Hipshot Bender Install On A 50's Classic Vibe Telecaster

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 29 Jan 2011 11:27 am

Here's my shot at installing one of these things on a telecaster. I am very pleased with the results. This thing is addictive!

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Hipshot/Hipshot.html

Greg

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 29 Jan 2011 8:15 pm

Greg,The hipshot is a neat gadget,When I was playing guitar years ago had one installed on my tele,Worked great and STAYED in tune. Never understood anyone that would butcher a classic guitar with something like a parsons bender when the hipshot would do the same thing without destroying a good guitar. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 30 Jan 2011 2:54 am

Uhmmm..same guitar different house ?

I would agree that these are nice and the price is right, and I like mine enough...

but

When using the B hip lever, the force of the reverse pressure does "move" the body /neck and some notes go out of tune ( flat ) ...they return to tune once the lever is released. The B hip lever is forcing the guitar body the opposite direction.

The G palm lever uses the correct force direction so no issues.

The Parson/White lever pulls the note from behind the bridge with no reverse pressure on the body.

I also screwed the Hip Shot unit to the body of the guitar, this is a Bender guitar so it's not an issue. It did help big time with stability. Also made modifications to the Telecaster bridge, opened the 3 string holes and made them V slots rather than feed the strings thru the small holes in the back of the bridge, physics says " NO INTERFERENCE" when moving strings which are tuned notes. NO DRAG.

All in all I like this set-up but I am still pondering the B lever and how I can prevent strings to go slightly out of tune from the Hip Lever reverse force while holding the neck with my left hand, it's opposite force. Some guitar players do this on purpose to get a slight vibrato action... right hand against the body, left hand adding force from behind the neck...

The other issue which we have not discussed is that when using the G Bender my palm no longer rests on the bridge of the guitar, so some playing style change occurs...

t

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 30 Jan 2011 9:50 am

Tony,

I also put slots in the back of the bridge, The Hipshot instructions were not that great. At least they could include some of our pics on their website to show enhanced installations and they aren't very specific about what to do with the Hipshot springs. Perhaps the B raise could be effected from the guitar strap pin that is located next to the bridge, eliminating the B lever rod.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 30 Jan 2011 10:19 am

I had a Hipshot for a while. It worked well enough, but it interfered with right hand positioning.

The mechanism itself was in the way for my natural right hand position. Also the rocking motion, as you push the neck forward using your hip as a fulcrum, pulled the bridge away from my picking hand.

The PW Bender I have is much more fluid and does not interfere with my right hand at all.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 30 Jan 2011 12:15 pm

I think the Hipshot is awesome for the money but does have the shortcomings that Tony and Tony mentioned above. I'll do the PW next on my red guitar! Here's a link to the PW bender for those not familiar with how well made it is:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/b-bender-for ... ender.html

Greg

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 30 Jan 2011 5:23 pm

I've used HipShots ever since they first came out in the early eighties and I've never heard of any strings going out of tune when the B hip lever is used unless it's used wrong. The lever is supposed to just rest on your hip and the bending motion is done with your left hand pushing forward on the neck. The only difference in this and a Parsons/White bender is that with the P/W you push down and the H/S you push forward.....

My main Tele has a P/W bender but I actually prefer the HipShot. I have my H/S on a Stratocaster which works quite well. I have the G palm pedal as well but I have it in a straight line and cut off where the end of the handle is about a quarter of an inch behind the bridge saddle(s)....

Tony G. I can't get with what you mean about the unit interfering with your right hand position. It just doesn't move that much IMHO and when using mine, my right hand just lays right on the guitar with no movement at all from operating the unit. Will Ray has a video called "B-Bender Mania" or something like that and he demonstrates the bender very well.........

Another good thing about the HipShot as opposed to the P/W bender is "slide guitar". It's very easy to play slide augmented by the H/S but it's close to impossible with a P/W because of the way you have to hook your thumb over the top of the neck to push it down.......JH in Va.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 30 Jan 2011 5:43 pm

Jerry - personal preference.

