played an MSA single 12 on my recordings with the Case brothers. Kind of you to remember.

Speaking of Red Foley and the Ozark Jubilee.
Here is a copy of a letter I received from Red Foley.

As a Bigsby owner, a modest steel historian, a friend of Chas, Chris, Jussi, Maurice, and even Larry from decades ago, I find these threads to be most enjoyable. Keep on keepin' on, fellers!!

YES, my quad BIGSBY with six pedals, is a 1956 model.
YES, it DOES have the swirls on all four necks.

Some of you guys have amazing memories!

This stuff blows my mind.Thanks so much

Reece, thank you for your response, I just thought I would ask.
If you had recalled a certain session theres a few guys who may have been able to track it down.
I would have imagined your style at the time would have been along the lines of Vance Terry's, but of course unique.
Can you remember what tunings you employed, and do you have any pics from those days.
There are plenty of buffs who would be interested.
Lee

GREAT thread. Thanks y'all. There is so much music and mojo in these Bigsby guitars...just fantastic stuff.

Lee J....I'm always happy to respond to questions. I was of course familiar with, and an admirer of Vance Terry.

IF memory serves correct, these are the tunings I used on my triple 8 Bigsby.

Top neck:

G
E
C
A
F
D
Bb
G

Middle neck:

Ab
E
Db
B
Ab
E
Db
A

Bottom neck

Ab
E
Db
B
Ab
Gb
D
B

There's a picture of me in my written biography sitting behind my brand new Bigsby triple neck with Bigsby volume pedal, AND, sitting beside me, is my matching Standel amp. Sorry, but I'm not computer literate or I would place it on the forum.

Thank you for your interest and questions.

Reece Anderson wrote: IF memory serves correct, these are the tunings I used on my triple 8 Bigsby.

Top neck:

G
E
C
A
F
D
Bb
G

Middle neck:

Ab
E
Db
B
Ab
E
Db
A

Bottom neck

Ab
E
Db
B
Ab
Gb
D
B

Reece
Wow, thanks for posting those fascinating tunings, bro!!

The top neck looks like a series of stacked suspended 4th chords; e.g., a Gm9 sus, an FMaj9 sus, a C13, a C6 over a Gm7, a BbMaj9#11, etc. Enough ambiguity that almost anything might be played with that tuning! Incredible.

Middle neck looks to me like a high-third E13, or better still, an AMaj9 with the bottom string as the root.

Bottom neck looks like a standard E13 with a high third on top replacing the common low E on string 8.

Great stuff, no lie! Thanks again.

To add to what Herb said, the top neck is a gold mine, C6 A-7 F△9 D-7,9 Bb△9 G-7,9 C7,9,13 and stacked 4ths.
At one of the Conventions, many years ago, your set was a Master Class of passing chords. It was a great moment.