Gotta' Question About Waylon's Telecaster

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 5:21 am

I watched a YouTube video on my big screen smart TV last night of Waylon doing an Austin City Limits gig and noticed something I'd never seen before.

Waylon kept fiddlin' with something on the back side of his Telecaster headstock and after awhile it looked to me like it was a tuning key of some sort that may have been connected to the first (top) string.

Maybe this has been covered before here on the forum but I don't want to scour the archives and try to find it.

Can anybody fill me in on this anomaly?

BTW, Ralph sounded great playing that Mooney pedal steel sound on his Sho-Bud, even doing a few dobro licks on
the duet featuring Waylon and Jessi Coulter doing, "Honky Tonk Angels".

Jerry Jones · Post by **Jerry Jones** » 13 Jun 2014 5:39 am

Haven't noticed Waylons Tele lately, but it probably has a Scruggs tuner (Banjo) for the low "E" string so he can drop to "D" on the fly. I used to see guitars set up with these, but now I believe there are more sophisticated devices available.

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 6:27 am

You know what Jerry...the Scruggs peg on Waylon's Tele to allow a D-tune on the first string makes a heckuva' lot of sense.

Thanks for the clue.

If it works on a 5-string banjo, it outta' work on a 6-string Tele.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 13 Jun 2014 6:43 am

You can see him switching the tuner at 1:51.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvlE14cM-zk

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 13 Jun 2014 7:19 am

I believe Marty Stuart also has 'banjo' pegs on both E strings of his main Telecaster ('Clarence'), that drop to D.

At one time, I had that set up too.
They were Keith brand, if I recall correctly.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 13 Jun 2014 7:35 am

in that clip, waylon changes it right at the modulation from D to E....
so, yes...probably a D tuned E string.

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 7:46 am

Saw the video clip Joachim, 'ya gotta' pay attention to catch it but it shows a good view of Waylon turning the Scruggs peg.

Lee, I think Marty Stuart plays the original Clarence White b-bender telecaster. It's interior mechanism housed in the body of the guitar has spring levers that bend the "B" string by lowering the neck which activates the pull on the lever of his guitar strap at the body.

You can see him do it if you watch his show on RFD-TV and it gives a bit of the pedal steel sound on some of his instrumental fills.

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 13 Jun 2014 8:17 am

Hi Bill,
Yup, that's it, the prototype Clarence White B bender guitar.
Marty and Ralph Mooney also installed a plunger mechanism to lower the 1st string a half step.
With the banjo pegs, B bender and E flattener (is that a word?), it's a very cool and interesting guitar, especially to see those pulls in action.
Weighs a ton, so I've heard!

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 13 Jun 2014 8:29 am

I prefer the Hipshot D-tuner. Easier to use. My Baritone Strat.

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 8:34 am

Yeah Lee...E-flattener works for me so I guess is IS an acceptable word.

Marty's B-bender Tele may weigh a ton but I'll bet it doesn't weigh much more than a Gibson D-18 top tension Mastertone 5-string.

There are two things you start noticing about a 5-string banjo player who's been around a while...he starts leanin' to the right when he stands and the fingers of his right hand are shaped into a pepetual claw.

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 8:49 am

John...I like your Hipshot D-tuner a lot, looks simpler to use and doesn't replace the first string tuning key on your peg head.

Waylon's tele only has 5 tuning keys with the first string key taken up by the protruding Scruggs peg on the back of the head.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 13 Jun 2014 8:56 am

Bill,
Actually the tuning key is part of the Hipshot unit. So it has been replaced. As the guitar is a Baritone, it's actually dropping the 6th string B down to A. Killer sound!

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 9:16 am

Maybe Waylon should've tried one of these out on his guitar and kept the Scruggs for a spare. It's a killer installation so it should have a killer sound.

Does it have unlimited use in your playing or do you pick and choose the fills you want to use it on?

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 13 Jun 2014 9:44 am

Scruggs pegs were intended to change pitch while playing, rather like we do with pedals. To change pitch and leave them that way you are much better off with a Hipshot B-bender, but it's better still to go the whole hog and fit a Hipshot Trilogy, which allows three separate tunings for each of the six strings at the flick of a switch. They also make eight string versions, which are used (the latter) mainly on lap steels.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 13 Jun 2014 9:51 am

Bill,
I seldom use it as an active bender. Sometimes to "hang" a low 7th. I pretty much just use it to go into a different tuning, as did Waylon.
I have a Hipshot G and B bender on a standard 6 string. Those get used similar to pedals on a steel.

Kevin Raymer · Post by **Kevin Raymer** » 13 Jun 2014 10:41 am

I added a scruggs tuner with the drop "D" setup for a friend of mine to his tele.

I had to drill the string hole out just a little to allow the Low E string to pass through.

It works fine, but he said it was a lot of trouble..

He got the idea from seeing Waylon use his too..

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 13 Jun 2014 12:04 pm

John...if you bear any personal resemblence to your Cousin Jody avatar, you must be one helluva' dobro picker and lap steel player too.

I promise not to invite you over to my house for dinner especially when we're havin' corn-on-the-cob! {:-)

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 13 Jun 2014 12:09 pm

http://benrussell.photoshelter.com/gall ... EtBqn_sTVo

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 13 Jun 2014 2:24 pm

On a side note, I was at Joe Glaser's luthier shop in Nashville and in walked Reggie Young with Waylon's leather tele. We were talking and he said that two of those guitars were made for him.

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 13 Jun 2014 6:51 pm

I have a Schaller D-tuner on the 6th string of my American Nashville B-Bender.I don't use it a lot,but it's handy to have around....One time I worked out the six-string intro to "Point of Rescue" using it to drop down to the D notes(playing in Em,capo 1st fret)that are implied but not actually played on the studio version.And if someone requests "Detroit City",I'm ready!

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 15 Jun 2014 7:34 am

Back in the early 1980's, the band I was playing in was the opening act for Waylon. Back stage, there was a rack holding 3 or 4 of those leather-covered Tele's. I walked over to look at them and one of the roadies barked at me to stay away. When I was setting up my Emmons next to Ralph's Sho-Bud, I turned around to take a closer look at his guitar and another roadie barked at me to keep away. Real friendly folks...

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 15 Jun 2014 10:54 am

I think Waylon had Keith keys on both of his E strings. The Tele Marty plays has a double body because the first Parsons White bender was not routed into the guitar, instead it was mounted to the outside. Sometimes when Marty turns just right you can see the double body seam. Sounds good though. I have drop D keys on both of my Teles and wouldn't do without them. I am even thinking of putting one on my main acoustic for those quick tunings.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 15 Jun 2014 10:59 am

My Hipshot has the B-bender lever, the G-bender palm pedal, and three toggles that lower the 1st, 5th, and 6th strings down a whole tone. That puts me in Low Bass G Tuning for bottleneck work. It was very handy on stage.