The Hipshot worked well mechanically, but was way more awkward for me. I had to remove the G-lever and 6th string drop lock to achieve any comfort.

Also, I never played the HS w/ a slide (nor wanted to). I imagine hooking my thumb over the neck would have worked as well as keeping the slide from rattling when I pushed the neck forward.

It does provide a lotta "bang for the buck" & is a greater entry point to determine if a bender is for you or not.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 30 Jan 2011 6:11 pm

Greg,

Thanks for posting.
You make a complicated installation look fun and easy.

But it sure sounds great.

Do you have tab for Sample 6?
I've always wanted to try a b bender ever since hearing the Hellecasters.
Just hope its not as addictive as the pedal steel!

The Classic Vibe® Tele is a bargain.
Too bad about some small tuning and ergonomic issues, but affordable anyhow.

Clete

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 30 Jan 2011 7:27 pm

Clete,

I am getting more comfortable with the Hipshot every day. I lowered the G arm a bit and now don't have any ergonomic issues. The Hipshot does give you the G along with the B, a big advantage and the E/D toggle is spot on, no tuning issues there. I am finding that TriFlow on the nut and tuners is a bit slicker than the graphite and it has helped my overall tuning consistency a lot. I haven't done any tab yet but this thing does a lot more than bend strings. It extends the range of your left hand to enable chromatic riffs that you could not reach otherwise. I've fallen way behind on doing tab and I'm afraid I'll never catch up.

Greg

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 31 Jan 2011 2:09 am

Jerry Hayes wrote: The only difference in this and a Parsons/White bender is that with the P/W you push down and the H/S you push forward.....

agreed, but if you exert too much force from behind the neck the natural physics of it all says " out of tune".. The PW system has no force against the neck thus no out of tune. It's all force against the body, when you push the neck from the back of the neck that's a totally different skill set.. remember, we push the body one direction and the neck the other direction as a vibrato effect... not dissing the system, I like mine enough but it is not the total answer to bending. I actually don't like the feel of the Hip lever but that's just me...it feels foreign...

For me a better solution would be to place a G Hip Shot palm on a PW B Bender !

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 31 Jan 2011 8:36 am

That's a good idea Tony, I'd like to have a G-bender on my P/W Tele and I think the palm lever would probably be the best way to go as I don't like those loops that hook onto your belt like some of them have.... I might have to try rigging something up like that. I concur with you on the pushing forward having more of a chance of going out of tune if you push too hard, It's never happened to me but I can see how it could. My main love for the HipShot came when I was playing full time in SoCal almost thirty years ago and working a 4 piece band playing both lead and steel. I started playing guitar while sitting behind my steel and just leaving the guitar strapped on while I played steel, I also used the thumb and fingerpicks on both instruments. I'd been playing a 335 style Gibson before I bought the Tele and started doubling. I missed the Bigsby Palm Pedal on my Gibson though so I was looking for a bender and tried out a friends P/W long throw which I didn't like as the neck pushed down toward the steel and would hit it sometime if I didn't watch it. When I heard of the HipShot I ordered one because the neck went forward and wouldn't touch the steel and it was easy to operate sitting down... Here's a shot of me and my old Gibson (Trini Lopez) which was my first "bender" guitar. Note that it has three levers for a whole tone raise on the B, G and D strings. The shot is about 34 years old....JH in Va.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 31 Jan 2011 11:31 am

Jerry Hayes wrote: My main love for the HipShot came when I was playing full time in SoCal almost thirty years ago

uhmmm..So Cal...30 years ago...

That's defining !

great photo

t

Chris Dorch · Post by **Chris Dorch** » 31 Jan 2011 7:43 pm

The OP in the TDPRI reference installed my P/W bender. It's my number one tele. While there's nothing wrong with palm-pedals (Will Ray is no slouch), I prefer to use other means for my bending.

Bending is loads of fun regardless!!

Enjoy the HS..

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 31 Jan 2011 11:02 pm

Jerry, that's a classic photo. I like guys that paid their dues. Boy, that brings back memories.

