B-Bender clicking noise??

[Rhetro]

Hello all!

Ok, so I've had my B-Bender Nashville Tele for a little over a month now, and I've been using it like crazy!!! I've been going through B strings probably a little more than normal, but I'm attributing that to the abuse that the B-sthring is getting relative to the other strings. The Tele came with the normal Fender saddles, with the offset screw.
Before I put the new B-string on, I scribe a little on the saddle with a pencil. I also do this on the B-bender mechanism that swivels in the grommet -the groove that the string actually sits in. I then put a little of that nut sauce stuff on all the contact points, and that seems to do the trick, until it breaks!
I use to have a squeak, but the method above took care of that. The movement of the mechanism has been smooth. Until......

Today. I broke a B-string, went through the above steps. But now I'm hearing a slight clicking noise!! Almost like the blinker in a car! I looked it over, and can't notice anything out of the ordinary. Anything mechanical will wear over time. I realize this, and understand that there is probably some routine maintenance that needs to be done. But specifically. The car turn indicator issue?

Any ideas what it could be, and how it's remedied?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I can't get enough of this thing!!!! I'm hooked!!!

[robt57]

Maybe it is part Khoisan ?? [ducking]

[gumbo]

...could check to see whether Toyota has a recall out on this one.....

[Rhetro]

Did some checking....

1) Way too much Nashville to be part Khosian.

2) Called Toyota; they have no idea what a Telecaster B-Bender is. So I sent them some schematics on the mechanism. Waiting to hear back.

Stay tuned (no pun intended)!!

[robt57]

I wonder it it isn't the new string frankly

[Rhetro]

Hey Robt!

Interesting that you mention that. The string that broke snapped at the loop that goes around the ball-end (had never seen that before). When it broke I had all this slack, but the string was still attached. I couldn't figure out what had happened. Then the ball-end ends up on the floor, and I realized that the string was being pinched by the b bender mech. I pushed down on the neck, and the string came right out.

Perhaps something in the mech gave, that's causing trauma to the B string now. This is the first B bender I've ever owned, so it's my first time around. But for now, I suppose I should just wait and see what happens with this new string.

Was also wondering:

When the guitar is unplugged, the mech isn't totally silent right? There are going to be a few clicks and pings here and there, correct?

Thanks for the reply!

[robt57]

I'd sure be soldering the wrap on a B bender's bender string myself as a matter of practice.

[asatfan]

Not sure what the clicking noise could be. Any noise I've ever had was "lube" related. Not the mechanism, but the string contact areas. Just as info, I've not broken a B string on my Pull String in at least two years. I use Hybrid Slinkys (.009" - .046") so my B string is .011". I do change them regularly.

[Rhetro]

Thanks folks.

I think the string issue was correct. I re-seated it, and that seemed to do the trick. I think it's a bad string/ball end, whatever.

I appreciate it. I know that at some point my curiosity is going to get the best of me, and I'm going to open it up and see what's back there. I'm NOT going to do this without consulting here first. I'll assess what I'm looking at then with regards to the brass stops.

Thanks again for your help!

[satman10]

Originally Posted by Rhetro

Hello all!

Ok, so I've had my B-Bender Nashville Tele for a little over a month now, and I've been using it like crazy!!! I've been going through B strings probably a little more than normal, but I'm attributing that to the abuse that the B-sthring is getting relative to the other strings. The Tele came with the normal Fender saddles, with the offset screw.
Before I put the new B-string on, I scribe a little on the saddle with a pencil. I also do this on the B-bender mechanism that swivels in the grommet -the groove that the string actually sits in. I then put a little of that nut sauce stuff on all the contact points, and that seems to do the trick, until it breaks!
I use to have a squeak, but the method above took care of that. The movement of the mechanism has been smooth. Until......

Today. I broke a B-string, went through the above steps. But now I'm hearing a slight clicking noise!! Almost like the blinker in a car! I looked it over, and can't notice anything out of the ordinary. Anything mechanical will wear over time. I realize this, and understand that there is probably some routine maintenance that needs to be done. But specifically. The car turn indicator issue?

Any ideas what it could be, and how it's remedied?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I can't get enough of this thing!!!! I'm hooked!!!

Fender B' Benders(Clarece/White) need a light oil(Don't over do it) every so often at the bride saddle, mine made a 'bed spring' noise through the amp, until I oiled it!

[T Prior]

Unlike a vibrato such as a Bigsby which slightly rolls the entire mount, Benders and Pedal Steel Guitars move the assy that the the BALL END sits in, as much as a full tone or more, typical strings are not meant to have the ball end stressed...it is the weakest part of the string. In the scenario mentioned above it very likely was just a very bad ball end wrap on a string.

