Hipshot question?

gripper · June 18th, 2008, 04:51 PM

Has anyone here installed a hipshot b-bender on a tele with a top loading bridge (fender squire). Any problems? I am looking to put together an inexpensive bender guitar and was wondering how this would work. Thanks!!

jmiles · June 18th, 2008, 05:46 PM

Should be no problem at all. If you don't have the little teflon tube, you can get it at a bike shop. It's the same as the liner for a bike's brake cable. You may have to slightly enlarge that string hole, but no big deal. Personally, I prefer a top-loader, as the string tension and the break angle are more the same on all the strings.

teleman65 · June 18th, 2008, 08:04 PM

I found the Hipshot installation easier on a Top Loader Tele.

gripper · June 18th, 2008, 10:59 PM

Thanks for the replys. That really helped me out. This site is soo cool.

kp8 · June 21st, 2008, 06:13 PM

So the hipshot will work on any bridge? 3 saddle? 6 saddle? top-loader? String throo?

Would it work with a 6 saddle?

getbent · June 21st, 2008, 06:44 PM

yes. you may want to 'notch' the back of the bridge (or drill a hole) but I think just about any bridge would work. I use a wilkinson on mine it has string through and top loader holes so it is easy... but you could make a notch in 5 minutes with a good file or dremel.

lmcgillet · June 22nd, 2008, 08:11 AM

kp8, some people (including me) think the simple ashtray 3-saddle bridge with notched saddles works best for the Hipshot bender.

For this opinion and some more posts about Hipshots and other benders, looky here:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-...ring-pull.html

Greetings -
Luther

bendecaster · June 23rd, 2008, 10:55 PM

kp8, your good to go with a 6 saddle. I've done it with good results.

kp8 · June 23rd, 2008, 11:00 PM

i want a hipshot so bad it hurts. ;) ... saving my pennies. Good to know i am okay with pretty much any bridge.

getbent · June 23rd, 2008, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kp8

i want a hipshot so bad it hurts. ;)

just wait til you slip and land on the bar....

kp8 · June 23rd, 2008, 11:27 PM

ha... (ouch)

so here is a question: Can you just buy the basic B-bendah and then add the other crapola you want later (Drop-D, G-palm)... or do you gotta get the whole shabang all at once? I see some dudes selling the bender only on fleabay.

Additionally: who sell the standard 3-saddle bridge that is both toploader and string through? Seems like the hippo works okay just with the 3-saddle and the toploada holes.... I guess Wilkinson and WarMouth sells them, but is there a fenner one? I don't have a drill press.

bwang~

getbent · June 23rd, 2008, 11:47 PM

yes. you can buy a basic b and add later. I LOVE the wilkinson one. they are terrific. 35.00!

J. Hayes · June 24th, 2008, 05:13 AM

to see if the cross rod is supported. Some of the older benders weren't. I had one of the first ones out and later added a G palm lever only to find out that when I'd use the B bender, the G string would go flat.

The reason was that the cross rod they were attached to would flex. What I wound up doing was making a block which I wedged under the cross rod which prevented it from moving.

Later on I bought another HipShot with a B and G bender and I noticed that they'd started adding a screw which went in from the backside of the bender plate right into the rod which prevented the flexing. A great idea which works very well. So just make sure you've stabilized the rod before adding a G bender if it's not already done..........JH in Va.

jmiles · June 24th, 2008, 07:21 AM

Yes, you can buy the most basic model, and add other parts later. No problemo.

bender-freak · June 24th, 2008, 01:01 PM

most of the Wilkinson bridges i see on Evil-Bay are quite reasonable; have seen them as cheap as 9.99 plus shipping, and that includes their version of compensated saddles...the ones i have snagged have all been top loader and string thru both...

and J. Hayes is right about making sure the bar is stabilized....if all is installed properly the Hipshot is a great unit....

Silverface · June 25th, 2008, 09:54 PM

Also, you don't always need to notch out the back of the bridge; it depends on the neck angle as well. I've found on some guitars that a simple shim will kick things up high enough to pass over the back of the bridge without any notch.

kp8 · June 25th, 2008, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silverface

Also, you don't always need to notch out the back of the bridge; it depends on the neck angle as well. I've found on some guitars that a simple shim will kick things up high enough to pass over the back of the bridge without any notch.

