changing strings on guitar w/Bigsby

[ac15]

Is there an "easy" way to change strings on a guitar that has a Bigsby tailpiece? I recently purchased my first guitaer that has a Bigsby and it seems to take forever to change strings, because the ball end keeps popping off the Bigsby post as the string is tightened. I suspect that guitar techs and other people who have been doing this awhile have an easier way to do this. Thanks.

Steve

[Steve Haynie]

Pre-bend the ball end of the strings with your fingers or a pair of needlenose pliers. Once you do that you will find that changing strings on a Bigsby is easy.

[ac15]

Thanks Steve. I did prebend it a bit with my hand but I probably didn't do it enough or at least not at the proper angle. I'll try that.

[shankyboy]

A royal pain in the butt, huh? Especially when you have all of the strings off.

[cmatthes]

I do the pre-bend thing too, but also found it easier to change one string at a time, whenever possible. Those units can be tricky, but with practice, I still think it's way easier than changing strings on a Floyd!

[SteveC]

+1 on the pre-bend technique.

I also occasionally use a Kyser capo to hold the ball on the peg for troublesome strings.

[teleman]

Prebend the string and use a bit of duct tape to hold it in place.

Works like a charm!!

[ac15]

Thanks to all of you guys for your replies. There's some real ingenuity exhibited by some of you guys (tape, capo). I actually thought of the tape idea and thought it sounded kind of silly but I guess people do it and it works. It seems from your replies that it's just one of those things that is a pain in the ass and you just deal with it the best you can. Thanks again.

Steve

[Monacosis]

ac,

Picked up this piece of advice from TGP, but have not tried yet: Jam one of those big rectanglish pink erasers in there to hold the string on the post whilst stringing.

Or you could do what I do: string it up with 12s and never change them.

mike