Bigsby / Wright Custom changers

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

I’d like to learn some more about the early steel guitar changers made by Bigsby or Wright. On my old pull-release guitar the finger was a simple bar with a pivot hole and a rounded over top that the string travelled on. On Bigsby’s or Wright’s the changer finger is almost shaped like a “W”. The Wright’s seemed to have many variations. Was there a reason they were shaped that way. If anyone has an exploded view of an old changer I’d love to see it. I’m trying to understand the mechanics of it all. Thanks in advance.

Dave Zirbel · From: Sebastopol, CA USA

Found this close up of a Wright on the forum

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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

thanks Dave!

Erik Alderink · From: Ann Arbor Michigan, USA

Here's a picture of a Bigsby finger with the lowering cam

Here's a picture of the underside of a Bigsby Changer:

I have some Clinesmith /Bigsby parts arriving soon, I will try to take more pictures if they help. I've only owned 1 Wright, and it was similar to the Bigsby Style from what I recall. My Blankenship has more modern (simple) style fingers, but uses a similar design for the lowers.

Judging PA's design intentions after the fact isn't exactly an easy endeavor, but if I had to guess the long finger design was used to enable the fingers to clear the endplates without much difficulty.

Steve Waltz · From: USA

The problem I see in the Bigsby design is there isn't much room for the finger to travel because it sits on the changer body and then is stopped by the upper bar which holds the stop screws. I'm talking about the right side of the kind of upside down L piece of the changer that is the pivot point. Even with the screws backed all of the way out you just don't get a lot of tone change with smaller strings. I think the smaller diameter that the string sits on also limits the amount of change. My pull release guitars with larger diameter have a larger range of tone change and my earlier sho bud with a smaller diameter has a little less tone change possible.

In most cases this isn't an issue. In my E9 tuning the C pedal is just about able to travel enough but probably needs a thicker string to make it perfect.

Also if you lower a string too much it starts to buzz on top of the finger because the end of the string is in the L piece and starts to get the string straight and not bend over the finger. Sho bud design attached the string 90 degrees down on the finger itself so that can't happen.

Not complaining, just pointing out design issues. It still sounds great so something is correct.

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