Gonna Put a G-Bender in my Tele from Charlie McVay

[rodeo_joel]

i've been trying to get ahold of Charlie McVay so i can ship my tele to him for some mod work. I really like the way he does his benders, with minimally invasive routing. It's really quite discreet about removing wood, and its barely noticeable.

I know the Parsons benders require a whole whack of routing on there benders. Then you've got the ones where you rout the back of the guitar and can cover it with a plastic plate.

Anybody here use Charlie's Benders? How about Joe Glaser? I know he does bender installations, anybody use them instead?

[Eddy Boy]

I have a Mcvay bender in a Crook tele - can't complain about it at all - works a treat!

[fenderguy]

I actually just sent my 62 ri out to charlie last saturday for a g bender.. He said it should take about 8 weeks which is fine.. I know it will be done right...

[rodeo_joel]

just got off the phone with Charlie not 5 minutes ago. What a nice fellow. He felt obliged to return my call when he saw i'd called his # and missed him.

I'll be shipping my tele out shortly here i think. I know as of yet it looks like about 8 weeks of waiting but i know he'll do it right and it'll be worth it.

[Rebel420]

I actually have a guitar at Charlie's right now getting a long-throw B bender... Took it there around the end of Feb., SOOOO I should be getting it within the next few days. He has been great with replying to my emails and stupid questions. I'll post some pics, and give a full report right after... make that SOMETIME after I get it back (thinking I'll be spending a lOT of time with it.

... My tele is actually a partscaster with a real '50's fender neck that someone completely stripped, and I refinished, with an 80's Stew-Mac body, Duncan '50s tele bridge, Duncan SSL-1 in the middle, and a custom -rewound duncan in the neck... Hipshot drop D on the low e string. Had this guitar for close to 20 years now, and it is my main axe... so lets just say, I wouldnt trust just anyone doing my work... and Charlie comes with high regards.

The only regret is that I don't have the $$ to have him make it a double bender.... I've always loved b-benders, but with G-benders getting more popular.

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by Rebel420

I actually have a guitar at Charlie's right now getting a long-throw B bender... Took it there around the end of Feb., SOOOO I should be getting it within the next few days. He has been great with replying to my emails and stupid questions. I'll post some pics, and give a full report right after... make that SOMETIME after I get it back (thinking I'll be spending a lOT of time with it.

... My tele is actually a partscaster with a real '50's fender neck that someone completely stripped, and I refinished, with an 80's Stew-Mac body, Duncan '50s tele bridge, Duncan SSL-1 in the middle, and a custom -rewound duncan in the neck... Hipshot drop D on the low e string. Had this guitar for close to 20 years now, and it is my main axe... so lets just say, I wouldnt trust just anyone doing my work... and Charlie comes with high regards.

The only regret is that I don't have the $$ to have him make it a double bender.... I've always loved b-benders, but with G-benders getting more popular.

Ya Charlie is a great guy. It was a pleasure to chat with him, we carried on for quite awhile about some of the work he's done and other stuff like Brad Paisley's tele's, hehe.

As far as the double bender, I was talking with him about those too. I wasn't actually thinking about getting one, but i was curious how he did his work. The thing is, Charlie actually doesn't recommend them to most people. It just complicates the mechanism even more. He said it does work very well for guys that really know what they want, but generally he doesn't recommend them to guys that generally assume that more is better.

I'll bet B Benders would be kinda cool, but i can just tell that i'll make way more use of the G bender with the kind of playing that i do.

I'm really looking forward to getting one in, it'll be sweet.

~Cheers~

[Wardpike]

Originally Posted by Eddy Boy

I have a Mcvay bender in a Crook tele - can't complain about it at all - works a treat!

How much does this run you, typically? I'd like to get a Mcvay G bender in a tele, and Crook's guitars are all top-notch.

Thanks in advance!

Ward

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by Wardpike

How much does this run you, typically? I'd like to get a Mcvay G bender in a tele, and Crook's guitars are all top-notch.

Thanks in advance!

Ward

Charlie charges $600 US for the actual installation (parts and everything). You're also in charge of paying for round trip shipping (its different for everybody depending on where you're from and how far away you live). It's a bummer for me (being from Canada...).

Everything you need to know about Charlie and his benders is on his site. And you can call him anytime, he's always willing to answer any questions (his Phone # is on his site too).

www.mcvaybenders.com

Bill's guitars are certainly great, i'd also like to get one someday but i'm tapped out for quite a while. Oh well...

Cheers

[twangcaster1]

I'm fixin' to send one of mine to Joe Glaser in Nashville to install a G-bender pretty soon here. I like his stuff. Nice guy, too.

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

I'm fixin' to send one of mine to Joe Glaser in Nashville to install a G-bender pretty soon here. I like his stuff. Nice guy, too.

I've played a tele with Joe's bender in it, they really are good. I'm not sure what the difference is in their actual processes or craftsmanship.

I know for sure that Charlie's method is completely minimally invasive and barely routs out any of the body at all. You can't even tell anything has been done to the guitar at all by looking from the outside.

I completely favor this method over something like a Parsons bender where it seems like you have to rout out like a third of the wood. I also like the bender arm style instead of the parsons style strap pin that sticks out through the neck plate.

Still, they both must be good. I know Brad Paisley uses a Glaser bender on his 52'/57' and 68' tele's, and a McVay on every single Crook tele. Actually it was Brad's 52'/57' tele i played with the Glaser G-Bender in it. What a great guitar!