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 1 Feb 2011 6:53 am

I heard a guy playing a Hip-Shot, the B string started out out of tune, and the whole guitar was a wreck after one song. Gimme a Parsons, anyday, if I gotta have a bender. I can bar the second, third, and 4th strings, and bend to the IV chord using my hands.

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 1 Feb 2011 6:59 am

Wow Jerry....man the Swizzle Stick really brings back memories for me too!

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 1 Feb 2011 8:53 am

Stephen,

Look at all the pics on my web site. You will see that Tony and myself have added two screws to the top plate and included the two extra screws on the back plate at the side of the guitar. This makes the Hipshot base rock solid and eliminates a lot of the tuning drift. I am very picky about even a few cents of detuning and this thing is very stable for an hour of playing at a time just like a fine pedal steel. There is also an art to tuning a guitar such as tuning the string, pulling on it, hitting the hipshot and repeating that will leave the guitar in tune before and after the Hipshot is acutuated.

The more I use my Hipshot the more I am impressed with it. And at a street price of $139 it's something that anyone can get into.

Greg

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 1 Feb 2011 12:04 pm

Greg, this thread has got me thinking about my HipShot and doing something else with it as it's not being used much. I have it on a Strat now but it's not my favorite Strat so I think I'm going to take it off and install it on another Tele.

My only other standard looking Tele has a HipShot Trilogy Bridge system on it now so I'm going to leave that on and instead I'll install it on my '72 Tele Deluxe reissue. It has the two big Fender humbuckers on it but I have the guitar rewired with a coil tap and a phase switch and it gets a pretty close sound to a classic Fender single coil pickup. I haven't been playing it much either as it has no bender and I like using the dang things. I'll post a shot of it on her when I get it installed and see how y'all like it......

Rick, are you an alumni of the old Swizzle Stik too! Small world eh? That place was a plush night club and loaded with ladies. I think I met two of my ex wives in there.

....JH in Va.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 1 Feb 2011 12:21 pm

Jerry, I got rid of all my strats. No good reason as they were fine guitars but the form factor just doesn't excite me like the teles. They are all just different shaped blocks of wood anyhow! The tele is an easy guitar to mod and in this day of cheap guitars, hacking up a squier is very low risk and possibly high rewards. Last night I found my self flipping the Hipshot E/D toggle back and forth in the same song! It works so fast and accurate.

Greg

Alan Tanner · Post by **Alan Tanner** » 5 Feb 2011 4:54 pm

Benders are fun. The only thing I have done to mine over the years is to add locking tuners. I also make sure at every string change to use a pencil and graphite the nut slots real well. There is also a product out called "Nut Sauce" that works pretty well too, but pencils are pretty much free. Have fun with your bender....

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 7 Feb 2011 4:44 am

Greg, talking about a Tele being easy to mod...Sometimes I think my Tele is modded to the max! My main Tele is an '83 top loader that I bought new when I lived in SoCal and played full time. It has a GFS Humbucker in the neck slot, a set of Fender "NoCaster" pups in the middle and bridge positions, a Parsons/White B-Bender. I reversed the bridge plate and installed three mini toggles for on/off of the pickups. Between the volume and tone there's a mini-toggle which is a coil tap for the neck humbucker and the volume control is a pull pot to activate a phase switch. I made the pickguard(s) myself and also covered the entire back of the guitar with 3 ply pickguard material. It has a HipShot D-tuner on the headstock also. It has extremely low action with no buzzes anywhere and I use 9-46 Hybrid Ernie Ball Strings. Here's a shot of it in "action?" at my Thursday night restaurant gig............JH in Va.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 7 Feb 2011 7:23 am

Great pic Jerry! All of my best steels were well worn like your guitar. They got used a lot and in and out of the case and the truck many times a week. I also like to sit down when I play lead guitar and am pretty worthless on the instrument when standing up. Looks like the old Ibanez analog delay on your pedal board? They were awesome!

Greg