Higgins Peg Bender on Ebay?

Has anyone seen a Higgins Peg Bender on Ebay lately?

I know they used to be available at a discount.

Haven't seen one on eBay in a while...but they're not expensive anyway. IMO after 30+ years of bender playing, the Higgins is the best unit out there apart from the PW-type (or Evans, should you be lucky enough to find one!). It has a short throw, but not much different than Bob Warford's Tele, and the bend is very linear. It makes it very easy to do smooth, legato bends even with the short throw once you find the "sweet spot" cable-length where it attaches to the strap (at the top of the shoulder). I find it much smoother than a Parsons-Green, and more even throughout the pull than a Glaser (which feels like an on-off switch to me).

I had a bunch of them on various guitars but gave them up when I started having left hand problems and switched to pedal steel. But now that my hand has partially recovered I put one back on one guitar - my Variax 500. There's NOTHING like having a bender on a Super 400, Gretsch 6120, Coral Sitar, Firebird V...

There was a Higgins on Ebay when I looked yesterday. I usually just use search word "bender" after clicking on Guitar. You'll see it there. Looks interesting!

Wow - I'm surprised I didn't see it!

I'm not in the market, but I HIGHLY recommend them. If whoever buys it sees this note and wants some tips BEFORE installation (or after), shoot me a line. The installation is simple and instructions very clear, plus they are a joy to deal with - but I have a couple little tricks (mostly in working with the cable and strap) that may be helpful.

topics about having a bender with a tremolo and it seems if you had a Bigsby or other tremolo equipped guitar that the Higgins would be the way to go....JH in Va.

Jerry - that's a great point I forgot to mention.

I've tested the Higgins on both a Strat and a Jag, and the bender-with-trem combo is amazing if you really want emulate steel guitar sounds.

I play a bender style that's more it's own instrument, like Clarence White did...he originally was doing steel-type licks and then took it into entirely uncharted waters. So for me, the "faux steel" thing isn't important (also because I play steel and will just do that if I want that sound) but for those looking for that elusive sound, a Higgens/trem combo is mighty tasty. It's one of the very few situations where I would also recommend a good compressor; a Keeley or an old Ibanez CP-835 really squeezed, a volume pedal AFTER the comperssor, a lot of volume and absolutely clean tone - that can get you a nice steel-like sound. It's a terrible (IMO) guitar tone for anything else, but for a traditional country tune and playing whining "steel", it works well.

:) Yes - got it! :)

100 $$ plus 30 $$ shipping to Europe. Maybe not too much of a bargain deal, but you definitely **don't** get run down by these in Germany.

My Strat is looking forward to get equipped with it.

Thank you all for your good advice!

Greetings -
Luther

It arrived today, and I feel ashame I doubted about this being a bargain deal!

It is!! As simle as the principle, as complex and well thought through is every part of this wonderful item. It's worth every cent and much more of it's price.

I have to admit it took two tries to install it properly, but now it works like a charm and sounds great.

Every important information came with the package. Just follow the instructions carefully and give yourself a little time.

Two or three things I made mistakes with at first seem important to me if you want to install one (which I very much recommend):

1. Brad writes the ferrule has to fit snug in the peghead, and he ***means*** snug. Just fitting is not enough, you will have to attach it using at least some heavy pressure to avoid trouble with the tuning (and maybe later peghead damage, don't know??).

2. You will have to fix some Allen screws really tight (tighter than it seemed right to idiot me) to avoid detuning.

3. Brad advises you to drill 12 mm deep holes for the mounting screws, and he ***means*** 12 mm. Let it be better 12.5 mm than 11.5 mm, even knowing a Strat peghead (e. g.) is only about 14 mm thick, so don't overdo it. But otherwise you may ruin the Philips cuts of the mounting screws (as I did) while attaching the unit. Neck wood is pretty hard. I won't be able to get the unit off again without the help of a luthier.

But why should I ever get rid of this wonderful bender? It works totally exact and has a very "direct" feel to it, and even short-throwing at the effective lever, you can make it a "felt" long-throw just by changing the position of your strap while you are playing, adjusting the strap "admission" on the fly. On the other hand it's able to be at least as fast - if you want it to be - as a short throwing PW, and even more "direct" (I own a short throwing PW, which is a great bender, but not feeling as "direct" as the Higgins).

I already love this bender. Big recommendation. I think I will order some more for my two acoustics.

Thank you all again for your advice and information!

Silverface, I would very much appreciate any advice from you to even improve the handling of the bender!

Greetings -
Luther