About five years ago I was one of the many folks who "rediscovered" the late Clarence White's super-cool faux- pedal steel guitar techniques with the Byrds and very much wanted to install a Parsons-White "B-Bender" in my old Telecaster. For those in the dark, a B-Bender is a system of levers and springs that resides in an L-shaped cavity in your Telecaster. It allows you to - with the tug of your guitar strap - bend your B string up a full step. When this type of bend is done within ringing chords or partial-chords it can yield beautiful, slurry pedal steel- type effects. Unfortunately, the original B-Bender runs several hundred bucks, is difficult to install, adds several pounds to your guitar's weight, and worse yet, requires all but destroying the body of a Telecaster by routing a huge channel in the back. There have been a few other devices over the years that are capable of producing pedal steel effects in normal guitars, but none so beautifully minimalist and easy to install/use as Epiphone's palm- activated EZ-Bender. The upshots: the EZ-Bender can be installed by anyone in minutes, it's inexpensive (I got a new one on EBay for about 50 bucks, though I think it retails for a bit more), it can be used on any string (multiple EZ Benders can even be installed on one guitar), and it doesn't require modifying your guitar at all. The downshots: the EZ-Bender only works with Gibson/Epiphone-type stop-tailpieces and it seems to be difficult to find in stores. But with the price so reasonable, it's a worthy investment for the "faux steel"- curious, like myself. I put one on my Gibson 335 and have been having a ball. (www.epiphone.com)
Accessories, Software, Tools | No. 38
Awesome DAW SUM Sampler
by Larry Crane
Concerned about "mixing in the box"? Want to really hear the side effects of different software mixers, analog consoles, digital consoles, bus summing? There are 29 mixing platforms here, with the "A"...