Adding Lyre Vibrola to SG

Gahr

Gahr

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So, I have pretty much decided I want to add a Lyre vibrato to my Gibson SG Special Faded. Why, you might ask? Well, because I can. It looks super nice and I don't have any vibrato equipped guitars. And a man needs something to tinker with, right?

I haven't bought it yet, and I'll most likely wait until after Christmas, but I know myself well enough to realize the urge won't go away until I've satisfied my hunger. I thought of just adding a Derek Trucks style lyre cover, but since I "need" a guitar with a vibrato, I'll add a working one.

Now, the question is this: Are there any special issues I need to be aware of when adding a Maestro? Any tips and tricks from the good people of TTR?
 
ive come to think the Lyre Vibrola might function better than a Bigsby.now i like the looks of Bigsbys and have installed a few myself but the Lyre is a good looking simple design.just make sure ya line it up good is about all i can offer.plus ya know pics or it didnt happen
 
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I have both a Bigsby and a Maestro on my SGs. I agree with JohnnyGoo.

The thing that may catch your attention is just how shallow the break angle is over the bridge with a Maestro. Don't worry, though. It's fine.

I prefer the Maestro's low profile and quick response over the Bigsby. It only takes a very slight touch to get a nice shimmer.

@Alex_SG put one on his Epiphone G-400. Maybe he has some tips for installation.
 
This is something I have given much thought to also. I have an original 60's Lyre tailpiece and have considered putting it on my 2016 SG. Of course I would have to deal with the holes from the stop tailpiece unless I do it Derek Trucks style. I have also considered making a vibraplate for it like you can get for the Bigsbys. At the moment though I just have it in a parts box with enough other assorted hardware to build 2-3 more guitars.
 
ChasFred said:
I have also considered making a vibraplate for it like you can get for the Bigsbys. At the moment though I just have it in a parts box with enough other assorted hardware to build 2-3 more guitars.
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I thought of that, too, at one point. But, I don't know how practical it would be.

See the picture below of my SG Original 2 with the Maestro. Notice how shallow the break angle is across the bridge. Even a modestly thick adaptor plate would put the string anchor either dead-even with, or possibly higher than, the bridge saddles.

full
 
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smitty_p said:
I thought of that, too, at one point. But, I don't know how practical it would be.

See the picture below of my SG Original 2 with the Maestro. Notice how shallow the break angle is across the bridge. Even a modestly thick adaptor plate would put the string anchor either dead-even with, or possibly higher than, the bridge saddles.

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I see, point taken. Thanks.
 
I may follow along and do this myself! Patiently waiting your instructions and results...please photo document for us followers...and make a thread!
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As smitty said, I did this mod to my g400 a few years ago, and apart from minor cosmetic issues, I am definitely happy with the result.
The only suggestion I can really make, and I can't stress this enough, is to measure and trial fit the hardware before drilling any holes.
Mine turned out really good. Here's a close up pic.

image.jpeg

As you can see, there is a minor cosmetic issue to the left of the plate the handle is attached to. You can see where the stud for the stop tail was. I cut a dowel plug with similar grain, and used various markers in different red tones to colour it in. It is still visible, but only if you look closely. The above pic was taken before I coloured the dowel.

If you aren't up close, it's virtually invisible, so it will only really bother you if you are OCD or something...

image.jpeg
 
Looks very nice, Alex! Any problems with the break angle? I'm not very OCD, so I'm not sure I'll do too much about the holes. However, it being a faded, I guess it's really not too hard making it looking acceptable.
 
smitty_p said:
I thought of that, too, at one point. But, I don't know how practical it would be.

See the picture below of my SG Original 2 with the Maestro. Notice how shallow the break angle is across the bridge. Even a modestly thick adaptor plate would put the string anchor either dead-even with, or possibly higher than, the bridge saddles.

Click to expand...
Do you have any problems with the strings popping out of the saddle grooves when you bend strings?
 
This sounds like a real nice project but...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but different SG's seem to have different neck angles. The neck angle on my 71 SG Standard is very similar to my 02 SG Special Faded where the angle is kind of steep and it should facilitate a Maestro vibrola. However my 50th Anniversary Pete Townsend SG's neck angle is much straighter and on that one I cannot see a maestro vibrola having an angle deep enough to keep the strings seated properly on the bridge.
 
Syscokid makes a very good point about neck angle. My '74 SG has a flatter angle than the Original 2. A Maestro would likely not work on that guitar.
 
I had a 1968 (maybe 67) Gibson SG with Maestro trem many moons ago - actually it's the one in my profile pic now that I think about it. I don't recall having any issues with it...
 
I don't use mine that much, mainly because the G-400 is in a HSC and I usually just grab a guitar that's in a gig bag! How lazy is that???
But a buddy of mine used the G-400 with the vibrola on a recording, and said it played brilliantly, stayed in tune and had no issues with string slippage. And he plays HARD!
When I do play it and use the vibrola, it's usually just for a bit of a "light shimmy" to accent some notes...
 
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