Albert Lee's B-Bender

[PugNinjas]

I always loved this AL, complete with the B-Bender installed.

I wonder how much the tone is affected by removing such a large amount of wood from the guitar body though?


Oh well, it works for The General so.........




Pug

 

[tommyindelaware]

don't forget that while removing the wood takes away mass.............putting the bender system also replaces mass. ( even though it is a different overall density).same w/ floyds & such.........

 

[PugNinjas]

Good point Tommy


One of the Albert Lee dvd's features him using this guitar and it just adds another layer into his already stellar playing.

I would love to check one of these out, although I only see one company offering these at the time. I will have to search and see if I can at least check out one of these units.


You ever play one?




Pug

 

[tommyindelaware]

Good point Tommy


One of the Albert Lee dvd's features him using this guitar and it just adds another layer into his already stellar playing.

I would love to check one of these out, although I only see one company offering these at the time. I will have to search and see if I can at least check out one of these units.


You ever play one?




Pug

yea............but i don't dig them all that much. must be somethin to them though ....albert lee & brent mason both use them a fair amount.
i'll see if tonedog ( brian) wants to chime in on this thread. i work w/ him here. he's got one.........& has reseached them alot more than the average bear......

 

[PugNinjas]

yea............but i don't dig them all that much. must be somethin to them though ....albert lee & brent mason both use them a fair amount.
i'll see if tonedog ( brian) wants to chime in on this thread. i work w/ him here. he's got one.........& has reseached them alot more than the average bear......

Cool, I would like to hear what he has to say about them and how he likes using it.




Thanks,
Pug

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Pug - gonna get a b bender on yours?

I have only seen Albert play his tele B bender on any of the dvd's I have. What DVD shows him playing an AL with one?

I was in correspondence with a guy on the forum who was having one installed on an AL. I think he lived in Belgium or was it Holland ???
This was around the time that I first joined the forum - I'll have to have a dig about and find out his name and include it as an edit later on.

How long is it now Pug ?

Edit: The forum member is art027. I believe he has done quite a bit of work on AL's.
I think he converted a 3 pickup MM90 into a 2 pickup MM90.

 

[PugNinjas]

How long is it now Pug ?

Quit scramblin' my eggs!!!!

The wait is tough but I talked to my dealer last night and he said, if it arrives after we move to Nevada, he will ship to me at my new address.

At least that's not a problem ....

I have to search to see where I saw Albert playing his b-bender AL, I thought it was on one of his dvd's but I could be wrong. I'd check for ya but most of my non-essentials have already been packed so .......

Pug

 

[Spudmurphy]

non-essentials !!!!

 

[PugNinjas]

non-essentials !!!!

What kills me the most is realizing how much stuff I have accumulated over the years. It's especially frightening when I'm packing and I come across something and ask myself "Why the hell did I keep this?"






Pug

 

[Tone Dog]

yea............but i don't dig them all that much. must be somethin to them though ....albert lee & brent mason both use them a fair amount.
i'll see if tonedog ( brian) wants to chime in on this thread. i work w/ him here. he's got one.........& has reseached them alot more than the average bear......

Tommy is correct that the mass change is not all that much and depending upon the actual unit you install, it may actually increase the overall weight of the guitar.

As for Albert, I don't think he uses the bender all that much and heard where he said it changed his approach to playing. Having used a bender the past couple of years (with nowhere near the coolness Albert and others pull it off), I can attest to how having one makes you think differently about what you are going to play. This wasn't a bad thing in my case because it forced me to think of different ways to voice chords and fragments that allowed me to take advantage of the bender. But that was a good thing, bender or not.

For those who would like to dabble in B-Bender territory but don't want to make the commitment of a permanently installed unit, I would highly recommend the Hipshot Will Ray model. No, it isn't as elegant as the Glaser and other Parson-White variants, but it's cheaper, works cleanly and doesn't require mods or permanent installation so it can be removed in minutes if you decide it isn't your cup of tea. And you should be able to track down Will Ray's B-Bender video that is a terrific B-Bender primer regardless of which unit you use. He shows you licks, but they are conceptual examples that you can take anywhere on the neck and apply as you see fit.

 

[NorM]

What kills me the most is realizing how much stuff I have accumulated over the years. It's especially frightening when I'm packing and I come across something and ask myself "Why the hell did I keep this?"
Pug

I just moved last weekend and I am feeling really good about all the crud I was able to throw away.
I think B Benders are cool when I see/hear someone who plays them well. For me, I don't think I will ever need it as a part of my playing style. In short, I have nothing to add to this thread and I should move on.