When was the first time you ever saw a b-bender guitar?

And what did you think it was?

As for me, it was with Jimmy Page playing "Wearing and tearing" at Knebworth 1990 (time flies) live on TV.

Right at the beginning of the clip, there's a good shot of the peg and I was wondering, what the H is this...

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He didn't actuate the b-bender in the song but it got me on a quest to find out what it was.

The first b bender guitar that i saw was about 16 or 17 years ago. There was a used Fender mexican tele in a store with a hipshot on it. I had no clue so i asked the salesman Roger Hoard www.fabulousbenderboys.com what it was. He ripped off a few licks on it. He also showed me his personal tele at the time (a heavily modified american tele) with the first Mcvay bender in it.

Roger is an incredible player, and im glad i finally got a.mcvay in my main tele.

Clarence White with the Byrds

The first one that I saw in person was "Clarence." Marty had just bought it from CW's widow and came through Anderson with Grandpa Jones' son Mark. A band called the Wright Brothers, who used the same booking agent that my band used, was playing in town, and we had gone up to the club to see them and say hello, and Marty and Mark came in while we were talking to Tim and Tom Wright during their break. Marty looked like a little kid, and was as excited as a little kid, having just picked up the Tele that day. He was showing it off, and I asked if I could play it...he handed it to me without any thought, and I played it for a few minutes. It was really heavy, really beat, and had some old rusty strings on it. While I had seen pictures of CW with the guitar, I was not prepared for how thick it was. I didn't realize the bender mechanism was built onto the back of the guitar, so the guitar was double the depth of a regular Tele. I was an "old" guy of about 24 at the time, and Marty looked to be about 14, although I'm sure he was older than that! He and Mark Jones hung around for awhile, and I think Mark sat in with the band, although Marty didn't play that night. Brush with fame...

The first bender guitar I ever saw (or heard of) was in '92 or so when I was Marty playing Clarence's guitar on stage. At that point, I knew I had to have a bender and that is when I first started developing my own.

at the afterhours show held at the Imperial Inn in Santa Fe Springs, Ca. Al Bruno was the house guitarist and he came in with Boomer Castleman's prototype of the Bigsby Palm Pedal which had different levers than the ones which later became stock.... I knew Clarence White in the old days but hadn't seen him since the Nashville West club before he had his bender. The first P/W type I ever saw was played by Bob Warford in the Wagon Camp at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. I think he was playing with Freddy Weller if I remember right. Here's a shot of Al Bruno with his current BPP...........JH in Va.

Nice story, Mr Hayes! Must have been real interesting to be around those folks in those days!

The first bender I saw in person was at Indiana Music on Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. Probably in the early to mid 80's. It was a used Tele with a bender made by a guy in southern Indiana by the name of Alan Manship. Was a P/W style. The guys at the store gave me a quick demo and let me play around with it for a while. I wanted it badly, but didn't have the money. Finally, a few years later, I sent my 62 RI down to Joe Glaser for a bender.

I do remember seeing an ad for the Pull String guitar in a magazine....that was the first time I heard of a B Bender, and was quite intrigued.

I probably saw a picture of one when Guitar Player did a review of the Hipshot back in the early or mid Eighties. As a pedal steeler, I saw a lot of possible fun, so I ordered one right away. First guitar I ever saw with a B-Bender was mine.

Clarence White w/the Byrds about 1970 in Chicago but I didn't realize it til years later. I was a little, shall we say, "off" that night

First time hearing was Clarence with the Byrds at Pirate's World in south Florida; I don't remember the date and didn't realize what I was hearing.

The first time I could see and appreciate one was Bob Warford with Linda Ronstadt at Cal State Fullerton 1974.

May 1969 - The Rose Palace in Pasadena CA. The Byrds (Clarence, McGuinn, Parsons, York) with Albert King opening. About 20' from the stage. Knew about the bender but it was the first time I saw Clarence and it in action.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MbgmHAhF7Q4 this is very recent, but its roger hoard. The first person i saw play a bender, here with a crook custom with a mcvay double bender

Steve Wariner/Happy Traum Instructional VHS.

I saw John Beland right after I started playing the guitar when he and Gib Guilbeau were The Burrito Brothers. This was probably 30 years ago. I didn't know what the bender was until years later when I had my first Parson/White put in by Gene and remembered seeing the little "knob" on John's guitar. They played a benefit concert here in Tuscaloosa and I got to see their sound check before the concert. He was playing his old brown Telecaster!