That's good to know... since i am pretty much set on trying a Hipshot. I do have a Wilkinson bridge on the way in anticipation of the Hippo hi-jinx.

Thanks to everyone on this thread, and the other one for filling me in on the wild and wacky world o' string bending.

-kp---

getbent · June 25th, 2008, 11:30 PM

oh man... then you are gonna want a cool old vibrolux... and a huge collection of warford and white records!

kp8 · June 26th, 2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getbent

oh man... then you are gonna want a cool old vibrolux... and a huge collection of warford and white records!

yeah i am really excited. I scored a used wilkinson, i have some steel saddles with the groove in them (a la '69 thinline) which should be perfect for the bendah ... and now a hipshot on the way.

Now, i gotta start searching for some bender licks...

oh yeah~

Guy-Paul · July 13th, 2008, 06:52 PM

I was in the process of installing the Hipshot on every Tele I have. The model I was buying was the B and G with D-drop. At one point I sort of stopped because I was experiencing this sort of pitch drop that our friend J.Hayes mentions ( G drops when you trigger B, and vice versa )and was questioning the move. . Though you can hide it as you play, it sometimes shows. ( I was even wondering if Will Ray uses the B bender only model for that reason. )
I do have a Fender with a Parson-Green and I installed a basic Hipshot on the G, so I'm not in a hurry. But as time passed I found the Hipshot easier to trigger than the PG and therefore more pleasant to play. The Nashville Tele with PG is also heavier.
I was about to shim the neck to settle the problem, as some people suggest, but was afraid to change the sustain of my guitars.
So I'm thankful to Mr. Hayes for his suggestion. I didn't try it yet, but it really makes sense. I had a bit of a feeling about that but couldn't believe the rod could move or bend. So I didn't make any attempt to support it mostly because I believed what I had read about that with shimming and adding tension. But this seems to me a more logical cause for the problem, specially if Hipshot started to put a supporting screw...
The funny thing is that I bought my benders last year, mostly from Hipshot and there doesn't seem to be any stabilizing screws on the rods.
I'm anxious to try that for sure. It would be really fantastic, considering how easy it is to install.

June 18th, 2008, 04:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
gripper NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: alabama Age: 48 Posts: 5	Hipshot question? Has anyone here installed a hipshot b-bender on a tele with a top loading bridge (fender squire). Any problems? I am looking to put together an inexpensive bender guitar and was wondering how this would work. Thanks!!

June 18th, 2008, 10:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
gripper NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: alabama Age: 48 Posts: 5	Thanks! Thanks for the replys. That really helped me out. This site is soo cool.

June 21st, 2008, 06:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 9,512 37 Photos	yes. you may want to 'notch' the back of the bridge (or drill a hole) but I think just about any bridge would work. I use a wilkinson on mine it has string through and top loader holes so it is easy... but you could make a notch in 5 minutes with a good file or dremel. __________________

June 23rd, 2008, 10:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
bendecaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: maine Posts: 915	kp8, your good to go with a 6 saddle. I've done it with good results. __________________ The Demented 7th

June 23rd, 2008, 11:47 PM	#12 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 9,512 37 Photos	yes. you can buy a basic b and add later. I LOVE the wilkinson one. they are terrific. 35.00! __________________

June 18th, 2008, 05:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
jmiles Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ohio Posts: 137	Should be no problem at all. If you don't have the little teflon tube, you can get it at a bike shop. It's the same as the liner for a bike's brake cable. You may have to slightly enlarge that string hole, but no big deal. Personally, I prefer a top-loader, as the string tension and the break angle are more the same on all the strings.

June 21st, 2008, 06:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
kp8 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 2,743	So the hipshot will work on any bridge? 3 saddle? 6 saddle? top-loader? String throo? Would it work with a 6 saddle?

June 22nd, 2008, 08:11 AM	#7 (permalink)
lmcgillet TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 52	kp8, some people (including me) think the simple ashtray 3-saddle bridge with notched saddles works best for the Hipshot bender. For this opinion and some more posts about Hipshots and other benders, looky here: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-...ring-pull.html Greetings - Luther

June 23rd, 2008, 11:00 PM	#9 (permalink)
kp8 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 2,743	i want a hipshot so bad it hurts. ;) ... saving my pennies. Good to know i am okay with pretty much any bridge.