Pedal Steel players use strings made for Pedal Steel guitars, the wraps are different. The ball end slips into a finger which is the bridge, the finger is pulled and released causing force and stress on the ball end. The other end by the key head sits on a roller nut, the good strings last a long time, the bad ones..well..don't...if the bridge has a burr or the ball end is weak, goodnight moon...

Any friction point can and will cause stress/wear, the best systems are those that are stress/wear free or as close to it as possible.

Guitar players should change strings often, this will really help in not just better and consistent tone, but if you have a bender, a new string starts from zero stress life.

How long do you want a B pulled string to last anyway ? It's a $1 or less string ... 1 per month is $12 a year, that's 3 beers in one Fri night language.

[jmiles]

I'm a Hipshot guy but,,, isn't there a small leather pad inside the mechanism? Could that have fallen off? Does the bridge saddle move or tilt when the bender is activated?

[Valvey]

You should check out Gene Parson's troubleshooting site, if you haven't already.

If you keep getting string breakage near the ball end you may have to adjust the length of the connecting rod to improve the alignment of the string in that area.

It's not such a big deal taking the unit out of the guitar to work on it since it's all self-contained. You just have to make sure you unscrew only the screws on the edge of the plate. The interior screws hold the parts onto the plate.

[HOBBSTER01]

Bullet b strings.

[Dogbear]

My advice to you is to "not adjust' the bender". The rod length is critical, mess up that alignment and you will regret it. I have had many of these units and have broken them down for numerous projects. Really a very simple system, IMHO not as good as a P/W but serviceable.

There are only a couple of problems you can get into:

#1 lubricate the saddle, nut, and tower. Choice of lubricants vary...a lttle goes a long way. String breakage can occur if you have sharp edges on the tower and saddle contact surfaces. Smooth them out if you need to.

#2 Ensure the string ball is firmly seated in the base of the tower. If you have issues, change string brands.

#3 Check the pads on the brass stop plates inside the unit. I have seen rubber/plastic and leather pads used for stops. I prefer the leather pads but they do need to be replaced if the unit starts to clunk. Most clunking is from the pads failing or falling off.

Some links you might find interesting as this subject keeps coming up.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-...nder-diet.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-...throw-p-g.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-...r-removal.html

[Fumbles]

My B-Bender started clicking soon after I bought it, and I snapped the B string way soon. I also noticed that the B string could not be replaced without actuating the bender a little. You should not have to do this...it should all line up and is a sign of a maladjusted unit.

Guitar Center pretty much told me, "good luck with getting Fender to take care of it properly under warranty!" I assumed he did not mean they would refuse the job, more that it would take forever and since they did not do a ton of work on benders, plus they screwed it up from the git go......well you catch my drift.

So I was thinking about it at home (kinda pretty upset) and figured I would just call Gene Parsons directly. What a delightful experience it turned out to be. He is one of the good guys and has that old school work ethic and pride in what he does. A really nice man.

He told me pretty much what Guitar Center did and also said that Fender was assembling/installing and setting up some of these units incorrectly. He actually found it really upsetting because as he told me..." I designed these units to be robust and require little or no maintenance if installed and setup properly." The man is fiercely proud of his work and his designs and takes his work seriously...it is easy to understand how he might be upset if something with his name on it was being installed badly.

So he quoted me a fee and I sent him my guitar and he correctly set the mechanism up. I decided it would be better to just pay out of pocket and have it done right, than bother with the factory at all.

It turned out that Fender had used oversize washers as spacers to try and take up some excess thread and to try get things to line up or something. Rather than address the issue and machine things correctly, they put a band aid on it. If I were a Fender employee I would be embarrassed to say that work was done by Fender. I was a master motorcycle mechanic for over 23 years and it was the kind of work I would see all the time from a hack job mechanics...someone who was not very good at all at the trade......Whoever assembled that at Fender, grabbed whatever to make it work. Sucks!

Gene re-machined a couple things and I also asked him to do the long throw option. He spent way more time on the guitar than he thought it would take initially but he did not charge me one penny over what he quoted me.

The guitar came back playing just amazingly. I swear it feels awesome! He also sent me all the parts back that he pulled out and replaced and gave me a detailed description on what he had to do to correct things.

If I had the money, I would go directly and buy a super playing Tele and send it to him to put a Bender in it.

I have been told it is not as long a long throw as what Clarence used but it definitely is a happy medium between the two and sounds musical just like he said it would.

If yours is the Parsons Green model that comes made like that from Fender, save yourself grief in the future and send it to Mr parsons. You will not be disappointed.

After all, who better to send a bender to for repair, than the man who designed it?

Just my 2c.

Oh and I have had regular ball end GHS and the DR Pure Blues in there with NO problems since he fixed it.