Thoughts on B-Bender and further modification.

Hello all, I am brand new to the forum, and after a long absence, now in possession of an American Standard with a B-Bender on it. This is the Hipshot bender- I used to own another Tele with the Parson/White version but never got any good at it. In this occasion I just wanted a new Tele- the bender was just a bonus, but it's fun, and maybe I'll make more effort at it. I'm pretty inspired at the moment, you can imagine.

However, I started looking over the Hipshot folks page, and all of a sudden I have the notion to load this baby up. While I'm more of a rhythm player, and a fingerpicker, I do use a lot of alternate tunings- open C is my favorite, and I like a lot of others as well.

Anyway, it seemed to me that I could easily set this guitar up to be able to switch around tunings pretty easy. I have an X-Tender GT2 on the way for the low E string, and that can take me from E to C easily enough, I guess. I can put a toggle lever on the A string to take me to G, and from D to C (according to the man at Hipshot), and if I put a shim under the bender (having set it to a half step) then I've got a C, and I'm right in open C within a minute. And I'm right back in standard pretty quickly as well.

For G, then I just need to get the bass string to D, and so forth. Either way, I can see this being pretty quick, or at least a real minimum of tuning (if everything stays well adjusted, which I have no way of knowing).

My questions are:

1) Does the X-Tender GT2 allow for moving from E to D, as well as with another switch, to C, or can you only move between two of those notes? The bass guitar X-Tender allows for two switches, and I thought the man on the phone from Hipshot said the guitar version was the same, but nothing else I read makes me believe that.

2) If the answer is only between two of those notes, can anyone think of why I couldn't set the tuner to be a two-step drop, and have a toggle switch on the bridge to take me from E to D as well?

3) The person at the Hipshot company told me that using an A to G toggle would be find on the fourth string, from D to C. Does anybody know anything or have any thoughts that might contradict that?

4) This is fantasy at the moment, but the only string that I have unmolested now is the G string, so perhaps I'd like a bending lever on that one as well (I'm assuming a drop-D on the treble E string as well, here). However, I've been reading on here that there might be tuning problems with using the hip bender and the lever one on the same guitar, at least without further modification. This guitar has the Hipshot apparatus screwed on with all four screws, on the felt, and connected by the strap key as well. Is there anything else I should do, or anything I should know, before I try and put a lever on the G string? I don't really care how much I have to modify the guitar, but I do care about doing it myself, if at all possible. On the other hand, if I have to pay to get it done, then so be it.

And is there anything else anybody would want me to know about any of this? Clearly, a lot of this won't happen at once, but it sounds like a lot of fun, and an easy way of moving from tuning to tuning, but again, if anybody can think of anything different, I'm all ears.

By the way, I have the six saddle bridge, and will also have the Fender/Schaller locking tuners on before any of this happens. The neck has micro-tilt, if that matters in any way, it's a 2000 American Standard. The guitar has .10's on it at the moment, I'm debating switching it out to the .09's I tend to prefer, but I might keep this guitar more heavily strung (for me), either way there won't be a ton of stress on the guitar from the strings.

Thanks all! Great forum! Happy to be here.

Sounds like the Hipshot Trilogy is more suited to what you want to do. They give you lots of tunings.

http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=31

I agree with jmiles. The Trilogy allows you to have 3 different tunings per string. But the downside is that you have to replace your bridge.

However, I also see nothing wrong with adding levers on your Hipshot if it works for you. You'll have to experiment with how many levers the Hipshot will accommodate.

I'll also agree that a Trilogy is what you're leaning towards, but the only drawback to getting one is that you lose your bender. You could put either a Scruggs banjo peg or some other kind of drop tuner on your B string, but I've found that changing tunings on that string requires adjusting the thumb wheel on the B lever so it bends accurately anyway. That said, I use a Trilogy on a slide guitar I built and with some adjustment, careful stringing, and a graphite nut, it works pretty well.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/voided3/DSC00850.jpg

Thanks all! I only discovered the Trilogy yesterday, and I agree that it is pretty much what I'm wanting. However, I think that'll be for another guitar, I'll probably just try the toggle switches and whatnot on the Tele.

I guess this means I'll just have to buy another guitar for the Trilogy. Well, what can you do? My back is to the wall here- you folks can see it. Another guitar it is!

Actually, I'm also wondering if the Trilogy wouldn't kill two birds with one stone- I've been using a really fun to play Jazzmaster for some years now, and while I love it, you probably know the limitations of that bridge. Maybe I'll try the Trilogy on her.

Thanks again!

If you were going to use it for bending, I'd say go for it, but I don't think you'd ever be happy using it to change keys. By the time you blocked all the benders and fine tuned everything, you could retune all six strings just about as quickly. Then theres the fact that if your not using it to bend, thats alot of levers and benders to be all in your way while your trying to play. The Trilogy might work for what you need.

You may be right. Honestly, I have no idea how in the way the levers or the toggles are anyway- nor do I know how much fine tuning they need or how long they hold that tuning. So, what I'll do is probably put a toggle on the A string, and see how I like that. I do a lot of palm muting with my chord work, so it could easily get in the way.

I'll look into the Trilogy... you all have persuaded me that the only option is to buy another guitar. Sold. I'm liking this site already. When my girlfriend starts complaining, I'll say, "Hey, what can I do? Voided3 and Telex76 and all the others tell me I need a new guitar. I don't want to offend my new friends. I'll just buy another guitar."

Yeah. That'll go over just fine.

Larry,
When I first read your post, it just screamed "Trilogy!" I still hear that scream! My Hipshot has both B and G benders. Also toggles in the 1st, 5th, and 6th strings. I get Low Dropped D, Double Dropped D, and Low Bass G tuning for slide. But for what you want to do, a Tele with a Trilogy seems the most obvious, and most suitable way for you to proceed.