B-Bending Away The Blues
Published April 29, 2003
And Clarence said, 'Well, yeah, if I wanted to play pedal steel, I'd play pedal steel.' I want something that's part of the guitar, so that the guitar can just be put away in the case when it's done. That's not really very visible, that doesn't take my hands out of their stance, and doesn't really alter the way that I play the guitar, except that I'm able to bend strings, or pull strings, somehow.'
So I cogitated on that for a while, and I came up with the idea of using the shoulder strap. And I presented that to Clarence, and he thought it was a real good idea, and I drew up some plans, and hunted down some steel guitars, which I procured mostly from Sneaky Pete, who had some extra steel guitar mechanisms laying around, and then the question came up of which string are we going to pull? Clarence pretty much thought that it would be the B-string, because the high-E string didn't lend itself to that many combinations, and we were afraid that it would break.
The third string is easy to bend with the fingers. The B-string is the one that's a little harder to bend, and Clarence said, "Well if I could pull the B-string with a mechanical device, I could bend the third string by hand, and have two strings moving."Ultimately, the result was a mechanism that was entirely self-contained, but turned White's Telecaster into a pedal-steel-sounding instrument.
To this day, Parsons custom installs B-Benders into Fender Telecasters, Gibson Les Pauls, and even acoustic guitars.
But it's possible to buy a B-Bender right off the shelf, thanks to a deal cut by Parsons and his partner, Meridian Green with Fender in the late 1980s, which resulted in Fender's American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster, which is equipped with two Telecaster pickups, a Stratocaster center pickup, and a Strat-style five-way selector switch.
The guitar is a B-Bender equipped Telecaster selling with a street price of between $1100 and $1300, easily affordable by most serious players. About the only unfortunate aspect of the guitar is its Nashville designation, which suggests the instrument is suitable only for country pickers.
With B-Bender players over the years as diverse as Albert Lee, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Bernie Leadon, and of course Clarence White and Gene Parsons, nothing could be further from the truth, as the CDs below indicate.
- B-Bending Away The Blues
- Published: April 29, 2003
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- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Rock, Music: News, Music: Country and Americana
- Writer: Ed Driscoll
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A couple weeks ago, my local PBS station ran a show called "Guitar Notes". I couldn't find any info on the web, but check your local listings in case it turns up. Marty Stuart (who bought Clarence's Tele from his widow) demonstrated the B-bender and explained its function and genesis briefly. I felt like I was looking at a holy relic. Marty also played Mother Maybelle's guitar in the Carter Family style, and another segment focused on Chris Isaak and his brother. Recommended viewing.
In early 1967, I was at a recording session in L.A. with James Burton, and he had a primitive b-bender on his Tele, and it blew me away when he made those pedal-steel sounds. BUT...it was not a Parsons-Greene. I don't know who made it, he just said, "A guy I know rigged this up." The b string was anchored below the bridge on a machined-alum. cam block, and James had to use his right hand to activate it, similar to using your hand to move a Strat whammy bar or Bigbsy tailpiece. I will have to ask J. about that early b-bender sometime.
I have one...I love it. I swapped out the pickups for some hotter ones and it is now my main guitar.
One of my favourite guitar gizmos is the ebow.
"hmmm, how can I make a guitar sound like bagpips, bowed strings, etc.?"
great b-bender story but to not mention will ray of the hellecasters? the will ray b-bender is simple, affordable and requires very little modification when installed on telecaster type guiars, among others. also can be fitted with a g-bender and drop d for low e string. versatile, functional, affordable and dependable. installed mine in less than 30 minutes.
Ed, Great piece. I'm a b and g bender nut and have just released a CD of b and g bender instrumentals. It's called "Mescal Mary & Other B Bender Guitar Instrumentals." It's on ebay now and will be on CDBaby soon.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3722947785
Mike Breen
i am a tele nut and builder. i install benders on guitars. I have a very unique design that allows you to change the pitch of your pulled note and the amount of pressure required to pull the note in seconds. It is designed and manufactured by a friend of mine in springfield, MO i am confident it is the best bender on the market and so are my customers. i would be happy to send anyone pictures or answer questions. Matt.
trippo@mo-net.com
"Mescal Mary and other B Bender Guitar Instrumentals" is out and available at CDBaby.com http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mikebreen3
I hope that this contribution of 10 originals and 2 covers pays tribute to this wonderful invention. Thanks Gene and Clarence.
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Ed, I love these guitar history pieces - thanks!