Inside Clarence Whites Tele

lennyb · April 29th, 2008, 12:40 PM

Hey Gang not sure if many have seen this or not....its a shoot from 2001 at namm i thought all the CW fans and Marty Fans would dig it!

http://www.pbase.com/jroy/inside_cla...tes_telecaster

fenderguy · April 29th, 2008, 03:11 PM

Very cool, thanks

lunchbox · April 29th, 2008, 03:13 PM

They had an issue of Vintage Guitar a few years back with a bunch of cool pics and stuff. Thanks for the reminder to dig out that issue.

Colt W. Knight · April 29th, 2008, 03:14 PM

That is one bad mother of a tele.

nasonm · April 29th, 2008, 03:21 PM

This is cool! I've been wanting to see Marty Stuart play live and hopefully meet him (and maybe hold Clarence)

Colt W. Knight · April 29th, 2008, 03:31 PM

Marty stuart is great live, and a lot like Ricky Skaggs. They play for a long time, and they usually end up telling a lot of long winded stories. Unless you catch Marty in a picking mood. In that case you can expect 2-3 hours of non stop killer music.

nasonm · April 29th, 2008, 03:33 PM

for me, I'd be just as interested in seeing Kenny Vaughn playing with Marty.

Colt W. Knight · April 29th, 2008, 03:40 PM

Am I correct in saying Kenny is somehow related to Marty?

FirstBassman · April 29th, 2008, 04:03 PM

Which reminds me...

This is going to be a newbie question, but I've always wanted to know - why was Clarence's Tele thicker?

Other 'casters with B-Benders are "normal" sized.

OutlawSteph1975 · April 29th, 2008, 04:23 PM

Thanks. I hadn't seen those pictures in a while.

garytelecastor · April 29th, 2008, 04:23 PM

First Bassman-I believe I read somewhere that they had to combine the two bodies to accommodate the bender mechanism.
Perhaps someone else has a more inclusive answer.

lennyb · April 29th, 2008, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirstBassman

Which reminds me...

This is going to be a newbie question, but I've always wanted to know - why was Clarence's Tele thicker?

Other 'casters with B-Benders are "normal" sized.

well back in the day ..that was one of the first b bender instalations and they routed out another body to cover up/house the gearing then attached it to the original Tele....check the pics i think they tell a bit of the story ,hope that helped

dobrodoc · April 30th, 2008, 01:13 AM

I also heard that Clarence wanted it thicker, since he'd been playing flat-tops.

lennyb · April 30th, 2008, 11:59 AM

i just think its a masterpiece ...it looks great sounds great and Marty is Great ...i love it! and the thicker body i guess the only one who really know would be clarence good thinkin though!

bradpdx · April 30th, 2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirstBassman

Which reminds me...

This is going to be a newbie question, but I've always wanted to know - why was Clarence's Tele thicker?

Other 'casters with B-Benders are "normal" sized.

I think it was because doing it this way made it much easier to change it. After all, this was at the time the "one and only" B-bender guitar. Gene and Clarence were doing a lot of experiments (some involved guitars

) and all that extra space makes that easier.

Also, if they routed the guitar for something and decided that it didn't work, they could not "unrout" it. The thick hollow body approach allowed them to try different things in a reversible manner.

Once it was perfected, it could be done via routing.

I did a gig with Gene Parsons about 18 years ago. What a sweet man!

Big Smokey · April 30th, 2008, 01:36 PM

I got to open for Marty at The Ryman last year and after the show we hung out and talked guitars. I got to play Clarence for 5 minutes or so. Very heavy as it has a back addition to the body to house the bender, the tone is awesome and the neck is perfect. It has more mojo than any other guitar that I have ever played. The Bender is a longer throw which is nice and expressive....
Playing Clarence on the stage of the Ryman, It is the high point of my musical career so far!
Here's a pic:

lennyb · April 30th, 2008, 02:02 PM

i can smell the Mojo just from the pic !!! nice bro nice...man the Ryman schweeeet gig !

