How Do You Restring a Bigsby Without Losing Your Mind?

Here's the whole fight in one sentence: on a Bigsby, the ball end of the string loops over a little pin instead of dropping into a slot, and it falls right back off the second the string goes slack. That's the entire reason a Bigsby restring has a reputation for turning grown adults into cursing wrecks. Beat that one problem — keep tension on the ball until the string is up to pitch — and the rest is a normal string change. On the bench, once you've got the rhythm, a Bigsby takes me maybe two minutes longer than a hardtail, not twenty.

Short version: crimp the string near the ball, loop it over the pin, hold the ball with a foam wedge (or a clothespin, or your thumb) while you wind up to pitch, then pull the wedge — one string at a time. Here's why it works and where people go wrong.

Why a Bigsby fights you: the pin

Most tailpieces hold the string with a slot or a through-hole, so string tension pulls the ball into the anchor and it basically can't fall out. A Bigsby is the opposite. Strings anchor to a round axle (the bar the arm swings), and each ball end hooks over a small pin on that axle. Tight, it's held against the pin and fine. But during a string change there's a slack window where gravity works against you — the ball hops off and the string slithers out. Feed in the next one, the tailpiece rocks, and the string you just seated falls off. That's the loop of despair.

The method that actually works

This is more or less the way Bigsby themselves tell you to do it, and it's what I do on the bench. Work one string at a time — never take all six off at once — so the tailpiece stays roughly in place and the neck keeps most of its tension.

1. Crimp the string. An inch or so up from the ball end, put a firm bend in the string — roughly 45 degrees. This is the single biggest trick nobody tells you. That bend gives the string a natural angle down to the pin so the ball wants to sit hooked instead of sliding straight off.
2. Loop it onto the pin. Feed the string under, around, and over the axle so the ball drops onto its pin. Keep a little tension on the string with one hand the whole time — the moment you let go, it's gone.
3. Hold the ball in place. This is where a wedge earns its keep. Push a scrap of foam (a chunk cut off an old case-liner or a makeup wedge works) into the gap under the axle so it presses the ball against the pin. Now you've got both hands free.
4. Route it over the bridge and wind. Bring the string over the bridge saddle, through the tuner post, and wind it on like any other string — leaving two or three wraps.
5. Tune to pitch, then remove the wedge. Once the string is at tension, the ball is locked against the pin on its own and the foam has done its job. Pull it out and move to the next string.

The cheap tricks that make it painless

You don't need a special tool, but a few things help. A foam wedge is the classic; a wooden clothespin clipped over the axle does the same job and I keep a couple in the bench drawer. Some players park a capo behind the nut to hold everything steady while they fuss with the tailpiece — not strictly necessary, but it takes a hand out of the equation. And I'll say it again because it's the one people skip: crimp the string. Nine out of ten "my string won't stay on the pin" problems are just a string that went on dead straight.

Which Bigsby is even on your guitar?

There isn't one Bigsby — there's a family, and knowing which one you've got explains how yours feels and why the break angle over the bridge is what it is. The stringing method is identical on all of them (the ball always loops over the pin), but the tailpiece shape changes the feel.

The B5 is the flat-mount, horseshoe-shaped one that bolts straight to a flat top — Telecasters and SGs. Sitting low with no long tailpiece, its break angle over the bridge can be shallow, which is why B5 guitars sometimes want a down-tension aid to keep the strings seated firmly on the saddles. The B7 is the long tailpiece with a roller tension bar, made for arched tops like a Gibson ES-335 or a Bigsby-equipped Les Paul; that bar presses the strings down for a steeper, firmer break angle. The B6 and B3 are long tailpieces without the tension bar — deeper jazz boxes and a lot of Gretsches — and feel a touch softer under the hand because there's less downward pressure. None is "better"; it's about matching the guitar's top and the feel you want.

If you truly hate the pin, there's a bolt-on fix

If the loop-over-the-pin routine just isn't for you, the Vibramate String Spoiler is a little bracket that slips over the Bigsby's pins and is held in place by string tension — no drilling, no tools. It effectively converts the anchor into a top-load slot so you drop the ball into a channel instead of hooking it over the pin. Honest take from the bench: it makes string changes genuinely easier and it's a fair buy if restringing is your sticking point. What it won't do is transform tuning stability — some swear by it, others feel no difference. Buy it to make restringing easier, not as a tuning miracle.

"But do Bigsbys even stay in tune?"

Fair question, and it's the one that scares people off. In my experience the Bigsby itself is rarely the villain. The travel is shallow, so it's not yanking your strings the way a Floyd does. When a Bigsby guitar won't come back to pitch, the culprit is almost always friction — the string binding in a tight or dry nut slot, or hanging up on the bridge saddles. Sort those out (a properly cut, lubricated nut and a bridge that lets the strings glide) and a Bigsby will hold tune far better than its reputation suggests. I dig into that more in Do Bigsbys Actually Stay in Tune? and, for the general version of the problem, Why Won't My Guitar Stay in Tune? (It's Usually the Nut, Not the Tuners).

The mistakes I see most

Three things trip people up. First, not crimping the string — the big one. Second, cutting the string too short: the anchor sits farther back than a stopbar, so give yourself a bit more length. Third, taking all six strings off at once — an empty tailpiece flops around and fights you on every string, so leave the others on and work one at a time. And don't force the arm to hold the tailpiece still; you'll bend something. Use a wedge.

FAQ

Do I need special tools to restring a Bigsby?

No. A string winder and cutters like any restring, plus something to hold the ball on the pin while you wind — a foam wedge or a clothespin. That's it. If you want a full setup kit, I break that down in What Tools Do You Actually Need to Set Up Your Own Guitar?

Why does my string keep slipping off the pin?

Two reasons, almost always: the string wasn't crimped near the ball so it sits dead straight and rolls off, and there was nothing holding the ball while it was slack. Put a 45-degree bend near the ball and wedge it in place until you're at pitch.

Does a Bigsby make a guitar go out of tune?

Less than people think. The Bigsby's short throw is gentle; tuning trouble on these guitars usually traces back to a binding nut or bridge, not the vibrato. Fix the friction points first — see the tuning articles linked above.

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A lot of the semi-hollows and vintage-style guitars that come through the shop wear a Bigsby, and they're a joy once you stop fearing the restring. If you're in the market, our current guitars in stock get a proper setup on the bench before they ship — Bigsby and all.