[getbent]

Boys, I'll answer what I can and the rest I'll defer to Brian. Brian and I shared emails about any fears of pine and he had no reservation and, well, as I get to know Brian, he knows his stuff and is a very prudent and smart guy (and a really great picker too)

It is a short throw parsons white. We kicked around doing a long throw and it can be changed, but Brian was awesome in asking me some questions about my purposes for the guitar and in the end, he advised short throw and I think he was spot on.

It was a super light tele to begin with and even with the bender (which requires that he route the back, removing a goodly chunk of wood and the beautiful installation of the felt black background the metal bits and the plexiglass cover) it is still a very light guitar... I haven't weighed it but it is not heavier than my thinline (with a hipshot) and it is lighter than my green homemade ash tele... (which is pretty light)

I played the guitar for a couple of hours today.... it is a really great sounding guitar! my goal is to have this be my go to guitar for all gigs etc... I have some learning to do to be sure!

I'm a big person 6'3" 240... and while I've always prided myself on having a light touch on the guitar... I have to learn not to push and get the 'auto clam' feature of partially actuating the lever....

I am toying with fashioning a rubber stopper to eliminate that accident on songs that do not require the bender... The Fred Stuart pickups have a really unique sound... I've always been a nocaster guy... but these are very different and rich etc...

Anyway, I need to get that accidental clam thing under control.

Boris, to quote my luthier friend who saw Brian's installation "wow, somebody knows what they are doin'."

The neck seems to have settled in and played nicely today...

asatfan, the dave evans benders look pretty righteous... if Jim Sliff likes them, it is a good bet they are great. It is kind of fun to get what you want... in this case, I'd learned so much from Brian and Brian's site and he'd been so kind to me over the years... I really really wanted a bender from him... it makes the guitar that much more special... like having a body from Marty, the plate from Taipantone, the stuarts etc and having my buddy greg go through it....

I guess I'm getting sentimental in my old age... but I guarantee I'll have some guitar guys come up this weekend and ask about the guitar....