Bigsby Vol/Tone pedals

Eric Stumpf · From: Newbury, NH 03255

I've been down this street before so you would think I'd know better. Yeah, I bought another Bigsby pedal with the hope of getting some great "boo-wah"s out of my tone-control-deprived guitar. My first pedal was shot and I spent a lot of time and money trying to restore it but that never worked out despite new pots and capacitor. Sold it in disgust (and defeat) and lost my shirt. Now I have another....as clean and pretty as they come...even has the original cover plate on the bottom. The volume works well and the tone sweep is present but weak. I tried working the string placement on the shaft of the tone pot better in order to increase the travel and I was reminded of just how difficult it is to work on this part of the pedal. Still no "boo-wah". So, here's the big question: did these things ever really work well enough to get a hot tone swell like Speedy? (Yes, I know Speedy used the control on the guitar). Am I wasting my time trying to acheive an effect that this 10 pound chunk of gorgeous aluminum can't actually produce?

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

I had about the same result as you did with my Bigsby
vol/tone pedal, however I have an old Fender that
does have a fairly pronounced change from left to
right. I'm assuming the Bigsby could be made to do the same with the right control, wired properly.

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Amen Clyde, yes it can.

Garry Vanderlinde · From: CA

Bobbe, can you fill us in with the desired pot and cap values to get the optimum Boo-wah from a Bigsby? My Bigsby doesn't sound as good as the Fender V/T also. Sad

Thanks

Paul Warnik · From: Illinois,USA

The main problem with these was addressed by the Late Ted McCarty of Bigsby Accessories while still in Kalamazoo,MI-Ted had several on back orders that he could not fill-He had me wire up and string up about a dozen of them before he eventually sold out to Gretsch-Ted said "The music has changed and so has the electronic components that are available now" This is why it is difficult to get the right "sweep" of the pot to get the desired effect
Volume pot 250K OHM
Tone pot 100K
Tone cap .050 meg
I have a very old one that works fine for the "BOO-WHA"
I used it as a reference to work on the ones Ted needed to fill his orders
I don't think that they worked quite as well (with the new pots and caps that he could get) as my old original Bigsby pedal
Just confirms what Ted had said to me about the changes in what is available now Crying or Very sad

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

I have both, an original and one from Mccarthy ( possibly one that Paul W worked on ) they both function just right. I also agree with what Ted had said, good and properly valued pots are hard to find for these pedals. The value of the cap in relation to the value of the pot is they key.

Paul Warnik · From: Illinois,USA

Hi Jussi-When did you get the newer one?

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Paul, not sure anymore, around -97 or -98. Our singer works in a music store and they ordered it for me from Ted. I wasn't even expecting really getting it since I had heard about the troubles of assembling them. However the pedal arrived only a couple of months later and worked just fine, still does, though I've since replaced the vol pot on it. The original one is my main pedal though.

Paul Warnik · From: Illinois,USA

Jussi-Ok sounds like it may well have been one of the ones I worked on-I remember at the time Ted had previously delegated the volume/tone pedal assembly to the man who worked as his millwright-The guy did not do a very good job of soldering and could not get the hang of winding the cords (blamed on his being left-handed) Question

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Garry Vanderlinde · From: CA

Paul, audio or linear taper on the vol. and tone pots?

Lee Jeffriess · From: Vallejo California

Garry, Vol audio Tone linear.
I have a kind of Bigsby recipe in my Fender VT pedal.
100K linear on tone and, 500k audio Vol.
I have seen a couple of early large logo pedal's and, they had 1meg audio Vol also i have a diagram inside my Bigsby pedal which calls for 1meg and, a .1 cap.
I split the difference on the cap values between Fender .47 Bigsby .1 and, have a .70 it gives me the best doowah for my ear's.
I agree with Jussi the key to it is the 100k linear tone pot and, it was a good thing for me to play with cap values and, dial the pedal in to my guitar amp system.

Garry Vanderlinde · From: CA

Thanks Lee, I had pulled the 100k tone pot out thinking it cut the highs and put in a 500k audio like Jerry Byrd used and it just killed the Boo-Wah.
I'll put the 100k back in and hope it comes back to it's original sound.

Al Marcus · From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)

I knew Ted McCarty when he was Pres; of Gibson in Kalamazoo, MI. I lived in northern Mich.In 1945 when I got out of the army, he told me where I could get a used 1942 Electra-Harp, as they had stopped making them during the war and after.I bought it to get all those pedal chords.

Later when he took over Bigsby pedals, I bought a new volume/tone pedal from him. Must have been in the 70's. I had it for years, worked good. When I sold it , it was still just like new. Wish I would have kept it.Ted was a great guy. Bless his soul....al
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My Email.. almarcus@cmedic.net
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Paul Warnik · From: Illinois,USA

Al M-I was fortunate to be Ted's guest at his (Kalamazoo) Bigsby Accessories factory three times-this was during the course of my buying out all the remaining steel guitar stuff which started the "P.A. Re-Issue" project-He was a fine gentleman who knew more about guitars than probably anyone else in the world (who didn't actually PLAY one at all) Each time I was there we had lunch with his whole staff of factory workers (mostly women) in the building's kitchen area-Ted told me that during all the years of owning Bigsby he only had one local gentleman ever come there to get some steel guitar parts from Him-In his later years he was blind in one eye and had very little sight left in the other-still he ran his business from the shop floor not just his office-He told me that when one of his machines was not runnning right-he could HEAR it-He knew when a belt needed replacing and things like that-he would sometimes even do small piece work type assembly at his desk-I was proud to have an association with Him-He will always be an Icon among American Guitar Makers-after all the Gibson Les Paul was HIS DESIGN not Les Paul's (contrary to popular belief) and He designed other Gibson models (Flying V,Explorer,335-345-355 Series,and the Tune-O-Matic Bridge) He even showed me his patent grant papers for the stuff- Rest In Peace Ted

Keith Bolog · From: Wisconsin, USA

Not sure if this sheds any light on this very old topic, but paragraph 3 has some info that may make a difference, in a forehead slapping way. As a lay person who cant wrap my mind around electronics and all, Im just throwing it out there. If I get the chance to experiment with a period amp Ill report on the results. Feel free to explain further. (Written by P.A. Bigsby himself)

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Sustainability is unsustainable

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

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