The Chetboard

I inherited a Bigsby Palm Pedal BP-12 as new in box with the protective pastic still around it. The box looks vintage, but I have no idea when my friend would have purchased it. I searched ebay but didn't find one out there. Any ideas would be appreciated. I also have a Bigsby B7 true Vibrato Tailpiece, with the original box, but it was on a guitar and then taken off of it. Chrome. I think I can find comps for the B7, but not the BP-12 at this point. I really dont need either item, but dont know how much to ask for them...i dont want to ask too much or too little, but a fair price. Sound like Goldie locks dont I ...haha. Thanks in advance for any help.

There are a few things to take into consideration:

1. Is it COMPLETE ? ? ?
2. Is it from a VINTAGE era being polished aluminum with ZINC plated springs ? ? ?
3. If you're considering eBay, START your OPENING BID at the LEAST that you'd consider taking for it.

DON'T stress over it . . .

I'd make inquiry over at gretschpages.com
They're more into that kind of thing and would be able to give you a better idea of what to ask. particularly on the vintage Bigsby since a lot of those guys are into restorations.

I heard some guy was making Palm Pedals under license but I don't know if that ever continued since they never caught on. Still, I'm sure someone out there is looking for exactly that.
Addendum:

I did a quick search and found this:

Date Posted:02/04/2006 15:58:34)
okay ... I add something to my Palm Pedal monologue ....
don't know if anybody is reading this actually ...

Recently there were some Palm Pedals sold on Ebay -

Ebay - BP15 no 1 sold for US $305

Ebay - BP15 no 2 sold for US $223

Ebay - BP15 no 3 sold for US $204

Notice the posting date is over five years ago. Gives you something to think about.

Let us know how it all goes...

Norm is probably referring to Bender Guitars, who came up with a process of doing a B-bender conversion without routing a large amount of body mass from a guitar thus diminishing it's sustain. If you see a Tele with a BB with the back UNTOUCHED without an UGLY PLATE covering a routed out cavity, it's a Bender conversion . . .

They also produced Palm Pedals under license from Fred Gretsch.

There's also a German named Deusenberg who has an updated version of a BPP . . .

If you should have a VINTAGE Palm Pedal, it could be worth quite a bit MORE to a collector ! ! !

Can't remember who it was but it was someone making replications of the original palm pedal. I know what the bell crank b-benders are and it wasn't that.

I posted part of your querey at gretschpages. Just the part describing the items and asking for price advice,

I'll send a link once they start answering

thenorm wrote:Can't remember who it was but it was someone making replications of the original palm pedal. I know what the bell crank b-benders are and it wasn't that.

I posted part of your querey at gretschpages. Just the part describing the items and asking for price advice,

I'll send a link once they start answering

Their PP was a DIRECT duplicate of the original, right down to the casting . . .

Their BB used a CAPSTAN to tension & de-tension the B string.

There was a famous guitarist, Dickey Betts maybe, who had a financial interest in Bender Guitars. My memory ain't wuttit usetabe . . .

Some information:
http://www.benderguitars.com/quick.html

Doesn't seem to be much for sale on the net - good for you, of course.

I found this: http://www.collectibles-articles.com/antique/Bigsby-Palm-Pedal-BP-12-in-box_150526307623.html asking $110.00 used.

Randy

Here's the First Response at gretschpages

You can check back at the same link from time to time

http://gretschpages.com/forum/other-equ ... 596/page1/

I went through some of my old catalogs and found a Bigsby BP 12 and BP 15 in a 1976 Muscian's Supply discount catalog. Both of them sold for a "street" price of $42.50 - list price was $55.00. To give you something to compare to, a Bigsby B7 and a B5 listed for $65.50 and sold for $50.30 in this catalog. It said in the add that the BP12 was for thin acoustic guitars and the BP15 was for solid body guitars. Since these are probably rare, you might be able to get a premium price for them. I could email you a copy of the add if you would like.

This is a wake up call that I need to get my closet cleaned out when I have two 35 year old catalogs laying in there.
Ray