What is a "B-Bender" and what is if for?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Easto
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Easto

Easto

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I've seen these Fenders for years and never bothered looking into it until now. Can anyone enlighten me?
 
A B-Bender is a whammy bar for the B String. It only effects the B-String. It goes way back...I don't know how far, 50's, 40's???? Anyway, it was primarily used in country music.
 
The original B Bender was devised by Grahm Parsons and Clarence White in the late sixties/early seventies for use on some records by the Byrds. It bends the B string up by (I believe) on whole step.


http://www.stringbender.com/home.htm


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light is correct. I saw Clarence White three times and he was able to get some incredible sound with it.
I suggest the Byrds "Untitiled" CD for a quick take on it.
 
Light said:
The original B Bender was devised by Grahm Parsons and Clarence White in the late sixties/early seventies for use on some records by the Byrds. It bends the B string up by (I believe) on whole step.


http://www.stringbender.com/home.htm


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

it was actually Gene parsons and Clarence White...Gram Parsons was in the Byrds for one album then Gene and Clarence joined the Byrds for the next 5 albums,he also did studio work on earlier Byrd albums ..Gram went on to form the flying burrito brothers...now to the b bender Clarence was an awesome guitarist who started in bluegrass ,but he would do behind the nut bends and wanted a way to do it mechanically so Gene went to work on it and devised the b bender, their work on Nashville West is arguably the first country rock album, the b bender is good for imitating steel licks ...to those who are not into country it was the signature lick on Metallica's unforgiven too...also on Led Zep's all of my love , and some Stones songs, Bernie Leadon used it on Peaceful Easy Feeling as well as other Eagles songs ....you can have them installed,but it requires routing the guitar body, for ease of use try the Hipshot B Bender you can find them for around 100$s and they can be installed with a lot less modification to the guitar ...Untitled is a great album as are all the Byrds albums from Sweetheart of the Rodeo on up ...Marty Stuart owns the original b bender prototype guitar, it was Clarence's main guitar
 
I did not notice that Light posted Graham Parsons, but then I never expect Light to be wrong. But it is Gene Parsons. He has a website for the bender. We emailed back and forth once about when he played with the Byrds.
Clarence White, Gene Parsons, Skip Battin and Roger McGuinn, one of the best live bands I have ever seen and Clarence was the best guitarist I have ever seen and I have seen alot of them. :eek:

Another live alblum with the above lineup was released lately, The Byrds Live at the Fillmore (1969?)
 
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