Keith Gattis double bound bender

[djalt]

Does anyone know the story behind this bender? (Builder, function of the pinky ring hook lever thingy sticking out of the pickguard, etc )?

Maybe Keith is a member here...?

Paging Keith Gattis?
:)

Thanks guys, keep on bending....


Keith with Dwight Yoakam at the 2004 Graham Parsons tribute "Return to Sin City" organized by Graham's daughter Polly.


To view paste this address:
vnd.youtube:adRJNEVV2ho?vndapp=youtube_mobile&vndc lient=mv-google&vndel=watch

[djalt]

String pull helped me out, Keith built it. Any other insight as to its story?

[Iain]

As far as I know, it's a facsimile of Clarence White's guitar, which had a double-thick body (partly to house the bender mechanism and partly to try to have a similar feel to his acoustic's dimensions, for familiarity's sake).
I'm assuming the mechanism is similar to CW's guitar's (plenty of shots of the inside of CW's Tele all over the Net).

Marty Stuart has - and gigs - CW's Tele, now.

Hope that helps.

[djalt]

Nice summary, Iain!

I'm in pretty deep to benderdom myself, so I'm looking further for more info,
And a belated congrats on being able to have played the original ( saw the old post and pics).
Truly wow.

[string pull]

Gattis also built Marty's Paisley bender

[Iain]

Thanks.

Yeah, it was a treat to play THE bender Tele - Marty S was very gracious about that.
In case anyone's wondering, I've attached the pic again. Taken during soundchecks when a band I was in opened for The Superlatives (in Glasgow, Scotland).

Cheers.

[djalt]

Hard to find anything up to date on Keith these days. Is he still playing around Nashville?
His website is dead, looks like he uses only facebook and twitter.
Can anyone in the know fill us in?
Id like to find out more about that bender....

[djalt]

Found a facebook and twitter feed.
Looks like Keith is so far out front he doesn't even need a website....

[J. Hayes]

when I first saw him on TNN but he just faded away. His CD was very good and he's one helluva vocalist as well as guitarist. He had a tune on there called "Real Deal" or something like that that should have been a number one cut but didn't make it. What's wrong with the record buying public, don't they recognize "real" talent when they hear it..........JH in Va.

[Ben Jammin']

Guess it was because he tried to make in NashVille.
They wouldn't recognize talent if it bit 'em !!!

[string pull]

Two great albums in 15+ years. The industry put him through the shreader and now he's on the outside. He has the admiration of a million pickers.

[r.jones1116]

http://www.reverbnation.com/keithgattis

[djalt]

Well said. Hopefully "El Cerrito" helps him through the next few years...