Let's see your "Non-Fender" Benders!....

How 'bout showing us some pix of your "Non-Fender" Bender guitars. I think everyone's seen my collection of Gibsons and Epiphones with Bigsby Palm Pedals so here's a little different take on bender guitars.

After seeing Frank Rekard playing with Emmylou Harris on a video I was interested in having a bender guitar similar to the one he played with her. This guitar's not real close but it's about the same color I believe and it has a P-90 pickup (or a reasonable facsimle thereof).

This is my 70's vintage Ibanez "Lawsuit Series" Les Paul Jr. (note the headstock shot). It's a very nice sounding and very easy playing guitar for sure..... The bender is a "McEwan Slingshot" type made in Conneticut by Paul McEwan and it's really a fine bender. It operates exactly like a P/W or P/G in that you push down on the neck.

If you look at the two knobs on the device, the one near the top of the unit adjusts the travel to tune the bend and the knob on the rear end of the unit adjusts the spring tension which is a very nice touch. It's a very thin device with all the mechanism between the two aluminum sheets and feels fine when playing. I don't see why more of these aren't out there. I took it off the Ibanez for awhile and put it on a standard Les Paul and it worked great but I have another Bigsby Palm Pedal coming for that guitar.....

Let's see what you have, here are some shots of mine........JH in Va.

all I have to say is WHAT?!?! :shock:

That is awesome. I dig it

I like that bender, but it's fairly expensive, of course its easy to install and you can change it to different guitars.

Is there not any problems with it rubbing against your belly or getting the cable caught up in a loose fitting shirt? Thats all I kind of worried about.

against your shirt. I've used it with T-shirts, button shirts, suit coats and haven't had any problem with it catching on anything. It'd be easy to put some sort of cover over the rod in the back if needed. I've been thinking of that for cosmetic reasons only. I might build some sort of housing around the rim of the guitar and then cover the whole back, including the bender, with pickguard material. That'd look pretty good......JH in Va.

against your shirt. I've used it with T-shirts, button shirts, suit coats and haven't had any problem with it catching on anything. It'd be easy to put some sort of cover over the rod in the back if needed. I've been thinking of that for cosmetic reasons only. I might build some sort of housing around the rim of the guitar and then cover the whole back, including the bender, with pickguard material. That'd look pretty good......JH in Va.

Yep, it would.

it's my MIJ Schecter "Mercury" Strat. This is one fine playing and sounding guitar. It has the HipShot B bender lever and the G palm pedal. I took off the flip up lever for lowering the low E string and put a HipShot flip lever that mounts on the headstock which I like much better. The pickups in this guitar have large magnets much like a Duncan "Quarter Pounder" pickup and I like the mini toggles to get all of the pickup combinations. Here's a shot of it...JH in Va.

Nice also.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZpqaHNLZDdY/TjTUAMsxqfI/AAAAAAAAEVA/yERVSmPPaR0/s912/DSC02840.JPG

....but technically, these aren't Fenders.....or maybe they are... My two G&L Asats with Pull Strings!

....but technically, these aren't Fenders.....or maybe they are... My two G&L Asats with Pull Strings!

Love those Evans.

You had to post those pix just to make us drool didn't you? :lol: :lol:

I've really got the hots for an Evans Pullstring but I don't have the right guitar to get one installed on at the moment but hopefully in the future. I think those bender systems are the best of the neck operated type.

As far as the ASAT's, I had one some years ago with a HipShot bender on it but traded it for a standard Telecaster which in hindsight was a mistake....I still miss that guitar..........JH in Va.

P.S. But I still love my main Telecaster and will never get rid of it....JH in Va.

200203061400823.jpg

Now that's one cool guitar. The HipShot blends right in with the silver sparkle finish. Do you play the guitar a lot? I've never held a "Dano" of that shape before except for the Longhorn Bass..........JH in Va.

Jerry,
I play it quite often. 31 frets puts me in "Hugheyland!"

That Dano's killer! Looks like a long neck......what's that got 28 frets??? Baritone?? Old one or newer? I bought a new Dano Bari at a guitar show around 10 years ago....really liked the sound and how it played. Wish I still had it!

http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee324/chesterburger/Guts/IMG_4616-1.jpg

Gretsch 6120DS with Bigsby B6 and Higgins Peg Bender.

Asatfan.
31 frets, standard guitar, not Baritone. I have three of the newer Danos; the Guitarlin, a U2, and I have a Dano Baritone. But my Baritone Strat is by far the better guitar. Warmoth conversion neck.

