Will Ray Hipshot

They do the job. Intonate? - That's what your bridge saddles are for. Easy enough to restring and I've no issues with tuning. You quickly get used to activating it.

 

That’s what’s on my avatar guitar.
It’s cheap (in a good way), non-invasive, and works beautifully.
It’s easy to install, and the thumb screw tuner is easy to use.
The bender bar is removeable when not in use.
What’s not to like?

 

I agree with the above comments. It’s where I started. I watched Will Ray use one at the Palomino for a while and then went right to Dave Borisoff at the old facility in Van Nuys for a lefty on a G&L ASAT. I still have that original.

 

Tons of uses for a bender outside of country music. A few examples.... opening riff to “Mississippi Queen”, I use it 5 times in Don Felder’s first solo at the end of “Hotel California”, I also use a bender quite a bit in the solos from “Stairway to Heaven” and “hit me with your best shot”.
I do it because I can hit those whole note B bends dead accurate with a bender but not always so much with my fingers.

 

IMO it's a good starting point, or a good bender for someone who is only going to use it periodically. I have one on my G&L Will Ray Signature Model and it works perfectly.

What I don't care for compared to shoulder-strap type benders is the "push forward" activation. I've played Hipshots for decades and I find the motion unnatural and a movement that interferes with left hand movement.

A should strap bender is activated by (if it's set up right) pulling down lightly on the neck; the part of the thumb joint/palm that is used to pull down leaves the hand free for normal playing. Pushing forward, though, changes left hand movement and finger pressure. They wok ok for quick "on off" type bends but less so for bends that involve moving hand positions at the same time.

So using one, IMO, really depends on your intent. If you jut want to play some incidental bends, try to copy some pedal steel licks (which many of us avoid as much as possible) or use a bender periodically they are a useful tool.

But if you are serious about B-bender as an "instrument" as used by Clarence White, Bob Warford, Frank Reckard, Al Perkins, and others who play a bender guitar as a completely different type of instrument I suggest possibly using one for a bit as a "test bed" - but then moving up to an Evans Pull String, Parsons White, or if you don't want to modify your guitar on of Paul McEwen's "Slingshot" units that bolts to the Tele neck plate.

 

I’ve used Hipshots since they were brand new.
My poor avatar critter is on it’s fourth Hipshot.
I broke two, and replaced my last one with the simpler Will Ray.
I didn’t need the E lower or G raise.
They are intuitive to use, IMO.
I countersunk mine into the top of my guitar.
I’m committed, or should be.
The countersinking, and .11 sets work beautifully.
I use my bender a lot on country gigs, especially if I am the only soloist.
Anyways, I remain an ardent, proselytizing fan of David Borisoff’s great invention!

 

Re musical styles, I've used my Glasers in standard country band contexts, TDPRI and CWF jams (of course), and, most often in non-country contemporary gospel/P&W since the early '90's, in venues from piano trios in small rooms to full bands at large conferences and the L.A. Coliseum.

I find it very useful to do bends in the context of double or triple stop phrasing/chording, and sometimes there's nothing like a distinctive single string bend lick to wake up the players used to the usual boring effects-laden parts found in most contemporary P&W.

Silverface is quite right that the best way to approach the issue to make it the bender a fully integrated part of your style and then listen to and watch everything you can on you tube.

Here's Frank Reckard with a few good closeups showing the bender use during his solo.

 

And, of course, the pioneer:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=will+ray+...v136-6a_&ia=videos&iax=videos&iai=bjR-CdRf3jA

 

I have two Hipshot benders and have had them for about a year. There is no effect on "normal" playing. If you don't use the bar you won't notice the mechanism there, except that it changes the balance point of a instrument. On my PRS, tuning stability is awesome. On my tele I'm still working out the kinks, though it is not too bad. What you want to minimize is the number of points where the string contacts metal, and to have each of these points be a modest break angle and a smooth surface.

I may one day "graduate" to a real bender, but I kind of like the weird steampunky look of these, they are cheap, and can be removed without harm to the guitar.

I still very much on the fence about the G palm bender, though - on the one hand you can get some cool sounds out of it, on the other hand activating the lever is less natural and more intrusive than the hip lever. Mainly though I just don't have a lot of licks for it and my mental capacity to use it on the fly is pretty weak at this point.

If ever played in Drop D I would love the E lever, it works just great.