June 23rd, 2008, 11:27 PM	#11 (permalink)
kp8 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 2,743	ha... (ouch) so here is a question: Can you just buy the basic B-bendah and then add the other crapola you want later (Drop-D, G-palm)... or do you gotta get the whole shabang all at once? I see some dudes selling the bender only on fleabay. Additionally: who sell the standard 3-saddle bridge that is both toploader and string through? Seems like the hippo works okay just with the 3-saddle and the toploada holes.... I guess Wilkinson and WarMouth sells them, but is there a fenner one? I don't have a drill press. bwang~

June 24th, 2008, 05:13 AM	#13 (permalink)
J. Hayes Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2005 Location: Virginia Beach, Va. Posts: 950	One thing to watch for if you by a B-only Bender is.... to see if the cross rod is supported. Some of the older benders weren't. I had one of the first ones out and later added a G palm lever only to find out that when I'd use the B bender, the G string would go flat. The reason was that the cross rod they were attached to would flex. What I wound up doing was making a block which I wedged under the cross rod which prevented it from moving. Later on I bought another HipShot with a B and G bender and I noticed that they'd started adding a screw which went in from the backside of the bender plate right into the rod which prevented the flexing. A great idea which works very well. So just make sure you've stabilized the rod before adding a G bender if it's not already done..........JH in Va. __________________ Ralph Mooney rules!!

June 24th, 2008, 07:21 AM	#14 (permalink)
jmiles Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ohio Posts: 137	Yes, you can buy the most basic model, and add other parts later. No problemo.

June 24th, 2008, 01:01 PM	#15 (permalink)
bender-freak Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: springfield, missouri Posts: 1,292	most of the Wilkinson bridges i see on Evil-Bay are quite reasonable; have seen them as cheap as 9.99 plus shipping, and that includes their version of compensated saddles...the ones i have snagged have all been top loader and string thru both... and J. Hayes is right about making sure the bar is stabilized....if all is installed properly the Hipshot is a great unit.... __________________ bender-freak

June 25th, 2008, 09:54 PM	#16 (permalink)
Silverface Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hermosa Beach CA Age: 56 Posts: 1,877	Also, you don't always need to notch out the back of the bridge; it depends on the neck angle as well. I've found on some guitars that a simple shim will kick things up high enough to pass over the back of the bridge without any notch. __________________ “No Chops – Great Tone” ©

June 25th, 2008, 11:30 PM	#18 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 9,512 37 Photos	oh man... then you are gonna want a cool old vibrolux... and a huge collection of warford and white records! __________________

July 13th, 2008, 06:52 PM	#20 (permalink)
Guy-Paul TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Montreal Posts: 32	I was in the process of installing the Hipshot on every Tele I have. The model I was buying was the B and G with D-drop. At one point I sort of stopped because I was experiencing this sort of pitch drop that our friend J.Hayes mentions ( G drops when you trigger B, and vice versa )and was questioning the move. . Though you can hide it as you play, it sometimes shows. ( I was even wondering if Will Ray uses the B bender only model for that reason. ) I do have a Fender with a Parson-Green and I installed a basic Hipshot on the G, so I'm not in a hurry. But as time passed I found the Hipshot easier to trigger than the PG and therefore more pleasant to play. The Nashville Tele with PG is also heavier. I was about to shim the neck to settle the problem, as some people suggest, but was afraid to change the sustain of my guitars. So I'm thankful to Mr. Hayes for his suggestion. I didn't try it yet, but it really makes sense. I had a bit of a feeling about that but couldn't believe the rod could move or bend. So I didn't make any attempt to support it mostly because I believed what I had read about that with shimming and adding tension. But this seems to me a more logical cause for the problem, specially if Hipshot started to put a supporting screw... The funny thing is that I bought my benders last year, mostly from Hipshot and there doesn't seem to be any stabilizing screws on the rods. I'm anxious to try that for sure. It would be really fantastic, considering how easy it is to install.