At GC, in the 90s. I had heard of the thing, but never seen one. The Tele it was in day was REAL sweet, and I have always wished I bought it.

My second bender experience was much more interesting -- I became friends with a guy who has one of the prototypes (if not THE prototype). It was a gift from some dude he knew... think his name was "Clarence" or "Lawrence" or "Terence" -- something like that.

1976 at Charlies Guitar shop in Dallas TX they had an original pink Paisley Tele with a Parsons White bender in it.
Love at first bend, took me me 2 more years before I could get one put in my 72 Tele by Gene Parsons .

I have always wondered if that was Casper Rawls guitar, his being the only other original Fender Paisley with PW b bender I have seen since then.

1977. our singer was tired of trying to keep up with his electrified acoustic (electric/acoustic was nothing like it is now, back then, what a pain! ) so he bought an "old' (there was no "vintage") tele , 1963 model, from a country picker which had a b-bender on it. we didn't know what it was. the other guitar player figured it out pretty quick but, being useless to the singer, he took it off and threw it in the cable case (which collected all the odds&ends of the band) and reinstalled the original bridge, which was in the guitar case. the "cable case" was an Army trunk i owned and still have, though i trashed all the "junk" in the bottom of it prolly 30 yrs. ago.

last i heard (prolly 10-12 yrs. now) he has still got that tele and has refused some sizable offers for it. he paid $175.00 for it. which i thought at the time was a little too much for an "old" guitar with some weird, useless device stuck on it.

When I joined TDPRI

Clarence White, 2x's in early 70's.

In the 80's in Rick Nielson's guitar collection book.

I was so intrigued, I checked every place I could(which was limited in the pre-web world). I looked in GP, Vintage Guitar classifieds and called any of the 1-800 music stores. Later, in the 90's when I saw the Clarence White P/W Tele in Fender Frontline, I was blown away that they wanted over $2000 for one. With more research, I found Gene Parson's shop in California. I called him, set up the installation and had my first real P/W B-bender in my '80 Japanese Squier Tele signed by Gene, stating the date '98. It is still a beauty.
Funny thing happened a few years back. I was contacted my a curator of a museum that was doing a summer-long exhibit about Maine guitarists and luthiers. Since Clarence was born in Maine, they wanted a P/W equipped Tele for the exhibit and someone gave the curator my name. My guitar was there with Clarence's history and the history of the bender itself. Another real fancy guitar there was Ricky Skaggs heavily inlaid Dana Bourgeous acoustic.

Saw Randy Scruggs with one in the mid-70's, concert with Earl Scruggs Review and some other bands near Lake of the Ozarks

Just a few years ago...I remember seeing them on ebay and wondered about them but had no awareness of ever having heard one. Then I sat down with an audio recording of a Marty Stuart song and tried to learn an into. I drove myself nuts trying to get that twang but couldn't find it anywhere! That's when an older and much better guitar player than myself let me in on the secret. I watched video of Marty Stuart many times before but never even suspected he was bending. He's so smooth and makes it look so easy I had no idea. From then on I knew I HAD to join that club.

I must have heard an Evans played by Al Perkins with Manassas in Gainesville, FL in the Spring of 1972 and then with Souther Hillman Furay at Santa Monica Civic in 1974, perhaps before the Ronstadt show. I don't recall ever seeing Bernie Leadon with the Eagles.



First time hearing was Clarence with the Byrds at Pirate's World in south Florida; I don't remember the date and didn't realize what I was hearing. [Note: probably 1971]

The first time I could see and appreciate one was Bob Warford with Linda Ronstadt at Cal State Fullerton 1974.

I think I saw one on a CMT video but not positive. First one I heard was Bernie Leadon on Peaceful Easy Feeling. First one I saw in person, I purchased on the spot. Mine is a Parsons-White, serial number 0123. I contacted Gene Parsons and he said they started with serial number 0101 so mine is pretty early. I've had it for over 15 years. I contacted the guy who had Gene install the B-bender and it was installed many years before I bought the guitar. It's a keeper for sure.

