B-bender on a Rick?

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:27 pm

That wasn't Bernie Leadon on Peaceful Easy Feelin' It was a 16 year old kid from San Diego.
Can't remember his name, something like Chris Callins. Met him back in the mid 70's when he came by my shop in Tustin with some other hot pickers... Have any of you fellows heard of a Nashville Session player: Bill Ball? He took a Les Paul Black Custom, and built a gizzmo that had 6 foot pedals mounted on a steel plate with 6 motorcycle cables attached to the levers that went to 6 string pulls that were mounted on the face of the Paul behind the stop tail piece. He could bend all 6 strings and make his guitar sound pretty much like a pedal steel. The only draw back, it was hooked up pretty much permenantly to the guitar.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:38 pm

Thanks for the link Karl, that first 11 seconds tells it all. Why the B string? Actually it looks like it would be easier to just bend the string... just part of the hand technique.

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:11 pm

The b-bender is cool because you can bend the B-string note within full open chords, which sounds KILLER. It also has a more fluid sound then just bending manually.

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:35 pm

Karl,
Do you have a clear plexi back cover on your B Bender?FWIW, I was making the back covers for Gene from like late '88-mid '91.We did them in clear, white plexi, and black plexi.I think I still have some of them buried in my basement
somewhere.Gene is just one heck of a nice guy.I had him do 2 different Teles for me; one back in '78, when he did the installs for like $250, though he was running a "sale" at the time, and I got it for $185.The other one I got in '91;traded him a bunch of covers he was needing to restock.And, like So Many other cool guitars I've had over the years, I no longer have a Bender Tele anymore. Silly me....Oh, well...

karl_teten · Post by **karl_teten** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:36 am

My first bender was a Fender CS Clarence White signature that had a clear plexi cover. I sold that guitar in 1997 as it was kinda sterile. Plus the bender was a short stroke. I prefer the feel and sound of the long stroke.

Never heard about the "San Diego kid" story Dale. I'll have to look into that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVdyHMzbwt8

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:52 pm

Karl I always thought it was Bernie also.. We saw the EAGLES IN THE EARLY 70'S AT THEIR 1ST So. Cal. Concert at the Anaheim Stadium. Bernie played Pedal Steel, not the greatest, but he covered the solo pretty close. Jackson,David Lindley, Ronstadt,Andrew Gold and J.D.Souther were the other acts. We had a GREAT time. I'm with you on the long stroke, makes all the difference in the feel.