Bought me a bender today, now what?

Big Steve · May 9th, 2008, 05:15 PM

Got me a 97 Fender B-Bender. It is all stock. It is the Olympic white color with a white pickguard. It is near mint condition. I paid $800 for it. I think that was a really good deal.

I have never even held a B-Bender tele before. I got interested when I saw Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's band play one a couple weeks back.

So now that I have one, where do I start? Any good lessons out there? Any tips or tricks you could pass along would be much appreciated. I have been playing for a long time and generally know my way around a guitar.

lmcgillet · May 9th, 2008, 05:31 PM

Congrats to your new guitar!

Forrest Lee jr. and Will Ray offer comprehensive and affordable DVD lessons on eBay which I highly recommend. Just search for 'B-Bender' on eBay and you will find them.

Both are tdpri members btw, and quite present here.

There is one more DVD lesson to find there from time to time. People say it's very good, but I forgot who made it and I myself haven't got it yet.

Greetings -
Luther

cacibi · May 9th, 2008, 05:34 PM

Good licks here

Go get some Byrds/Clarence White recordings. The source for all things bender.

Also - the Clarence White Forum

And here's another one on my site.

asatfan · May 9th, 2008, 05:42 PM

Congratulations on the purchase! You're gonna love it. If you search these threads, you'll find alot of good chord voicings, tricks, and tips to get started with. I would agree the Forrest Lee Jr. Bending 101 DVD is a good place to start. A lot of very basic, usable stuff to get going.

Let us know how things progress. Enjoy!

Valvey · May 9th, 2008, 05:48 PM

I think you want to concentrate on bends that you can't easily do without a B-bender. These would include:

Pre-bends ( impossible to pre-bend a note a perfect whole tone above unaided.)

Bend and holds, where you bend the note up and then keep the note bent while playing notes on other strings and then release the bend on the same fret or a different one.

Bends within chords. For instance, think of of an A7 chord on the 5th fret. A bend makes that an A13. Will Ray is good at chord bends.

I think you need to be a hybrid picker or a thumb picker to get the most out of a b bender.

Don Miller · May 9th, 2008, 07:55 PM

Wanna play like Mike Campbell?..he seems to like the move where you finger the first string at the third fret, the second at the first (C-G on the top two strings) and pull the C up to D with the bender..Gsus4 to G...slide it up to where youre playing C on 3, D on 2 and A on the first string..engage the bender...and youre pulling into an Am. Those two moves are all over "Orphan of the Storm"

Having said that..you'll get your most bender mileage from the Asus 2 shape...in open chords youd finger an A chord at the 2nd fret but leave the second string open...and the first position D7 ...play D7 and pull the bender and it resolves to a D chord...you can play them both up the neck..the A position youll bar strings one and two with your index finger and put your second finger finger two frets up on the third string (or fret the 3rd and 4th strings two frets up). Stringbender guitar involves arppegiations of those two basic chord shapes...try different appregiations and cross pick moves...try stringing single note lines using the chord tones and bender...John Belands version of Buckaroo is a great example of that...the main riff incorporates a bender move in his version.

You can use other chord shapes A D shape with the bender becomes an add9 chord...an F shape becames a 6th( or the relative minor)...and a C7 shape becomes a 9th chord when you yank the bender...

That should get you started...

I like to practice against 3 chord shuffles...like get someone to play behind you..or record some I-IV-I-V7th stuff..its simple but it sounds great.....use a metronome or click track..timing is critical and the difference between a sweet move and chaos is about 2 miliseconds...

A good break to learn is the one from "Deportee" off the Byrds Easy Rider CD..it was tabbed out at the Clarence White Forum...its got it all in about 30 seconds..Arppegiations, chimed harmonics, single note stuff..

Big Steve · May 9th, 2008, 11:03 PM

Thanks guys. I am going in. I will report back as things progress.