This is an Epiphone LP with a BPP which I just bought from a guy on the SGF.......JH in Va.

I've got one of those Epiphone EZ Benders too.... Mine is installed on an old "Memphis" Les Paul copy. It's amazing how well those things work and the ease of installation is also a plus, you can install the EZ bender and put on a new B string and have it up and running in less than five minutes......Here's a shot of mine.........JH in Va.

I've got one of those Epiphone EZ Benders too.... Mine is installed on an old "Memphis" Les Paul copy. It's amazing how well those things work and the ease of installation is also a plus, you can install the EZ bender and put on a new B string and have it up and running in less than five minutes......Here's a shot of mine.........JH in Va.

Great! There are not that many of us using ez-benders...

Mine has been permanently attached to my Sheraton for the last 8 years.

stay in tune very well. I have a video around here somewhere that I got with my first EZ Bender. I can't remember the guy's name who was demo-ing it but at one point he had one on a Sheraton. Also he had one guitar which had two EZ Benders on it. One on the B string and one on the A string. I've always been going to try that but never have yet.........JH in Va.

After seeing this thread yesterday, I knocked some of the dust off of this thing. It's been leaning against a bookcase for several years. It's an SX lp type. The bender looks like it's on there crooked, but that's the way it fit, and it still works fine. I checked it with my sabine tuner and it pulls a whole step, and drops back down right in tune. :)

The guitar was $89. It's had something wrong with the tone control for the bridge pickup since I bought it new. I liked the guitar well enough that I decided to keep it anyway. I looked into getting a new control harness kit, but put it aside and haven't yet fixed it...

I'm not very good at using the bender. It sounds nice to pre-bend, strum a chord, then release.

I bought two EZ-Benders from Musicyo for the price of one anywhere else. I still have one in the shrink wrap around here somewhere. I think they were $30 apiece, but I'm not sure.

It's a good bender for someone who wants to try b-bending without spending much money.

I don't think I'd try to put one on an aluminum tailpiece. I remember having some trouble fitting mine on. A nicer, quality tailpiece might make for an easier install. I think it'd be an even more solid install on a locking tailpiece. Mine's on there good, though.

You could try it on other guitars just by swapping tailpieces.

I have another one of those EZ Benders which I don't currently have on a guitar. I haven't decided yet but I might put it on the A string of the Memphis LP along with the other one or I might try to put it on an old Ibanez Artist guitar I have which has a different stud tailpiece.....JH in Va.

stay in tune very well. I have a video around here somewhere that I got with my first EZ Bender. I can't remember the guy's name who was demo-ing it but at one point he had one on a Sheraton. Also he had one guitar which had two EZ Benders on it. One on the B string and one on the A string. I've always been going to try that but never have yet.........JH in Va.

I think was this guy: http://www.danschafer.com/

he's a pretty fair picker as I remember! I think after the Hurricane quiets down around here I'll look around and find that video and give it a look. I haven't watched it for over 7 or 8 years.........JH in Va.

You said non-fender... This is my "bender" twangcaster- mjt + Forrest lee jr + don mare + Glendale = twang city! Double pic post...oops

I think was this guy: http://www.danschafer.com/

I bought mine directly from Dan.

1968 Bigsby Palm Bender with G and B arms (can accomodate 6 arms) on my 1971 Les Paul Deluxe GT. The bender came with a B-12 Bigsby body and mount. I found a B-7 Body and a mount, retrofitted the new parts with a dremel so the old Bender parts would fit. I saved the original pieces in the original box with the other candy.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qJJVxobVinU/ThZaTSelAHI/AAAAAAAAFwg/r_W2oRONxSQ/s720/IMG_5140.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nNqdgTjykxY/ThZaUJzwImI/AAAAAAAAFwc/GAJAmjLfghs/s720/IMG_5137.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6ORFIG2ZfPM/ThZaU9n7qEI/AAAAAAAAFwY/WstO63F1_qU/s720/IMG_5135.jpg

If G&L doesn't count as a real Fender, here's my Asat Classic with Glaser B- and G-benders:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/drjordan/DSC00705-1.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/drjordan/DSC00713.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/drjordan/DSC00711.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/drjordan/DSC00714.jpg

I don't like the "trapeze" type BPP at all for those guitars! They stick out too far over the bridge so it inhibits palm muting. I like the model(s) made for a solid body guitar. Here's some of my solid bodies with BPP's. Also, I always cut the G lever off about a half an inch as they work better that way.....JH in Va.

