B Bender Instrumentals

[MikeBreen]

Greetings fellow pickers.

I'm bluegrasser turned country guitar player and have been playing full time for the last 20 years hear in Phoenix, Arizona. I started out playing folk and bluegrass in Pennsylvania and was a complete Clarence, Tony Rice, Doc Watson fanatic and then moved to Phoenix where I discovered that the only way I could make a living was to learn how to play country music on the electric guitar. So...many years later after playing in lots of country bands I wind up in a band with Jim Soldi who played with a bunch of people including Johnny Cash and Ricky Skaggs. Jim was the first guy I knew who actually had a bender in his guitar. He had a Glaser bender in his Music Man Silhouette. In the same band, a guy by the name of Ed Black was playing steel and telling me stories of all the bender players he got to work with in his career. So, I was hooked and when Fender came out with that first Parsons/Green I had to have one. Now, 10 years later I've got a couple of tele's with b and g benders in them, a Gibson acoustic with a b bender, and a Glaser Strat with a bender. Yes, I've gone nuts. So, being a songwriter, I had to write a bunch of songs with the b and g bender as the focal point. That's my story.

Mike Breen

[Muttcaster]

Tell me about the acoustic Bender.....does it affect the acoustic sound of the guitar much? Is there a tone difference between the B and the other strings? Do you notice the weight difference?

Another bluegrass guy.....

[MikeBreen]

The acoustic guitar b bender is in a Gibson EC-20 Starburst - I think that's the model. I purchased it from Larry Militech at Music One Workshop in Kalispell, Montana. Larry has done all my bender installs of late and is fantastic to work with. He had this acoustic guitar with Gene Parson's acoustic bender installed for sale on his website. I was hesitant at first about getting one but I absolutely love this guitar. When I do my solo jobs/shows I can do all of my normal material plus do a few bender songs. It's got a fishman matrix pickup system in it so it sounds great plugged in to the PA and it's got a great tone acoustically. The bender system is truly remarkable - very stable and smooth. I really don't know anything about the design except to say when you look at the bender device it's quite remarkable.

There doesn't seem to be much of a weight gain with the bender but I don't know the exact specs and when utilizing the bender on this guitar, there is no noticeable effect on the other strings or neck. It's truly an amazing invention.

[Muttcaster]

So you're plugged in then....I'm curious as to how well it might work in an acoustic situation. I mimic bends quite a bit, so I know where I'd want to use it. Guess I'll just have to have one installed and see.

[MikeBreen]

The Gibson I have is actually a J-180, which is a pretty beefy acoustic. The solid top gives it a really nice acoustic sound and the fishman onboard pickup-preamp system gives it a great sound through the PA.

I would imagine that you would need a fairly beefy acoustic to put a bender in because of the additional stress on the neck when you utilize the bender.

It's a blast to play it. You gotta get one!!

[Muttcaster]

I went looking for a home page for you, Mike, hoping there'd be some sound clips or something to help me make up my mind whether to buy your CD and I found out the ugly truth about you!!!

http://www.mikebreen.com/

:D

[MikeBreen]

That's funny.
I'm sure Mike Breen (the lawyer) is a really nice fellow. I know he makes more money than me. FYI: my website is http://www.tourdog.com/mikebreen
Due to lack of funds I have not updated it with bender stuff. Ken Skaggs, my webmaster has been nice enough to keep it going for me - I owe him. If you want to hear some sound samples go to the CDBaby page @
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mikebreen3
Reviews and samples of my other CDs are linked to that page.
Also available at :
http://www.geocities.com/beautown/b.htm

Mike Breen (the guitar player)

[geddyleedog]

Originally Posted by MikeBreen

That's funny.
I'm sure Mike Breen (the lawyer) is a really nice fellow. I know he makes more money than me. FYI: my website is http://www.tourdog.com/mikebreen

Mike Breen (the guitar player)

I actually looked up your personal information because I thought you might be Mike Breen, the old sports announcer on the Imus in the Morning Program and the voice of the New York Nicks! That guy is hysterical! However I'm sure he can't pick like you!

[MikeBreen]

""I actually looked up your personal information because I thought you might be Mike Breen, the old sports announcer on the Imus in the Morning Program and the voice of the New York Nicks! That guy is hysterical! However I'm sure he can't pick like you!""

I've heard of that guy. Dang, there's a lot of MB's around.

BTW: I'm in the middle of learning Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" song for my steady gig. There are some really cool bender licks - especially G bender licks in that one. That guy smokes!!! I have no idea how he plays those really fast hammer-on /pull-offs yet. Working those out will be a project. Does anyone know where to get some tabs on that?