 

this is a kinda tuff one to answer, but I side with Silverface on this. Years back I bought one of the 1st issue Fender PG Guitars, I never spent any time with it so it sat around. So I sold it. Then a few years later I added a Hipshot B,G and drop D to a low priced Tele. I spent a good deal of time with it but could never get used to the Leg bar , Hip bar , or whatever it is properly termed. The system functions just fine, no issues, I found it to be a high quality unit. It would be a great introduction to a whole new world. Heck it may also be a system you will play forever.

Someone above states that it doesn't change your "style", well, yes it does. ALL Bending systems change our style of execution and playing. Anything that is hanging over the saddles changes the way we rest our right hand . Pulling a strap, as lightly as it may be, is also an execution we add to our style. The trick is to use as little energy as possible. As we are moving thru phrases which by themselves may be awkward we don't need to be adding a new "physical" impediment.

Just last week there was a thread here where someone commented on the accidental bends of a strap pull guitar. This is very common for all of us when we start out. Yes we may be able to stiffen the pull but if we stiffen it too much we loose the ability to control a slow deliberate bend with musical tension. So pick your poison. Its a learning process.

Try learning Pedal Steel ! It's just 10 strings with a bunch of pedals and levers....

As Silverface states above, If playing a Bender guitar is in the cards for the future it is very worthwhile checking out other systems as well. Its not about Country Music or songs. its about the Instrument. Playing a Bender is NOT the same as playing a NON Bender, the approach to chord shapes is totally different. We just don't yank the strap of push the hip lever, there is pre-advanced thought to this, chord forms and shapes. Subliminal.

I am a Steel player for multiple decades so I don't have an issue with Steel sounding kinda licks but at the same time the phrasing and chord shapes by the well known masters is where the Bending lives. Clarence White, Bob Warford, Frank Reckard, Al Perkins, Marty etc...Those guys didn't yank the strap by chance on a whim. It wasn't so much about the style of music as it was about phrasing that matched the songs, being Country Music or whatever, it was about the Instrument and how we approached the music. They didn't say oh good here is a B Bender song . Its an Instrument. "Lets see , is this a Jazz song or a Pop song " ? Same instrument, different approach.

Many players love the Hipshot , others find it awkward, I'm in that camp. It didn't fit my general style of physically holding and playing. It was outside the box for me. Too much physical movement to execute. Same goes for the palm levers. It altered my right hand positioning.

I say add the Hipshot if you haven't already, see if you like what it offers. But I can say this, if you are learning songs rather than technique it really won't matter if it's a Hipshot, Evans, Glaser , PW etc... once you get past the actual bending system, the rest is the same. We either study the varied chord shapes and positions or we don't. No different than a non bender guitar, we study the fret board.

I'm no pro, I'm a player marching in step along the path of improving. But I will say that now, any guitar I bring to a gig is a strap pull Bender. It's no longer a novelty it's now the real world. It's not about the songs, the genre etc, it's about the Instrument. My primary guitar now is a late model USA Tele with a Forrest Lee jr system, which is a strap pull PW. Like a few here, I own a few different Bender guitars and have settled on the FL jr system but it is installed in a Tele that is special to me, its the right guitar FIRST. I am now also considering taking my #1 favorite guitar, my 1989 /52RI and sending it to FL jr, otherwise I may never play it again !


Start with the Hipshot , u gotta start somewhere ! You won't regret it, it's a fine system. Have fun !

 

You are very welcome, my writing, well, thx for that, not sure if it's a blessing or a curse ! I've been a tech writer for years so the curse is I am always checking to see if I make any sense !

I've owned 4 Fender PG guitars over the years, sold 3 but kept 1, which I bought last year, a Nashville. It plays well but I have been chasing tone as you mentioned. I have posted several music tracks on this page using this guitar. Its a good player. I do believing selecting the guitar first is the right thing to do, then add the pull system. Otherwise we do have to settle.

Regardless, The Fender PG is not a bad guitar and they are easy to MOVE when you feel it's time as long as you didn't drop a ton of cash into it. The pull system is not considered to be one of the top systems but it is consistent, stays in tune, goes up in pitch and returns. I've had not had one issue with any of mine including the one I still have. I've been playing gigs with this guitar since Oct. It works ! But I have changed out the pups a few times seeking satisfaction. The closest I came was with the Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue pup in the bridge.

The most recent bender is a 2008 USA , great player and tones, love it to death. I added the Forrest Lee jr PW system. No looking back, very pleased.

good luck !

t

 

One thing I will say as well - nobody seems to use these on guitars other than teles, for obvious reasons. But I find that if I'm after a good fat, rich pedal steel sound, the Duncan antiquity P90 in my little PRS with the bender gets me closer than my tele.