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Topic: Interesting tele with string pullers. |
Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 8:24 am |
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This is a nice looking and sounding tele with string pullers at the bridge and a drop D lever at the head stock. Great player also. Check it out.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RmIoUBtWS2M
Last edited by Len Amaral on 11 Dec 2008 8:40 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 8:31 am
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I like his hybrid picking, but it looks like that bender (whatever it is) is a REAL struggle to use. He has to essentially stop, slow down, and twist his body and arm to play it.
It looks like it has an arm from the bridge angled upwards and is pushed with the forearm; like the palm-pedals, that forces you to use certain right and positions, a real drawback IMO. That's why I much prefer the shoulder-strap types, as with a proper setup both hands are completely free (mine are set with a light enough pull I can press the neck down with my thumb and play slide with no problem).
Nice video, but too bad the bender sort of detracts from it...at least for me.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Joseph Carlson
From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
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Charles Dempsey
From:
Shongaloo, LA
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 4:09 pm
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| Joseph Carlson wrote: |
| He looks to be using one of these:... |
That's what he says late in the video and the link scrolls across the bottom.
The way he was moving I thought he was using a double Stringbender;
http://www.stringbender.com/bender/classic.htm#Double
That's the one I've got. It takes about 15 minutes to get used to it, then you're off.
The Timara is, uh, quite a bit less expensive than the Stringbender.
Charlie |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2008 11:49 pm
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I use a Hipshot B/G bender with a E to D drop lever. The B bender is actuated with a hip lever that is very easy to use, but the G bender, when I got it, reminded me of a Bigsby whammy bar! when I tried to use it, it would spin around on it's pivot, and I was always hunting for it!(very distracting!) I then modified it by cutting it off to 2 1/8 " in length. Then I fastened it to the actuating arm with a small machine screw with two jam nuts to keep it from spinning. I then was able to adjust the height, and whitch way I wanted it to point, and held it in position with the jam nuts. Shortening the G/actuator enabled me to easily use the G-bender with the heel of my hand. and it is out of the way enough, that you can palm mute without hitting the thing! Now it is easy to use the B and G benders separately or together and to me the feel of the Hipshot, now, is more natural than either the strap pull or the fore-arm levers. `The benders, and the drop lever are all easily tunable with small, knurled,top-mounted knobs. I have it mounted on a Japanese Tele with individual adjustable bridge pieces. Yes, I have to keep the nut and the bridge saddles well graphite-ed.The whole thing goes on the guitar, without drilling new holes or routing.
Now if I could only play like Jimmy Olander!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 12 Dec 2008 7:04 am
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He is playing a Timara bender which is a little unorthodox but a very fine unit. Your right forearm rests between the levers so it will limit your use of "Pete Townshend type windmills" as I know you're all into.......
Jim, I've tried one of these out at the Steel Guitar Convention and they're not at all hard to use and you don't need to change your right hand position at all! Once it's set you can just push down on the neck in exactly the same motion as the P/W bender and your B string will activate. If you want to use the G bender, just push up on the neck, no problem! The right hand just stays put in your normal picking position. It would however limit any agressive rhythm playing which required a lot of wrist movement.....JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Bob Bowden
From:
Vancouver, BC, Canada * R.I.P.
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 12 Dec 2008 10:15 am
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This is great stuff, but if he doesn't do something about that grin of his, sooner or later, someone's might just slap him!
Yes, yes, I know. I'm as jealous as hell . . .
Last edited by James Cann on 12 Dec 2008 10:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 12 Dec 2008 10:19 am
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| Deleted |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 12 Dec 2008 4:10 pm
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The drop D gizmo looks to be nifty and useful. It also looks easy to install on most guitars and will not deface the instrument.
Last edited by Len Amaral on 12 Dec 2008 6:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2008 5:17 pm
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| Quote: |
| The right hand just stays put in your normal picking position. |
That's my problem with these types of units - there is no "normal picking position".
If you keep your right hand in one spot when playing, you lose half your string attack dynamics, all your "pinched" harmonics, and 75% or more of the tonal variations you get by varying the picking distance between bridge and neck. These gadgets are fine for "one spot" chicken-pickers and I've heard them played very well - but with severely limited tonal variations. Having been down the palm-pedal road (and EZ bender, and Hipshots with G-palm units, and gadgets similar to the Timara about 25 years ago...those aren't the first attempt at a forearm-activated bender by a long shot...I'll stick with the shoulder-strap design, which does not interfere with anything at all - I can pick right at the bridge, at the 7th fret, play two-handed tapping, slide...with every other type you lose at least one of those.