FirstBassman · April 30th, 2008, 02:08 PM

Thanks for the answers guys! Appreciate it.
Makes sense.

Sorry for the dumb question.

Wardpike · April 30th, 2008, 02:12 PM

Oh Big Smokey, you lucky dog! Not only the guitar, but the Ryman at that.

I am seething with jealousy. LOL. j/k

Ward

BrianF · April 30th, 2008, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lennyb

well back in the day ..that was one of the first b bender instalations and they routed out another body to cover up/house the gearing then attached it to the original Tele....check the pics i think they tell a bit of the story ,hope that helped

Clarence White's was THE very first B Bender installation. It was designed and built personally by Gene Parsons (with inspiration for the need and idea by his buddy and bandmate Clarence White). They were co-inventors on Gene's first B Bender patent.

The second one of these early bender was also an outside of the body bender installation...is owned by Bob Warford..

Bernie Leadon and other early Bender players used Dave Evans benders...which were the first inside the body bender installs....afterwhich Dave stopped building them and then Gene Parsons took over and carried out his own inside the body Bender design which became the modern-day Parsons-White bender installations.

BTW the extra thick section on the back is just a routed section of plywood that was added to the back. (and painted black).

JamesVRoy · April 30th, 2008, 03:46 PM

Its nice to see these pix are still making the rounds. I wish I had a better camera with me when I took them. I still have that piece of solder with the profile of the neck that Mark used to demonstrate collecting specs. I always thought someone might want it for something.

He did Buck Owens' Tele the next day http://www.pbase.com/jroy/bucktele

lennyb · April 30th, 2008, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesVRoy

Its nice to see these pix are still making the rounds. I wish I had a better camera with me when I took them. I still have that piece of solder with the profile of the neck that Mark used to demonstrate collecting specs. I always thought someone might want it for something.

He did Buck Owens' Tele the next day http://www.pbase.com/jroy/bucktele

Well i thank yah my freind ....yah done good!! thats the first time i saw it that closely and it was a visual pleasure

BrianF · April 30th, 2008, 05:21 PM

James...A million thanks for those pics...they truly are a treasure to the guitar community.. From what I understand...Gene Parsons himself forgot some of the minor details of his original creation...so your pics combined with an in-depth pictorial article in Vintage Guitar answered a bunch of questions...

Now what I want to know is how could Marty have desecrated that holy grail Tele by adding his own E bender knob to it!!

April 29th, 2008, 12:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
lennyb Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Amherst Nova Scotia Posts: 205	Inside Clarence Whites Tele Hey Gang not sure if many have seen this or not....its a shoot from 2001 at namm i thought all the CW fans and Marty Fans would dig it! http://www.pbase.com/jroy/inside_cla...tes_telecaster

April 29th, 2008, 03:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
lunchbox Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Venice, Fl Age: 39 Posts: 467	They had an issue of Vintage Guitar a few years back with a bunch of cool pics and stuff. Thanks for the reminder to dig out that issue. __________________ TWANGALICIOUS!!!!

April 29th, 2008, 03:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
nasonm Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bangor, Maine Age: 31 Posts: 1,543 16 Photos	This is cool! I've been wanting to see Marty Stuart play live and hopefully meet him (and maybe hold Clarence) __________________ "i have learned to just grit my teeth, change the subject, consider their deep total ignorance, fondle the thumb picks in my pocket and go on my way" - bender-freak It's been lonely in the saddle since my horse died

April 29th, 2008, 03:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
nasonm Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bangor, Maine Age: 31 Posts: 1,543 16 Photos	for me, I'd be just as interested in seeing Kenny Vaughn playing with Marty. __________________ "i have learned to just grit my teeth, change the subject, consider their deep total ignorance, fondle the thumb picks in my pocket and go on my way" - bender-freak It's been lonely in the saddle since my horse died

April 29th, 2008, 04:23 PM	#11 (permalink)
garytelecastor Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,084 18 Photos	First Bassman-I believe I read somewhere that they had to combine the two bodies to accommodate the bender mechanism. Perhaps someone else has a more inclusive answer. __________________ éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é Redd Volkaert is a Jedi Knight at one with the Force!!!

