My white ja-15 - adding a bigsby

[Lheadri2]

I bought this ja-15 on a whim a few years (probably 2018) ago and I’m really glad I did! Didn’t realize at the time that they were no longer being made. Now they seem super rare. The guitar is super comfortable and light! And once you get used to the hollowbody sizzle it sort of grabs a hold of your attention. The only thing I miss when I use the guitar is a whammy for vibrato. So I did some research and found a bigsby and vibramate setup that will be completely reversible (no drilling). Interested to see how the bigsby vibrato feels compared to the standard prs tremolos. I’m not much of a dive bomber so I think it will be fine! Here’s a before picture! Will update when I get it on. anybody done this before?

https://ibb.co/zZkR1DD
I can’t ever get photos to load. When I paste the url I get an error. The only thing that works is to post a link . any tips on that ? Thanks

 

[shinksma]

Your image is hosted on ibb.co. From a quick search I found this statement:

"ibb.co isn't malicious itself, and not all files are malicious, but it's a common website used to share malicious files"

So it is probably Blacklisted by the forum for image sharing.

Unless you aren't trying to post a direct link to the image itself - you can't post a "page" (which is what your link above is), it must be to a file ending in .jpg, .bmp, .gif, etc.

I won't click your link for the reason stated in my second line. Just in case something has infected/affected that link.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I clicked the link because I’m an adventurer.

That’s a hot looking guitar right there.

 

[bodia]

Love that guitar!

 

[veinbuster]

Inline

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

You could Try the Vibramate option which is reversible. Not sure I’d want to drill into that beauty.

 

[theDeepender]

I bought this ja-15 on a whim a few years (probably 2018) ago and I’m really glad I did! Didn’t realize at the time that they were no longer being made. Now they seem super rare. The guitar is super comfortable and light! And once you get used to the hollowbody sizzle it sort of grabs a hold of your attention. The only thing I miss when I use the guitar is a whammy for vibrato. So I did some research and found a bigsby and vibramate setup that will be completely reversible (no drilling). Interested to see how the bigsby vibrato feels compared to the standard prs tremolos. I’m not much of a dive bomber so I think it will be fine! Here’s a before picture! Will update when I get it on. anybody done this before?

https://ibb.co/zZkR1DD
I can’t ever get photos to load. When I paste the url I get an error. The only thing that works is to post a link . any tips on that ? Thanks

That pushes my buttons making me want another hollow body. So nice.

 

[Lheadri2]

Your image is hosted on ibb.co. From a quick search I found this statement:

"ibb.co isn't malicious itself, and not all files are malicious, but it's a common website used to share malicious files"

So it is probably Blacklisted by the forum for image sharing.

Unless you aren't trying to post a direct link to the image itself - you can't post a "page" (which is what your link above is), it must be to a file ending in .jpg, .bmp, .gif, etc.

I won't click your link for the reason stated in my second line. Just in case something has infected/affected that link.

Thanks for info, when I make post from my phone and hit the “photo” button it takes me to a place to type in a link instead of going to my photo library on my phone. I Don’t see a camera Icon anywhere . Usually I can figure these things out !

 

[Lheadri2]

You could Try the Vibramate option which is reversible. Not sure I’d want to drill into that beauty.

That’s exactly the plan! Got both ordered

 

[RJK Tech]

in my limited experience bixbys are clunky. Hopefully you like it.

 

[SinSir]

I can't say for a hollowbody, but I used the vibramate on my Les Paul with good success. I'm happy with the outcome. I also looked at this:

TOWNER Guitar Parts

Unique Guitar Products by TOWNER

townerusa.com

 

[Lheadri2]

That pushes my buttons making me want another hollow body. So nice.

Never understood why they dc’d the model. I have a semi hollow core gold top and it doesn’t come close to the feel of the ja-15. I’ve never played a hollowbody I or II though . Not sure if they have the same feel and sound as a ja or not . There’s a white single cut hollowbody ii on reverb that looks good .

PRS Singlecut Hollowbody II | Reverb

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

 

[shinksma]

Never understood why they dc’d the model.

Because, as Paul says - we stop making them when you stop buying them.

PRS was not (is not) known for making too many different body styles, so this hit the market and many people said "eh, I'd rather get a recognizable G model for that price".

Too bad, because I have one, and love it! (Mine needs a restringing, the flatwounds on it are dead!)

 

[Lheadri2]

Got ya, figured it would be sales related . Let me rephrase. I can’t figure out why these didn’t sell! When I’ve heard nothing but good things . I have the Dave grohl gibson signature hollowbody and the ja-15 just feels so much better. Always thought a piezo version of the ja15 would have made a lot of sense too. I guess they could always bring it back? I’m sure the patterns and forms are still laying around !

 

[DISTORT6]

Inline

That is one big sexy beast.

 

[VHTStark]

Got ya, figured it would be sales related . Let me rephrase. I can’t figure out why these didn’t sell! When I’ve heard nothing but good things . I have the Dave grohl gibson signature hollowbody and the ja-15 just feels so much better. Always thought a piezo version of the ja15 would have made a lot of sense too. I guess they could always bring it back? I’m sure the patterns and forms are still laying around !

I absolutely LOVE my JA-15....lifer guitar that has so much clarity and resonance and kills whether you play clean or rock out.

That said....not sure if the discontinuation was soley due to sales. See excerpt from an email from my dealer when I picked up my JA-15 in 2021:

"yes I did and its awesome. Of the three of us in the shop we like it the best out of all the great consignments we just had come in.

The only reason PRS stopped making those is they had a hard time getting the big spruce tops. I think you'll love it."

 

[Lheadri2]

I absolutely LOVE my JA-15....lifer guitar that has so much clarity and resonance and kills whether you play clean or rock out.

That said....not sure if the discontinuation was soley due to sales. See excerpt from an email from my dealer when I picked up my JA-15 in 2021:

"yes I did and its awesome. Of the three of us in the shop we like it the best out of all the great consignments we just had come in.

The only reason PRS stopped making those is they had a hard time getting the big spruce tops. I think you'll love it."

Interesting ! Assumed it had regular prs pickups. Like 58/15’s or something

 

[VHTStark]

Interesting ! Assumed it had regular prs pickups. Like 58/15’s or something

Oh they did come with PRS pickups. Mine has 53/10's. I think some later models came with 57/08's.

 

[Lheadri2]

Finally got it done. I didn’t want to drill any holes, so a vibramate was a must. The problem is I don’t think vibramate makes one to fit the prs ja-15 2 post bridge . Using the chart on vibramates website, I ordered both models they said would fit and neither did. So I thought about it for a while and decided to take it to a friend who runs a machine shop. He Modified the vibramate to work for me. You can barely tell it was modified. Long story short I needed the holes to be 3 in on center and the vibramate came with the holes 3 1/4 in on center. So both holes needed to come in 1/8 in. I thought about having him slot the holes but I thought it may be better and stronger to completely fill them in and re-drill. I think he used a tig welder to fill in the old holes , filed it down , then redrilled the holes including a taper to conceal the screw heads. Got a chance to install it today and both tuning and sustain feel great. I’m happy! Always wanted a hollow guitar with tremolo/vibrato . My only concern is I hope the guitar fits in its case!

https://ibb.co/k1zyZYD

https://ibb.co/TY1VqB1

https://ibb.co/59sPcw3

 

[veinbuster]

Well done. It looks like it belongs there.