But it's the loss of tonal variations and limited attack that are a deal breaker for me. I've seen the videos, and I wouldn't take one for free - it'd be absolutely useless to me.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 13 Dec 2008 6:18 am
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| I don't see much need for benders, anyway, unless you're Clarence or Marty. Certainly not to play "fake" steel licks. But ANYTHING that restricts either arm's movement, can stay in the box. And, though Will Ray does fine with a Hipshot, I don't think I could play one sitting down. |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2008 3:15 pm
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| I use mine all the time, sitting down. I just adjust the hip lever a little closer to my body to play in a sitting position. I adjust it a little farther away when standing, to avoid accidentally activating it while moving around. It looks like I'm the only Hipshot fan here. With my modifications, I can also play right by the bridge, if I want to, but with my playing style, I almost never play that far back. (I don't like the tone back there). I play some finger-style, but without picks, and some flat-picking, but not too much hybrid. I'm trying to get used to playing lead with my PSG picks on so I can switch back and forth in the middle of a song, kind of on the order of the guy who last played for Buck Owens. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 14 Dec 2008 11:23 am
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Here is a picture of the pulling finger on my Tele. Note how the B string is pulled back, rather than rotates. The bender was designed and made by my father, who was not a musician, but a jeweler. The bender works the same way the P-W does It is not quite as smooth, but still works quite well. It also required far less routing of the guitar than a P-W, and the tension on the bender mechanism is adjustable. As you can see, the guitar also has a palm pedal on the G string.
I also have a Hipshot unit on a 12 string, I wasn't sure how well it would work, pulling 2 strings, but it does. (BTW Dave Borissoff, the owner of Hipshot is a fine steel player. He is the one who got me started on the instrument when he bought himself a D-10 ZB and loaned my his Maverick for a couple of months.)
Sometime in the mid 70s, I was hired to play guitar in a disco/funk band. (I got the gig by virtue of living half a block from the band leader.) Playing that music was quite a change of pace for me, and I actually had a lot of fun with the band.
While playing with that band, I used this guitar with the benders, often in conjunction with a wah wah pedal, to come up with some very effective and very un-country licks, mostly involving pulling the 4th up to the 5th, or the 7th of the chord up to the root.
Many of us only think of the B-bender as a country or country rock tool, but in truth it's a tool, period, and can be used in more than one way.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2008 11:54 am
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I also use a Hipshot. Notice the angle of the G-Bender lever. I play it with my wrist/forearm. It's completely out of the way for palm muting. I play only fingerstyle.
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 14 Dec 2008 2:24 pm
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Hey guys, thanks for the insight and pictures of various pulling systems. It's always interesting to see how a topic expands and I always appreciate different approaches and points of view.
Lenny |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2008 1:57 am to John Billings
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Hi John. Say, are you the same John Billings I used to see all the time in EMPIRE GUITARS in Streetsboro? If not, There is another one of you playing guitars somewhere in Ohio!
Jake Jacoby---- |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2008 3:08 am
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| Dat's me! Hi Jake! Wonder if Larry has ever gotten his act back together???? |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2008 2:46 pm To John Billings
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Larry still doesn't seem to have his act together, although he's trying. In case you haven't heard, Rick, who used to work for Larry, took over the old store, and after several moves, ended up in the plaza, just across 14 off 303. The new store is called GUITAR SHACK. He's interested in dealing steel guitars as well as other instruments. He doesn't have as many vintage pieces as Larry had, but I still go there a lot to check out his stock.If you're in the area sometime, it's worth a look! I enjoy reading your posts J.B.
Love your cool bender DANO! Catch ya later
Jake------ |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Ben Hoare
From:
NSW Australia
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Posted 15 Dec 2008 7:37 pm
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Cool idea.Difficult to master and pitchy if your not careful but worth the effort me thinks..
I dont know if hes related to this guy but I think they may be international cousins
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CTtGHZiQ2LM
R.I.P Big Kev  |
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