May 9th, 2008, 05:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
Big Steve Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 456	Bought me a bender today, now what? Got me a 97 Fender B-Bender. It is all stock. It is the Olympic white color with a white pickguard. It is near mint condition. I paid $800 for it. I think that was a really good deal. I have never even held a B-Bender tele before. I got interested when I saw Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's band play one a couple weeks back. So now that I have one, where do I start? Any good lessons out there? Any tips or tricks you could pass along would be much appreciated. I have been playing for a long time and generally know my way around a guitar.

May 9th, 2008, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
lmcgillet TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 53	Congrats to your new guitar! Forrest Lee jr. and Will Ray offer comprehensive and affordable DVD lessons on eBay which I highly recommend. Just search for 'B-Bender' on eBay and you will find them. Both are tdpri members btw, and quite present here. There is one more DVD lesson to find there from time to time. People say it's very good, but I forgot who made it and I myself haven't got it yet. Greetings - Luther Last edited by lmcgillet; May 9th, 2008 at 07:29 PM.

May 9th, 2008, 05:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
cacibi Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,740	Good licks here Go get some Byrds/Clarence White recordings. The source for all things bender. Also - the Clarence White Forum And here's another one on my site. __________________ www.krisgeren.com

May 9th, 2008, 05:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
asatfan Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: IN Age: 53 Posts: 157	Congratulations on the purchase! You're gonna love it. If you search these threads, you'll find alot of good chord voicings, tricks, and tips to get started with. I would agree the Forrest Lee Jr. Bending 101 DVD is a good place to start. A lot of very basic, usable stuff to get going. Let us know how things progress. Enjoy!

May 9th, 2008, 05:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
Valvey Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: morgantown wv Posts: 166	I think you want to concentrate on bends that you can't easily do without a B-bender. These would include: Pre-bends ( impossible to pre-bend a note a perfect whole tone above unaided.) Bend and holds, where you bend the note up and then keep the note bent while playing notes on other strings and then release the bend on the same fret or a different one. Bends within chords. For instance, think of of an A7 chord on the 5th fret. A bend makes that an A13. Will Ray is good at chord bends. I think you need to be a hybrid picker or a thumb picker to get the most out of a b bender.

May 9th, 2008, 07:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
Don Miller Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Age: 57 Posts: 593 14 Photos	Wanna play like Mike Campbell?..he seems to like the move where you finger the first string at the third fret, the second at the first (C-G on the top two strings) and pull the C up to D with the bender..Gsus4 to G...slide it up to where youre playing C on 3, D on 2 and A on the first string..engage the bender...and youre pulling into an Am. Those two moves are all over "Orphan of the Storm" Having said that..you'll get your most bender mileage from the Asus 2 shape...in open chords youd finger an A chord at the 2nd fret but leave the second string open...and the first position D7 ...play D7 and pull the bender and it resolves to a D chord...you can play them both up the neck..the A position youll bar strings one and two with your index finger and put your second finger finger two frets up on the third string (or fret the 3rd and 4th strings two frets up). Stringbender guitar involves arppegiations of those two basic chord shapes...try different appregiations and cross pick moves...try stringing single note lines using the chord tones and bender...John Belands version of Buckaroo is a great example of that...the main riff incorporates a bender move in his version. You can use other chord shapes A D shape with the bender becomes an add9 chord...an F shape becames a 6th( or the relative minor)...and a C7 shape becomes a 9th chord when you yank the bender... That should get you started... I like to practice against 3 chord shuffles...like get someone to play behind you..or record some I-IV-I-V7th stuff..its simple but it sounds great.....use a metronome or click track..timing is critical and the difference between a sweet move and chaos is about 2 miliseconds... A good break to learn is the one from "Deportee" off the Byrds Easy Rider CD..it was tabbed out at the Clarence White Forum...its got it all in about 30 seconds..Arppegiations, chimed harmonics, single note stuff..

May 9th, 2008, 11:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
Big Steve Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 456	Thanks guys. I am going in. I will report back as things progress.