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fbecir

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Jul 3, 2005
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Brad Paisley in Guitar Player (March 2009) :

GP: And you don't feel bad about bending the neck on such a valuable guitar?

BP: Nah. Redd Volkaert, who is the master of that approach, can grab baseball-bat-sized '50's Broadcaster necks and bend them down an octave., and it doesn't seem to hurt them. All you have to do is adjust the truss rod every couple of months. It's a great trick Tele players can do--it's cooler than cheating and using a whammy bar. Whammy bars are for sissies."
 

threeminutesboy

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May 11, 2003
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I'm proud to be a sissie then :)

Some trem technics are just impossible to reproduce without the bar. Just try the intro of "Yankee rose" or some legato licks à la Lukather with a tele ahahah

But interesting someone opened a can of worms here ;)
 
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NorM

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Apr 18, 2003
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Tucson
Albert Lee is so good that even he doesn't know how good he is.
Seeing and hearing Jeff Beck in concert you can't help but think the whammy bar was invented for him.
Steve Morse uses a floating whammy on Perfect Strangers in concert. It is just to right.
There is a delicate balance required when playing a whammy bar guitar. esp a floating one.
I like the way it keeps me on edge.
 

Spudmurphy

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Take the bar off Beck. He was much better with a hardtail - his stuff doesn't cut (with me) any more. Sounds like "The Clangers" (UK'ers will get that one, uhhh the rest of you, I very much doubt it lol) but hey he makes a great living from it.
 

coldsummer

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Aug 2, 2012
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Gloucestershire UK
Take the bar off Beck. He was much better with a hardtail - his stuff doesn't cut (with me) any more. Sounds like "The Clangers" (UK'ers will get that one, uhhh the rest of you, I very much doubt it lol) but hey he makes a great living from it.

Nice one Spud, boy I miss the Clangers, they were great!

On a serious note, I have developed problems with my finger joints over recent years and have restricted movement which greatly affects my playing ability, especially bends. Some days it's worse than others and it is too painful to play at all. Because of this I've had to adapt my playing style and I rely on the trem arm to help me achieve some vibrato. I can bend up to pitch but find it difficult to apply vibrato when I get there.

The trick is, not to use it too much as it can sound a bit crappy, or should I say Clanger(y)!
 

Spudmurphy

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Aug 23, 2005
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Shame about the fingers - joint pain is really debilitating.
Don't get me wrong, I have Bloxbys (as a drummer mate of mine calls them) and use them sparingly.
But really, jeff beck nessun dorma -give me a break.

Get yer fingers widdling Jeff lol
 
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