Bigsby install

I was just curious how hard installing a bigsby on a tele is, im between getting a tele or mustang and if i do a tele i plan on slapping a bigsby on it, i feel like i can do it since it wont require any solding, if anything tho ill have my local shop do it and give it a good set up

the tele has a lot of widely spaced holes to drill precisely for the whole bigsby unit with the special bridge. I've seen seasoned pros mess it up a little. It'll still function if you're only a smidge off though but it won't look right when you scrutinize it. My experience with a bigsby tele was pretty underwhelming. I thought it sapped a lot of the tele spank and I didn't do bearly as much vibrato-ing as I expected to. Its also a pain to get the enck shimmed right to compensate for the new strign angle the Bigsby demands. For some reason its magic on a Gretsch or the right Gibson model. If you want a flat top guitar with a bigby try modding a Jr/special or SG. they already have the neck pitch for it. Others may disagree though.

soldering is much easier than installing a bigsby perfectly on a flat-top... Archies aren't as hard since hinge over and really just require 4 precise measurements around the strap button. Harder to screw up. If you pay someone, find someone who does lots of flat top bigby installs all year round. He'll have great templates for a tele and it should come out just right. That said, promise your tele will NOT sound the same.

i was planning in if i paid for it taking it to guitar center for the install... jk if i did i would take it to chicago music exchange and have one of their pros do it if the lead time isnt too bad

i didnt realize how difficult an install is until i looked into it so ill definitly be having a pro do it if i do so there goes about 350 dollars if i do it. i trust cme tho since all their staff are full time pros and there shop in the basement does a ton of restoring and modding.

I would skip it. It'll actually devalue the guitar to most people. It will also change the tension of the guitar and drastically change the sound.