On a Bender: Episode 1

On a bender! Putting a bear trap on the 3TS Nitro ASAT for Johnny Gomez so he can get countryfried.

[@jfinester]

Cool video! I’ve been a B-bender player for about thirty years now, and back in the ‘90s I tried a Hipshot at a NAMM show-sitting right in front of Will Ray! No pressure, though, right? And it was my first time with a Hipshot... I liked the idea of the Hipshot being less invasive than other bender systems, but that lever sticking out past the back of the guitar was a problem; basically you can’t set the guitar down anywhere! A guitar stand that hangs the guitar from the headstock would be about the only thing that would work. When I tried to play it, I found that using the bender was really awkward for me; you’ve got to pull the guitar to your left (if you’re a right-handed player) so the bar butts up against your hip, hence the name “Hipshot”. I much prefer a strap-actuated system where you pull down on the neck to actuate the bender, like on a Glaser or a Parsons/White system. I wound up having a Tele-style guitar built for the Parsons/White setup, which entails routing out a bunch of wood from the back of the guitar, but it works for me! The Hipshot didn’t, but a lot of players like them; it’s a very cleverly-designed unit.

[@graemero5532]

You made that look very easy

[@YourFavouriteColor]

a BENDER! I SEE WHAT YA DID THERE ;)

[@wallacesanders265]

Love that Green Machine! Good vid!

[@vw9659]

Interesting mod. But the assertion here of enhancing string vibration energy entering the body via the saddle-lock bridge is the complete opposite of how electric guitars work. That's how acoustic guitars work - transfer of string vibrations to the site of acoustic "amplification", that is, the top and cavity. If significant string vibration energy entered the solid body of an electric guitar it would be lost from the strings and thus not detected by the pickups. Fortunately all measurements of real guitars show that most string vibration energy remains in the strings, and body vibration is minimal (even though we can feel some limited body vibration). If it were different, sustain would be very poor. Guitars can't break the laws of physics, particularly the Conservation of Energy Law. Luckily you don't need to know much physics to build good guitars. The saddle-lock bridge has potential physical merit only if it prevents string vibrations being lost due to vibrating internal bridge components, as occurs with many conventional bridges. If less vibration of the bridge occurs, a little closer to 100% reflection of string vibrations back up the strings occurs.