Flexing the neck for vibrato...

[ludashoeless]

i don't do it because my tele is my only good electric

[chippertheripper]

I do it pretty frequently with my tele. The round upper body shape gives you something real solid to push against.
My crappocaster, on the other hand, is so flimsy, I'd snap the neck right out of it if I tried. (I gave it a little zing once, I don't feel comfortable doing it regularly)

It's another reason why cheap guitars rule. You can do this stuff, and another neck or body is just a few dollars away.

[cnote]

Monte Montgomery is another acoustic guy I've seen mercilessly honk on the neck for vibrato.

I checked that Chuck Prophet video (thanks for that, never heard him before but will seek out more). Tried what he did and you do get a waver in the sound. You have to be fairly violent and swing it pretty hard back and forth.

They're just guitars. Do what needs to be done to serve the music. If you break a neck, rip out neck screws or crack the body in the neck pocket, then ya know how hard you can push. Patch er back up and come out swangin again.

[fezz parka]

Do what it takes to make the sound you want. Tele's are tough, you can break up cement with 'em.

[klasaine]

Pffft! It's not gonna break.
If you're not tweaking the neck of a tele ... you're not playing it!.
I do it to some degree with EVERY guitar I have - including Gibsons.
A Tele is made for it!

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by IPLAYLOUD

It's called "2 seconds from hearing SNAP!!!".

I cringe...

You can snap a 1" thick maple board with your bare hands? For real?

*insert bodybuilder joke here*

[chabby]

I have a strat, but even with that I've grown so used to bending behind the nut I sometimes do it on the start too. May as well keep in poractice. I remvied the handle of the whammy bay and even when I do use it, ijust use the heel of my hand on the bridge on the strat. But to each his own, I won't sya I've never done it, but it does kind of rub me the wrong way. I'm gentele whern I do it.

[Hoopermazing]

Why attempt to flex the neck--which strikes me as ill-advised--when you can easily bend the strings behind the nut?

[Breen]

Originally Posted by Hoopermazing

Why attempt to flex the neck--which strikes me as ill-advised--when you can easily bend the strings behind the nut?

Its usually for full chords. You can't reach down and bend a chord up unless your a octopus.

And you can only bend up with a behind-the-nut. You can't pull notes flat, and thats what a neck bend is suppose to do with a guitar sans a movable bridge system.

Its great if your doing a rockabilly or something and end on that 6/9 chord high up the twelth fret and give then that Bigsby like shimmer by flexing the neck and body.

[Ridge runner]

I used to do it,and I remember Jake E Lee doing it a lot live with Ozzy..
But one thing I've noticed on like used Jackson and Charvel guitars is that the paint on the body around the neck joint will have a hairline crack or they will have a small piece break off up at the headstock so while the neck may flex the paint probably won't.
I've noticed on my dad's tele.It's an American Ash telecaster
And the paint is chipping off which really sucks.

[Hoopermazing]

Originally Posted by Breen

Its usually for full chords. You can't reach down and bend a chord up unless your a octopus.

And you can only bend up with a behind-the-nut. You can't pull notes flat, and thats what a neck bend is suppose to do with a guitar sans a movable bridge system.

Its great if your doing a rockabilly or something and end on that 6/9 chord high up the twelth fret and give then that Bigsby like shimmer by flexing the neck and body.

Ahhhhh... I hadn't considered the possibility of pushing the neck forward, and I rarely play 6 string chords. I can bend a 4 or 5 string chord with my picking hand quite easily (w/ the side of my index finger.)

[Steveareno]

I've used this technique and behind the nut bends for years. It doen't take much pressure to put some vibrato on your chords. It's one of the cool tricks for Teles (or Strats) that don't have a wang bar. Saw Jim Camplilongo a few years ago and it seemed like his neck was made of rubber (sounded fantastic though). I prefer to take it easy and use the technique sparingly.
Swang on,

[fezz parka]

Jim's hands can crack walnuts.

[asatfan]

I've been pushin' on my G&L (3 bolt) necks for years...never thought I could break one....still don't.

[Jim Campilongo]

Hi guys -

I enjoyed this thread and the Chuck clip. But Chuck didn't do what I think of as a classic neck bend a la Frisell, Volkaert etc

Me? For a chorus-ing effect I stabilize the guitar body with my elbow of my left arm while pushing and pulling the neck with my left hand as I play...

For an medium effect I bend my neck by pushing the neck from behind with my left hand while gripping and stabilizing the body with the flat of my right hand...

If I want an extreme pitch bend I'll move my left hand closer to the headstock where there is a "softer" neck that I can bow and bend...

It's all done with some finesse, but not as much as let's say, nudging a pinball machine below a tilt sensor. I hit my guitar pretty hard...

I've been doing this for 25 years and it hasn't hurt any of my guitars what-so-ever...

[Davo17]

Originally Posted by Jim Campilongo

Hi guys -

I enjoyed this thread and the Chuck clip. But Chuck didn't do what I think of as a classic neck bend a la Frisell, Volkaert etc

Me? For a chorus-ing effect I stabilize the body with my elbow of my left arm while pushing and pulling with my left hand as I play...

For an medium effect I bend my neck by pushing the neck from behind with my left hand while gripping and stabilizing the body with the flat of my right hand...

If I want an extreme pitch bend I'll move my left hand closer to the headstock where there is a "softer" neck that I can bow and bend...

It's all done with some finesse, but not as much as let's say, nudging a pinball machine below a tilt sensor. I hit my guitar pretty hard...

I've been doing this for 25 years and it hasn't hurt any of my guitars what-so-ever...

Jim wow Ive been listening to your stuff quite a bit recently, its just very organic and real. Not over processed and it makes a difference.

I will give these a shot. Its also good to know it wont hurt my tele. Thanks for the inside info!

[stlthinkin]

Neck wiggle + delay can make clean big chords come alive. Not talking the big pitch dives but the subtle push/pull action you can get with the fret hand still fretting.

[ryokan]

Bending the neck is one of the great joys of playing electric guitar, and it is particularly easy to do with a telecaster. If you aren't doing it, you're missing out on a beautiful sound/effect. I prefer it to a vibrato system as it is more subtle, and therefore I don't abuse it like I do with a whammy bar...

[krelnarb]

I've been doing it for decades on my `69 with no ill effects, though probably not more than a quarter tone or so.

[bobsway]

Always have, always will. Seems a little harder to do on my Tele than on most guitars though, much more solid, not so flexible.