Hipshot B vs B/G

I was sure this was asked before, but i searched but couldnt find it...

I'm looking at rigging up my tele with a hipshot b bender, but im undecided if I should get one with the G lever as well. is it worth it to get it right off the bat? or should i upgrade later once i get used to it?

i dont really need the e-d toggle either. and the basic b-bender is going for around 110 on ebay. at that price id be comfortable buying a $110 sx to throw it on to keep my current axe clean.

any thoughts?

I had the G bender for a while.
I found I did not use it much, so I removed it.
It's essential for a lot of Jimmy Olander/Brad Paisley licks, though.
I use the E/D lever a lot on mine.
I've been using Hipshots since 83', great stuff!

Yeah I was kind of leaning away from the G lever. That way I can get a rondo tele and hipshot for about 220. the same i was originally gonna pay for a squier custom.

well i got impatient and bought the b-bender with a e-d lever for only $125 shipped on ebay. but without the g lever.

can i mount it with just the strap lock screw temporarily or is that a bad idea? I am planning on throwing it into an SX nashville style guitar, but i dont have one yet as i want a 3 tone sunburst one.

The unit can be mounted with just the strap button - provided the the button is located on the center line of the guitar. However, it is very easy to have the Hipshot shift by a slightly over zealous bend and knocking the B string out of tune. I have since always used the extra 2 holes in the Hipshot to further stabilize the unit. Just to try it out will work with the strap button if you're not sure which guitar it will wind up on. I've got 7 or 8 rigged up.

rbro

thanks rbro; do you find it gets in the way when not using it at all? i dont completely obect to putting it on my main guitar but i didnt want something that was just gonna throw my guitar out o tune when not using it. i suspect ou just take the hipshot bar out and youre probably OK?

If I could only have one bender, I would get a G bender. Everything you can do with a B bender, you can do with a G bender, just over a string, and a few frets higher. The G bender gives some really nice voicings unattainable with the B bender. Some say they just bend the G string with their fingers. Yeah, of course, but it doesn't sound the same You can bend the B string with your finger too. Doesn't sound the same! After 25 years of playing a double-bender, I find I use the G bender quite a bit more than the B bender. Do I need to dig out the Parson's quote on page 113 of "Desperados" again?

i personally prefer both the B/G bender on my "bender" guitars; one had B/G/and A benders on it.

the reason i prefer B and G both is have several licks i do an "up" bend on one and a "down" bend on the other string at the same time.

i somewhat disagree with the notion that what can be done with a B bender can be done with a G bender at a different location on the G string. perhaps it can, but NOT if you are doing "up" or "down" bends within a chord shape. hit an open D 7th and engage the B bender; it brings it up to a full D triad, or hit the triad with the bender engaged and let it "off". it falls to the 7th triad. those could conceivably be done using strange chord/triad shapes up the neck, but they are much easier in first position.

another lick i like to use with the G bender is hit a 1st position open A 7th (e string open/ b string 2nd fret, g string open WITH the G bender engaged, d string 2nd fret) hit the A string on down to E and let the G bender "fall" off to an open G note and you have an open A7th; do it with the G string open and engage the G bender raising the G string you have a natural A chord. nice sounding lick that works in a lot of songs; and the chord "shape" can be used all up and down the fingerboard.

this one can't be done with just a B bender....anyway, in my rambling way i'm trying to say that having both works much better for me. just a B bender or just a G bender and i would feel like i had lost a finger or two....

"thanks rbro; do you find it gets in the way when not using it at all?"

I have found the drop D Tuner to be more in the way than the B bender. The hip lever does come out fairly easily. I have made up some palm levers to use when I'm playing with a steel player or at blues jams - this lets me be a little more versatile, and not require the hip bar.

rbro