The first one I saw was a P/W on a Pink Paisley 68/69 Tele.
It belonged to Steve Hennig of H.O.T. music, circa 1976.
The first one I heard was Clarence White's on the Byrds "Untitled" album.
I really liked his playing on Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles", too.
I became quite enamored of B benders, and have used Hipshots since the early 80's.
I've also owned Glasers and P/G bender guitars.
When finances allow, I'm going to put a P/W on my black 62' T Custom RI.

I read about the Byrds using one in the 60's or early 70's then I saw a white telecaster in a music store with a B Bender but it cost over $1000 in the 70's.
Way above my head.
I always wanted one but they were rare and expensive.
Recently I saw a 1997 Telecaster on ebay with a factory installed Fender PG bender.
I couldn't afford more than $800 so I bid on it.
Got it for $780.
I finally got one.
I love it and it works perfectly.
I have to learn to play all over again but it is a pleasure.

Pt

Well I wasn't born until '83 so don't be hard on me but the first ones I remember were either ricky skaggs, jimmy olander, or steve wariner. Late '80s-early '90s maybe...

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+1

at the afterhours show held at the Imperial Inn in Santa Fe Springs, Ca. Al Bruno was the house guitarist and he came in with Boomer Castleman's prototype of the Bigsby Palm Pedal which had different levers than the ones which later became stock.... I knew Clarence White in the old days but hadn't seen him since the Nashville West club before he had his bender. The first P/W type I ever saw was played by Bob Warford in the Wagon Camp at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. I think he was playing with Freddy Weller if I remember right. Here's a shot of Al Bruno with his current BPP...........JH in Va.


Same as J. but a few Years later ...... Used to see Al Bruno every chance I got at The Foothill in Long Beach......... Could not figure out how I was HEARING a pedal steel but there was not one on stage ,Al ( who I must add is one of the kindest ,most talented Guys on the planet)gave Me a quick demo between sets and I was on a mission . Did not accomplish that mission for 20 more Years but I got one now:smile::cool: Thanks Al Bruno and thanks Forrest Lee Jr. for a job well done.
P.S. J.! I must have seen Bob Warfords too but not realized what He had goin on ..Cuz I did see Freddy Weller at Knotts as well .. He was one of My favorite singers when I was a we lad

It's kinda funny to me that the tag name of the guy who started this thread could be named after:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVPOtjRrG8

In January '85, MTV ran the above featured clip as part of a five song concert tease taped the previous month in London -- It was my first time seeing a B-Bender (though not in person). Watch Page unload on the bender starting at about 3:18...I'd been a big fan of his for years prior...my first time really hearing one came the previous fall...here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8WUJ9uT3o

That Top 5 Hit had Page and his B Bender jump out at me every time I heard it. If I was in a conveinence store (or anywhere) and it came on, I'd stop and listen for the solo (@ 1:38 in the above clip), I knew who was playing it :) I still love that solo and playing along with it has been part of my own Bending lessons since I got my first Bender a few weeks back!

Seeing one in person? The Firm shows I saw in 1985 & '86. But I only saw two in music stores before getting my own guitar. First one was about 15-20 years ago in a big name store, it was a Clarence White signature model with a P/W bender and maybe about 5 years ago I saw an American Nashville model with a P/G version in a Guitar Center. I live in the Northeast US and while country music's popular everywhere, not so much here. I bet you folks down south have seen more in person ;)

It's kinda funny to me that the tag name of the guy who started this thread could be named after:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVPOtjRrG8

In January '85, MTV ran the above featured clip as part of a five song concert tease taped the previous month in London -- It was my first time seeing a B-Bender (though not in person). Watch Page unload on the bender starting at about 3:18...I'd been a big fan of his for years prior...my first time really hearing one came the previous fall...here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8WUJ9uT3o

That Top 5 Hit had Page and his B Bender jump out at me every time I heard it. If I was in a conveinence store (or anywhere) and it came on, I'd stop and listen for the solo (@ 1:38 in the above clip), I knew who was playing it :) I still love that solo and playing along with it has been part of my own Bending lessons since I got my first Bender a few weeks back!

Seeing one in person? The Firm shows I saw in 1985 & '86. But I only saw two in music stores before getting my own guitar. First one was about 15-20 years ago in a big name store, it was a Clarence White signature model with a P/W bender and maybe about 5 years ago I saw an American Nashville model with a P/G version in a Guitar Center. I live in the Northeast US and while country music's popular everywhere, not so much here. I bet you folks down south have seen more in person ;)

What do you think sport?!!