[twangcaster1]

The only real difference is the length of the strap-pull stroke. McVays have a longer stroke. Glasers are pretty short. Just personal preference, I reckon.

[tonytrout]

Originally Posted by rodeo_joel

I know the Parsons benders require a whole whack of routing on there benders. Then you've got the ones where you rout the back of the guitar and can cover it with a plastic plate.

They're one in the same. The Parsons/White has the clear back cover and the Parsons/Green has the metal cover.

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

The only real difference is the length of the strap-pull stroke. McVays have a longer stroke. Glasers are pretty short. Just personal preference, I reckon.

I'd love to have another tele and have a 'long-throw' Parsons/White B bender in it...but finances are sorta getting in the way of that at the moment....

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

The only real difference is the length of the strap-pull stroke. McVays have a longer stroke. Glasers are pretty short. Just personal preference, I reckon.

I know you can ask for a short arm when he puts it on. I actually thought if anything the Glasers were a bit longer than the McVay's. The arms were definately thinner, they were kinda cool actually. But ya, totally personal preference. I'd probably stick with the standard medium throw.

[Wardpike]

Originally Posted by rodeo_joel

Charlie charges $600 US for the actual installation (parts and everything). You're also in charge of paying for round trip shipping (its different for everybody depending on where you're from and how far away you live). It's a bummer for me (being from Canada...).

Only $600? Crook guitars quoted me an additional $700 to have a bender installed on a custom built guitar from them. Mark-up I guess.

Either way, I hear the McVay is the way to go!

[Rick Towne]

two Glasers (one a double) and two Parsons-Whites. Different feels in each other, all great. I don't care about the P-W routing because I had middle and neck strat pickups anyway.

In the meantime, I still don't understand why one would choose a g over a b to play the usual country/standard tuning vocabulary.

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by Rick Towne

two Glasers (one a double) and two Parsons-Whites. Different feels in each other, all great. I don't care about the P-W routing because I had middle and neck strat pickups anyway.

In the meantime, I still don't understand why one would choose a g over a b to play the usual country/standard tuning vocabulary.

For me it was really no question. Brad Paisley has been a huge influence on my playing and i really connect with his style. But it's more than just "doing it cuz Brad does it".

My style that's developed, i know i could use a g bender to do lots of neato things. For instance, i do a lot of open string pull-offs. By using the bender to pitch up the g string to an A it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

Another thing, i've kinda got small(er) hands and therefore short(er) fingers so doing stuff like bending on the low registers (in other words closer to the nut) and using the pinky to reach other notes can sometimes be hard. a G bender would really help out with stuff like that. you try bending a Bb with your ring finger (3rd fret, G string) up a whole step while reaching down with your pinky to fret the Eb (4th fret, B string) while fretting the F and C (1st fret, strings E and B respectively). It's not easy for somebody with short fingers like me

haha

It's different strokes for different folks is what it is. And i'm looking forward to having one and cutting loose with it.

Cheers!

[Rebel420]

I just picked my B-Bender tele up from Charlie McVay last evening... and must say you are DEFINITELY doing the right thing. I had a long-pull put in mine, and although a bit longer than I anticipated, definitely, just felt natural. I jsut can't believe how SMOOOTH the thing is, and the amazing thing is, the tone of the bent string is no different than any other string (a problem I found with the Hipshot, in that the pressure over the saddle was lighter and changed the tone of the b string.... not so with the McVay!).... also the tone is consistant all the way through the bend!!! THe long pull is right about 1" (give or take a little), so I don't know WHERE that is compared to a PW/PG, or Glaser.... I do know that his standard medium pull comes in at around 7/16" (just a hair under a 1/2).
Before I took the guitar, Charlie had me plug in and play it to make sure I was 100% happy, and also had me play one of his guitars that had the standard medium pull, since the long pull is not for everyone. Again, I was very happy, and I'm sure you will be when you get yours done. The wait seems like forever, however it is definitely worth every second!

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by Rebel420

I just picked my B-Bender tele up from Charlie McVay last evening... and must say you are DEFINITELY doing the right thing. I had a long-pull put in mine, and although a bit longer than I anticipated, definitely, just felt natural. I jsut can't believe how SMOOOTH the thing is, and the amazing thing is, the tone of the bent string is no different than any other string (a problem I found with the Hipshot, in that the pressure over the saddle was lighter and changed the tone of the b string.... not so with the McVay!).... also the tone is consistant all the way through the bend!!! THe long pull is right about 1" (give or take a little), so I don't know WHERE that is compared to a PW/PG, or Glaser.... I do know that his standard medium pull comes in at around 7/16" (just a hair under a 1/2).
Before I took the guitar, Charlie had me plug in and play it to make sure I was 100% happy, and also had me play one of his guitars that had the standard medium pull, since the long pull is not for everyone. Again, I was very happy, and I'm sure you will be when you get yours done. The wait seems like forever, however it is definitely worth every second!

Wow man, that's really cool. Ya i'm stoked, i had a pretty good chat with Charlie on the phone a while back and he's a total stickler for tonal quality. No doubt in my mind that his work will be top notch.

I shipped my tele away last Monday, seems like forever already since i've played her ....

Good thing i've got my other tele to tide me over 'till then. Otherwise i'd probably have gone insane by now, hehe

Congrats on your new acquisition my friend.
~Cheers~