Bridge and Tremolo upgrades: Starla content

[rockinforJesus]

I own a 2014 S2 Starla. Absolutely love this guitar in its stock form, but I can never leave well enough alone. Hence the quest to ever improve that which is already great.
The bridge/tremolo parts are all imported parts which work pretty good, but I wanted to upgrade them to really make this guitar shine.
I replaced the bridge with a Schaller STM roller bridge. It was a perfect fit. I opted for Chrome, but the Nickel version probably would have matched the other components better. It is a high quality piece for sure - those Germans really know how to engineer things. Schaller Website Link
Next up, I replaced the front roller on the Bigsby with a Biggsfix roller. I bought the dual elevation one, but the original Biggsfix version would have worked just fine. Biggsfix Website Link
Next up, I added a Butchie Bar stringing attachment for the rear Bigsby roller. This piece allows for string-through rather than fitting the ball end of the strings onto those pesky roll pins. Butchie Bar Website Link
Lastly, I replaced the Bigsby spring with a Reverend Soft Touch Spring. Reverend Website Link
The end result… a Bigsby equipped guitar that stays in tune well. All money well spent in my opinion.

 

[rockinforJesus]

I also wanted to mention all these upgrades yielded a much nicer feel to the Bigsby - very smooth.
There seems to be more harmonic zing when playing the guitar unplugged.

 

[bodia]

Nice!

 

[veinbuster]

Looking mighty fine.

 

[rockinforJesus]

One of the nice things about the bridge is that it is fully adjustable including ability to align the strings with the pickup pole pieces. The brass saddles are a welcomed addition more in line with what PRS might put on their higher end guitars. The bridge frame is a nice platform for palm muting too.

 

[Russ73]

That looks fantastic OP! Almost Gothic looking...pure class...I have 5 S2s....great value and cool to make a few mods...

 

[László]

Looks like you did a great job installing everything, too. Sweet!

 

[rockinforJesus]

Got rid of the Schaller bridge and put the original TOM back on.
The Schaller bridge saddle design allowed the low E string to come right off the saddle. Swapped the bridge around and the same happened to the high E.

 

[Gtrbldr]

Old thread, but I have a question. My starla will be featuring in church tomorrow. However, I have been hestitant to do so lately: tuning stability is not what I would like. The magical sound does not weigh against the reliability. From the upgrades; which one helped most with tuning stability?

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I’ve done the Callaham upgrades to my old Starla and old SE Custom Ltd. Both helped quite a bit. I did the roller bridge on the SE as well.

 

[Longneck Tenon]

This looks awesome but got me thinking. Has PRS ever offered a Bigsby option and why not?

 

[Gtrbldr]

And the bigsfixx? Does that help? The bridge of my starla is of the rocking variety and I have narrowed down the issue to that part of the guitar. You could? solve that with a roller bridge, but responses have been mixed so far. The other option regarding break angle tension sounds interesting and was used by rfj on his starla.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

Ok, I want one now. Nice looking axe sir.

 

[rockinforJesus]

Old thread, but I have a question. My starla will be featuring in church tomorrow. However, I have been hestitant to do so lately: tuning stability is not what I would like. The magical sound does not weigh against the reliability. From the upgrades; which one helped most with tuning stability?

Adding the Biggsfix makes the string break over angle less steep. I think that is where the tuning instability came from. I use .010 strings which I am guessing is what this guitar was made with.
Tuning stability on Bigsby equipped guitars is often the result of proper maintenance and a properly cut nut. When I do string changes I add pencil lead to the string slots on the bridge and nut so there is no string binding.
Also adding the Reverend soft spring to the Bigsby made the tremolo work much smoother.
So in short, Biggsfix + Reverend spring + .010” strings + lubricate string slots yields tuning stability. I can push the tremolo arm all the way to the body and it comes right back in tune.

 

[rockinforJesus]

I’ve done the Callaham upgrades to my old Starla and old SE Custom Ltd. Both helped quite a bit. I did the roller bridge on the SE as well.

Curious… what roller bridge is that?
Did the bridge improve playability and tone?

 

[Gtrbldr]

Adding the Biggsfix makes the string break over angle less steep. I think that is where the tuning instability came from. I use .010 strings which I am guessing is what this guitar was made with.
Tuning stability on Bigsby equipped guitars is often the result of proper maintenance and a properly cut nut. When I do string changes I add pencil lead to the string slots on the bridge and nut so there is no string binding.
Also adding the Reverend soft spring to the Bigsby made the tremolo work much smoother.
So in short, Biggsfix + Reverend spring + .010” strings + lubricate string slots yields tuning stability. I can push the tremolo arm all the way to the body and it comes right back in tune.

Thank you! Lots of the maintenance you mention I do as well. I guess the bigsfixx might help me be able to use the guitar more regularly without hestitation

 

[rockinforJesus]

Thank you! Lots of the maintenance you mention I do as well. I guess the bigsfixx might help me be able to use the guitar more regularly without hestitation

It is a relatively easy modification that would be easy to reverse if you don’t like it. The Reverend spring is also very worthwhile.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Curious… what roller bridge is that?
Did the bridge improve playability and tone?

It was a tonepros roller bridge. It definitely helped especially with binding on wound strings.

 

[Gtrbldr]

It was a tonepros roller bridge. It definitely helped especially with binding on wound strings.

How would a locking tonepros bridge work? Any recommendations? One of the issues is that the bridge is moving and I guess if it stops moving, that would help as well.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I’m sure it would help, usually locking tends to help with tuning stability. I found the roller to be quite helpful with the Bigsby. I think mine locked onto the posts