Epiphone G-400 with a Hipshot unit and some old Univox humbuckers. Its a fun little guitar.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6216/6320423380_dd940e68cc_b.jpg

that's pretty cool putting a HipShot on an SG..... I had one on an Ibanez Artist at one point but I don't have that guitar anymore. I currently have a spare Epiphone "Goth Series" SG laying around which I might try a HipShot on, that really looks nice on there and I know it works great........JH in Va.

Here's my lefty G&L Glaser double bender.

http://http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3333602429_53ed6ff702_m.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17814177@N00/3333602429/in/photostream

You can put your original bridge back on the guitar. When I got my double done in 1994 (the first lefty double) Joe told me that the Gotoh was necessary. I always disliked it and got Bill Bores to install the original about five year ago.

Here's a picture.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6060/6338363894_7f6ef9f2ee_m.jpg



[QUOTE=drjordan;3602493]If G&L doesn't count as a real Fender, here's my Asat Classic with Glaser B- and G-benders:

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/875/medium/Yairi_Bender_Lever.jpg

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/875/medium/Yairi_Guts.jpg

Woo Hoo! My 1985 Alvarez-Yairi DY90....Gene Parsons installed his acoustic bender...

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/875/medium/Yairi_Bender_Lever.jpg

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/875/medium/Yairi_Guts.jpg

Woo Hoo! My 1985 Alvarez-Yairi DY90....Gene Parsons installed his acoustic bender...

W-O-W.

I want to do that to one of my acoustics...

My beloved axe on the workbench at Gene's custom shop in Caspar, California....on the beautiful Northern California coast. Gene and Star have set up a fabulous bed & breakfast inn on the property.....you could actually stay there and drop off your axe, and get a tour of the shop.....just about 5 miles south of Mendocino.

http://stringbender.com

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/544/DY90_Benchtop.JPG

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/544/medium/Gene_Gene2.JPG

Here's a gaggle of benders, Fenders, G&L, Zion and CWF replicas.

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/cwf_jam_couchshot.jpg

The problem with fitting a B-bender to an acoustic, in the way that Gene does, is that all the extra hardware in the box just has to be detrimental to the natural tone of an acoustic guitar.

The renowned builder Mario Proulx, who is one of the top builders of dreadnoughts and OM's anywhere today, has come up with a totally new concept, which doesn't involve a ton of hardware inside the box. All the hardware is contained within the neck and the neck block.

You can see what I mean by watching these two videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAl8ZvxtZ-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmRKGbfZqho

If you peered inside an acoustic with a Parsons bender, you'd see that the minimal hardware (milled from solid aircraft grade aluminum) is mounted to the neck block and has the tension spring affixed to the end pin jack.

There is a small foot, just a bit bigger than a nickel that rests on the apex of the lower side curve....the whole assembly is suspended within the cavity, is pretty small, and only contacts the guitar in those 3 points. Not on any large flat area of vibration. I think the compromise is not very significant....although I'd love to compare.

There are of course compromises to consider when modifying the neck.....

hmm... I have a little downtime and I guess I'll have to put my EZ Bender back on my Agile LP. It works great, stays in tune, doesn't affect the tone that I can hear.

The only scary thing about it is when a string breaks. Usually that will be at the bridge saddle - even though I've smoothed it and lubed it, it's gonna happen. When it does break the short end with the little brass attachment ferrule just rockets away... someplace...out into the audience? "That could put your eye out!" Well, it could...

Maybe I should be putting a piece of tape over that for prevention? Anybody else have this problem (or even think about it?) Does this happen with other benders?

-------------------------
Vox Pacemaker - '66 Tele - '64 Tennessean - '66 Firebird - '68 Harmony Rocket - Agile LP - Mex Strat

I've played benders for many years and at one point was playing six nights a week for thirty hours of playing time. I have a P/W Tele, guitars with Bigsby Palm Pedals and HipShot benders and have "never" broken a string on any bender equipped guitar. On my P/W Tele it has the round hub that the string goes through. I put the string through the hole in the hub and then make one complete wrap around the hub before it goes over the bridge saddle. I think if you'd just stick 'em right through they might break at the sharp angle but not with the wrap........JH in Va.

Mine is a Rice custom build with a Bill Bores bender. It weighs in at 7 lbs and I love it!