Still another BPP added to the "herd"....

Well I can't believe it! A guy saw my last posting of my collection of Bigsby Palm Pedal equipped guitars and asked if I was interested in another one. I asked him what he had and it turned out to be one of the gold trapeze style for a 335 style guitar! I just happened to have a guitar that was made for the BPP so we made a deal and I just received and installed it yesterday. This makes seven of these double bender guitars....

Here's a couple of shots of my BPP equipped Epiphone Riviera P-93. This guitar plays and sounds great so I was happy to be able to make it more "giggable"........JH in Va.

3 P-90s! I love it! Jerry,,,, you're as crazy as I am! Just in a different direction! 8^)

JB

I've always had a BPP equipped guitar in one model or another since around 1972 or so but in the last 6 or 7 years I've been finding these palm pedals without really looking for them and since I collect guitars it seemed like the thing to do was try to make as many of them "bender guitars" as possible. My next project will probably be putting two Epiphone EZ benders on one guitar on the 2nd and 5th strings. I haven't decided which one to set up yet but it'll either be an Epi SG or an Ibanez Artist. Also there's a HipShot for sale on the SGF right now and I'm chompin' at the bit to deal on that but I'm trying to rein myself in a little bit to keep peace at the home front......JH in Va.

Careful, Jerry...

..you'll go blind....:wink:

I'm beginning to lose "sight" of things..........JH in Va.

Dang Jerry!

I keep listening to Jock Bartley recordings and wanting a bigsby palm pedal.. you are the only person who has them!

I wonder what ever happened to Dan Balde.... He was supposed to be marketing them again but I haven't heard anything from him in a good while. He had a website but I don't know if it's still up or not. He also said they wouldn't work on a Les Paul but I have 'em on three Les Pauls so that's no problem. I just wish I could get one for a Telecaster but there's just not enough room behind the bridge to install one. I've thought of getting a HipShot with two palm levers instead of the hip lever and angling them out a little from each other, that'd probably work OK..........Anyone ever done that?.........JH in Va.

Geez, Jerry, it looks like Dan passed away. (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=dan-richard-balde&pid=144740792)

I'm so sorry to hear this. I'd emailed with Dan several times but finally gave up...

OMGosh...
...and that explains my unanswered emails as well...just didn't know..

...a sad loss..I wish I had realised earlier.

Had some interesting conversations with Dan when I was first contemplating the Tele install...and yes, he was adamant that I couldn't do what I eventually managed to...

...although the amount of time / work/ experimenting has been considerable on all fronts.. it was only through the change in mounting position that I was able to achieve, that anything has come of it at all..

Thanks for the update GB.. ...I guess we're all getting older..

...Jerry, if you want to pursue the Tele installation further, I'm happy to talk offline to you more about what I ended up doing..although i think I've mentioned most of what happened in a few posts on here..

Regards from Down Here.

I'm really sorry to hear about Dan Balde's passing. How did we miss that? I also talked on the phone a bit with Dan about his palm pedals as at one point I was considering making an 8 string PP equipped guitar similar to what he had. Also I talked to him about removing the part on his website where it said you couldn't use the BPP on a Les Paul. I'd sent him a couple of pictures of mine and he was going to change it, now I know why he didn't. I eventually set up one guitar with a form of E9 which was E B G#F# E D (high to low) with raised action and it worked pretty well for some steel flavored things. It raised the second string to C# and the 3rd G# to A.

I wonder if anyone'll take over the BPP thing as I think Dan owned the rights to it at his passing........RIP Dan Balde........JH in Va.

Fellers, since we are among the few who still really love this stuff... I'm glad you brought it up, I will admit to feeling discouraged that I hadn't heard from Dan, but I also accept that when it is the love of the thing, the regular 'putting beans on the table' stuff comes first... so, I am glad we know what happened... man, I couldn't believe it when I found it and I felt like a pretty major cur because I actually thought "it ain't never gonna happen" instead of just grieving the loss of a kindred spirit....

Jerry, I sure hope someone picks up the torch... I am gonna contact a guy I know who I know could do it, we'll just see if he has interest...

my dearmond m77T is sitting here next to me and I am picturing it with a BPP instead of the Digsby it currently has...

Well...yes....JH & GB.. all the same feelings that I have (and have had)...:sad:

I would like to think that the BPP will not pass into oblivion either - I wonder how it will be abled to be determined just where the 'licencing' aspect is still up to... perhaps we can contact Boomer Castleman as well to see who he may suggest is the best to contact to get more information on that... :?:

Perhaps this is now worth a separate thread... out of respect for Dan, if nothing else...

Gumbo in Oz

there is a parts-o-caster on the Nashville CL with bpp's for 560.00...just a heads up