Why are double benders uncommon?

I wonder why I don't see more double benders. From my searches it appears that most guys who make them can do the double but I don't see many. Imo the more benders the better :grin: Heck, in addition to my two benders I am going to add a Timera string drop on my E string. If the mood strikes me I can have bends going up, down and sideways all at the same time! Thats a great thing! I think, well maybe......actually it might just sound like my guitar is drunk, which is what I will no doubt have be myself before tying it live.

Speaking of double benders, my Forrestcaster started its trek back to Baton Rouge today. Now I just need to get my Hayseed 30 finished so I can make a few sound clips.

Can't wait to see the pics when it arrives! So glad the nightmare is over.

I think Double Benders will be a novelty item until someone Super-Famous decides to feature one as a steady part of their act. Paisley Tele's were niche'y and not well know till Brad started selling millions of records. If someone like him were to start using a double the Kool-Aid drinkers would be flocking to buy one. In the meantime, if you have one you will be able to write and play stuff nobody else can do - so enjoy the uniqueness till somebody famous spoils it all.

i personally don't have just a single bender in my arsenal of bender guitars, all of mine are at least double benders and a couple are triple benders (B,G,A benders). all my bender rigs have the drop D.

as far as someone well known using multi-benders, Dan Schaeffer comes to mind (5 benders on his SG), Tim Wallis, Jimmy Olander uses B and G benders; all GREAT players....don't remember who had the rig but i remember an episode of Austin City Limits from years ago and the picker on there had a six-string bender Hipshot type set-up, and he was smokin' good..!!! (Boomer Castleman???).

and tho he is no longer with us (a pity) the late great Phil Baugh used a six string bender rig made by MSA. he did session work for just about everyone in the 70's and 80's.

i did rig up a four string bender Hipshot system but found it a little awkward for my tastes, tho it worked perfectly. i ended up giving it to fellow forum member John Short from Perth, Western Australia (another FANtastic player) on one of his visits up here, and i think it moved on to someone else from him.

and i think our own J. Hayes uses multi-benders also. again, another great player.

the multi-bender guys are certainly out there.

Actually the four-string unit that went to Oz is a Palm Pedal not Hipshot, and yes, I've got it, and yes, it IS being turned into a six-string unit...:shock:

Hopefully finished this year....finally! :oops:

Actually the four-string unit that went to Oz is a Palm Pedal not Hipshot, and yes, I've got it, and yes, it IS being turned into a six-string unit...:shock:

Hopefully finished this year....finally! :oops:

it dawned on me early this morning that i had said Hipshot unit that i gave to John, when it WAS a Bigsby Palm Pedal unit:oops::oops:....i'm old, it was late. was hoping i could get on here and correct myself before someone caught me....ha ha...

i guess i had forgotten you were the one that ended up with that thing!!

still got your CD in the player in my FireBird and will be spinnin' it again today as i make a little trip to see some buddies out of town. it's good toe-tappin' stuff, Peter.....love it.

I know all about being old....:mrgreen:

For the record, the BPP is retaining the four original levers (on the 2nd to 5th strings) and having extra controls added that will give both raise & lower functions on the 1st and 6th...interesting engineering exercise that has taken / is taking FAR too long..:shock:

Taking the tuning out of the 'middle' of a 10-string E9 pedal steel, then setting up as a slide guitar with roller bridge and roller nut, etc...

Just when I thought I'd added enough stuff, I decided to incorporate a synth pickup as well.....:roll:

That CD sort of swallowed the last 8 months....glad you like it, B-F!

Interesting Gumbo! Did you incorporate the 7th string F# into your tuning? I'll bet it's fun to play. But onstage, I just tend to sit down behind my Kline, and just use the toggles on my double-bender, 3 toggle Tele for access to different tunings.

About roller nutz and bridges; I went that route 30 years ago when I first got my Hipshot. I couldn't figure out why every improvement I made made my guitar lose more of it's tone and sustain. My luthier told me I didn't need the roller stuff, and to let him do the job. With perfectly cut nut slots, and the correct lube, I've never had a problem with the strings "hanging up" and failing to return to pitch. And the guitar recovered it's tone and sustain. Have you noticed any loss of these important qualities?

Another comment about tone and sustain;
Of my four Shobuds, the one with the best tone and sustain is the 1959 Permanent. It does not have a roller nut, but I think the construction of the changer has more effect, because, as you move your bar up the neck, and mute behind it, the nut becomes less and less a factor.
Just curious!

Thanks for your thoughts JM...I know I'm probably compromising sustain, but smooth operation is what I'm after at this point..:neutral:

Have bushed (and re-bushed) everything with phosphor bronze running on stainless shafts to take out all play and minimise eventual wear.. using Dan Balde's principles of pitch-raise collar-pulleys, but operated by rotating the lever shaft with (much-modified) Chet Atkins Bigsby vibrato levers on each end (of a new-and-longer shaft)...while the original BPP levers just pivot freely on the same shaft.

Since the beast is yet to be truly 'fired in anger' it's a bit hard to tell how much I've shot myself in the foot over this sustain bit, but I figure with judicious use of a Goodrich Matchbox....:shock:

Tuning...well it goes something like:-

1st C#-D < Eb > E (lower & raise)
2nd G# > A (raise only)
3rd E > F# ( " " )
4th B > C# ( " " )
5th G# > A ( " " )
6th E - F < F# > G (lower & raise)


Time will tell whether I can make this work for me ...might have to play with that a bit :roll:

....I'll let you all know how it eventually works out.

As has often been said, fitting a BPP to a Tele is fraught with positioning problems due to dimensional restrictions..I have attempted to give myself maximum clearance behind the bridge by redesigning the fixings on the main BPP frame so that its rear-most anchor points are in effect connected to the edge of the body (with bracketing around the strap button fixing like a Hipshot)...the original BPP levers still need further modification (some was already done by B-F, when he had the unit) to get sufficient separation and stay clear of the extra controls I have fabricated...one of which faces rearwards and is operated by (inward) pressure of the forearm..almost a Timara-sort-of-thing..:razz:

All of this is happening to a 72 Custom RI, and the synth pickup will be supported on a (modified) version of the mounting plates that are sold to suit an LP bridge, since that is similar in construction to the Wilkinson roller one I am using.

The electrics? ...well that is a story all by itself and I won't get into that just now! :shock:

..it has all really come about because I don't want to sit down to play....but still want to get some pedal steel effects!!!

thanks for your interest...I'll report progress when I get some!!:lol:

My tele is one of the first Double Benders. Gene installed only 4-6 double benders with the B and high E string. I use the B a lot, but barely use the E. I messed with it on some licks at a gig a few nights back and started figuring out some ways of using it.

Every time I'm broke it comes to my mind to sell it, but then I come to my senses!

If B. Paisley were to begin using a double bender they would probably get a lot more popular very fast. Look what he did for Bill Crook's business. I keep waiting for Paisley to get bored with just using a B - I mean, the guy is so inventive and he has played about all you can play on a G bender - I keep waiting for him to get a Double made - of if Charlie and Bill have already made on for him, I am waiting for him to start using it.
If he never decides to feature one it will be up to one of our talented young members to become a Country Star and begin using one.