Hipshot questions

[Brian Lowe]

Never owned one. all my benders have been P/W or P/G which I hate the green. anyway, I am buying new tele I am hot rodding, and it has a hipshot. Do you like them. DO you Hate them. Why? Ease of use?

[bendecaster]

Hey Brian, welcome! I have 2 P/W's, a Glaser, and a Hipshot. I prefer the P/W's, but they all do that bendin' thang we love, without having to use your hands to do it! It's really ALL GOOD! The Hipshot is a different action than a strap actuated bender, but not that big of a deal. In fact, I picked up an SX Tele copy a few months back, and I'm going to put a Hipshot on it. The bottom line is cost, but don't let that fool you, they are a professional grade bender at a bargain price! Before you just chuck the one your new Tele has, mess around with it. You might really like it.
Good luck!

[Chet Johnson]

Originally Posted by Brian Lowe

Never owned one. all my benders have been P/W or P/G which I hate the green. anyway, I am buying new tele I am hot rodding, and it has a hipshot. Do you like them. DO you Hate them. Why? Ease of use?

For 11 years my main guitar was a 1996 American Standard B Bender tele. I took it off and cut off two loops of the spring, adding more tension for less accidental bends. Also, I put Graph Tech saddles on it to eliminate the saddle squeak (lube jobs got annoying). After these changes it worked very well. I'm just curious if these issues are why you hate the Parsons Greene.

I tried a couple of Hipshots along the way. I do not care for them. For me, it is an awkward motion.
I also do not like that there is no return spring, only string tension, whigh isn't very much.

IMO, The price is the main reason so many Hipshots are out there. Next to that, they aren't very invasive. Two screwholes if properly installed.

In the same basic budget I'd look at the Timara benders. The general motions are more natural for me, its inexpensive, and not invasive. I bought one as a spare, and for the money, It is my favorite.

As far as internal benders, I am sold on the McVay benders. His attention to detail, engineering, and generally great attitude is awesome. $600.00 installed in 4-6 weeks.

[Raybob]

I used a Hipshot on a Tele for years and loved it but ALWAYS had major troubles putting it on or taking it off the guitar stand on the breaks. It ALWAYS caught my cord or strap or something with that bar sticking out behind. With the Hipshot, you need to always use a guitar stand, not just lean your guitar against the amp.

I now have a Hipshot Stringbender I installed in a newer Tele body and I've been quite pleased with that for a year or so now.

Raybob