April 29th, 2008, 03:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
fenderguy Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 161	Very cool, thanks

April 29th, 2008, 03:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
Colt W. Knight Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Wyoming Age: 24 Posts: 1,420	That is one bad mother of a tele.

April 29th, 2008, 03:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
Colt W. Knight Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Wyoming Age: 24 Posts: 1,420	Marty stuart is great live, and a lot like Ricky Skaggs. They play for a long time, and they usually end up telling a lot of long winded stories. Unless you catch Marty in a picking mood. In that case you can expect 2-3 hours of non stop killer music.

April 29th, 2008, 03:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
Colt W. Knight Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Wyoming Age: 24 Posts: 1,420	Am I correct in saying Kenny is somehow related to Marty?

April 29th, 2008, 04:03 PM	#9 (permalink)
FirstBassman Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 879	Which reminds me... This is going to be a newbie question, but I've always wanted to know - why was Clarence's Tele thicker? Other 'casters with B-Benders are "normal" sized.

April 29th, 2008, 04:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
OutlawSteph1975 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,679 7 Photos	Thanks. I hadn't seen those pictures in a while.

April 30th, 2008, 01:13 AM	#13 (permalink)
dobrodoc Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ware Shoals, S.C. Age: 52 Posts: 338	I also heard that Clarence wanted it thicker, since he'd been playing flat-tops.

April 30th, 2008, 11:59 AM	#14 (permalink)
lennyb Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Amherst Nova Scotia Posts: 205	i just think its a masterpiece ...it looks great sounds great and Marty is Great ...i love it! and the thicker body i guess the only one who really know would be clarence good thinkin though!

April 30th, 2008, 01:36 PM	#16 (permalink)
Big Smokey Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 487	I got to open for Marty at The Ryman last year and after the show we hung out and talked guitars. I got to play Clarence for 5 minutes or so. Very heavy as it has a back addition to the body to house the bender, the tone is awesome and the neck is perfect. It has more mojo than any other guitar that I have ever played. The Bender is a longer throw which is nice and expressive.... Playing Clarence on the stage of the Ryman, It is the high point of my musical career so far! Here's a pic: __________________ www.bigsmokey.com

April 30th, 2008, 02:02 PM	#17 (permalink)
lennyb Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Amherst Nova Scotia Posts: 205	i can smell the Mojo just from the pic !!! nice bro nice...man the Ryman schweeeet gig !

April 30th, 2008, 02:08 PM	#18 (permalink)
FirstBassman Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 879	Thanks for the answers guys! Appreciate it. Makes sense. Sorry for the dumb question.

April 30th, 2008, 02:12 PM	#19 (permalink)
Wardpike Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: St. John's, Newfoundland Age: 43 Posts: 585	Oh Big Smokey, you lucky dog! Not only the guitar, but the Ryman at that. I am seething with jealousy. LOL. j/k Ward

April 30th, 2008, 03:46 PM	#21 (permalink)
JamesVRoy TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 85	Its nice to see these pix are still making the rounds. I wish I had a better camera with me when I took them. I still have that piece of solder with the profile of the neck that Mark used to demonstrate collecting specs. I always thought someone might want it for something. He did Buck Owens' Tele the next day http://www.pbase.com/jroy/bucktele __________________

April 30th, 2008, 05:21 PM	#23 (permalink)
BrianF Friend of Leo's Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Carlsbad, Ca Posts: 2,096 7 Photos	James...A million thanks for those pics...they truly are a treasure to the guitar community.. From what I understand...Gene Parsons himself forgot some of the minor details of his original creation...so your pics combined with an in-depth pictorial article in Vintage Guitar answered a bunch of questions... Now what I want to know is how could Marty have desecrated that holy grail Tele by adding his own E bender knob to it!!