Bigsby B5 Vibrato Tailpiece Polished Aluminium

Firm Bigsby Control for Flat Top Solid Body Guitars

The Bigsby B5 Vibrato Tailpiece in Polished Aluminium is designed for flat top solid body guitars, giving players smooth, expressive pitch movement from a compact top-mounted unit. Sometimes referred to as the Bigsby “horseshoe”, the B5 includes a tension bar to increase the break angle over the bridge, helping create a firmer string path across flatter guitar bodies.

That firmer break angle suits subtle vibrato on held chords, gentle shimmer on open voicings and controlled pitch movement during melodic phrases. The B5 is common on many styles of guitars, including Gibson SG, Les Paul Special, Rickenbacker 325 and Fender Telecaster models.

USA precision made low-friction needle bearings help the string mounting bar return accurately to pitch. The B5 uses a cast aluminium frame with a stainless steel handle, and mounting hardware is included, with spring, washer, screws and felt pads supplied. It mounts with four supplied screws that attach to the guitar top.

At Riffs & Licks Music, we think this tailpiece is best suited to players, repairers and luthiers fitting Bigsby vibrato to flat top solid body guitars, with the tension bar and low-friction bearings giving controlled movement for clean chords, sustained notes and expressive lead phrasing.