Printable View
Speaking of which, I wonder how many songs he actually uses it on? I can hear it on:
Take It Easy
Nightingale
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Tequila Sunrise
He probably uses it on Most Of Us Are Sad too, although he doesn't bend on it, I don't think.
I don't hear it after Desperado. In his book, Felder says Glenn and Don didn't like the sound of Bernie's bender. If that's true, it's a colossal shame.
The title of this thread made me laugh :lol:
I don't know much about guitar equipment, but isn't it true that the use of a bender makes the instrument sound more "countrified"? If so, I guess that's why it doesn't appear after Desperado. Correct me if I'm wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scarlet Sun
train leaves here this morningQuote:
Originally Posted by Scarlet Sun
Felder's book is, well, a long time gone and memories that appear different in the rear view mirror. I'm sure he thinks things went the way he remembers them... but they are through a pretty big fogbank of filters that include really thinking he was a full member.
Glenn and Don loved country rock artistically, but their pretensions to stadium rock stardom and megalomania frequently outweighed their artistic vision...
Both were obsessed to being the 'cool kids' since they hadn't been in their youth... so, they had to get up that hill first... Bernie using a bender and being true to his country rock artistic vision was a stark reminder to Glenn and Don of what they started out to do and decided to abandon (after On the Border)
The bender tele that Bernie played is a really interesting guitar (put together by Dave Evans of San Jose, CA) built by Dave Evans from pieces in his place in LA... a lot of bender fans think Dave's design is better than Gene Parson's and Clarence White's. They had the first one, the second went to Bob Warford (now an attorney in so cal) you can hear Bob's on Linda Ronstadt's "Willin"... Bob is an amazing guitarist and forever linked with Clarence for a host of reasons.
The B Bender was seen by guys like Jimmy Page who were blown away after visiting the palomino club and hearing the guys using a bender...
You can hear Jimmy using it in a rudimentary way on "all my love" and "ten years gone"
on Page, he is usually associated with Les Paul guitars and marshall amps, but recorded most of his electric stuff with a fender telecaster and a small supro amp! pretty funny, a whole generation of guys playing one thing and wondering why it didn't sound exactly right...
If you listen to old Emmylou Harris records with Albert Lee, he had an evans and used it a ton... I love bbenders and have two guitars fitted with them (one a parsons white, and one a hipshot) they are pretty cool and really fun to use, but tricky to learn.
oh yeah, right . . . but no actual bending on that eitherQuote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
long or short throw?Quote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
Thanks bb. I know that when the Eagles started out, they made a conscious decision not to have a pedal steel player like most of the earlier "country rock" bands (Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco). The bender was a good compromise for a while. Peaceful Easy Feeling is probably the best example. Check out Bernie "getting the Leadon out" using the bender at the 2 minute mark:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_rtJxPg0s[/ame]
Scarlet,
there is bending on 'train'... listen for it.. it is there, I play that solo... you can do it without bending, but it is fo' real when you use it...
my PW is a long throw (but I hybridized it a bit) in the clarence style...
the key to the bernie sound is adding a tiny bit of phase...
gettheleadonout... and the burritos had Sneaky who was a 'weird' steel player (with the B6 stuff and using an old fender rather than a modern steel)... Rusty Young was also kind of a challenge to the steel community because he was the first guy to play 'lead steel' (I don't mean like the Speedy West stuff) and to kind of drive the band... Rusty is a virtuoso, but I think that Glenn and Don (rightly so) chose to go bender a la the byrds rather than hiring lloyd Green or something...
Ronstadt split the difference, she used Eddie Black, Warford and then later added Danny Dugmore to play guitar and steel... Dugmore was great because he enjoyed playing bit parts and could rock on guitar, but play traditional supporting steel (like the killer part on Crazy)
sorry for the ramble...
oh yeah, I only mentioned Led Zep for two reasons: 1) anyone who wanted another example of hearing 'bender' guitar and 2) the irony that Glenn and Don would look down on the bender as not being 'rock' enough and yet LZ played teles and benders! irony!
I'll listen to it. I'm sure your correct. I believe his Evans bender was a short throw, correct? That's why it's hard to tell when he's using it sometimes, like on Take It Easy.Quote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
Do you think that those two had much to do with Bernie's acquistion of a bender?Quote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
Dave's bender is just one throw, so no choice there as far as I know.
The long throw, short throw thing came along with the more modern country players who wanted to bend really "fast" which the short throw facilitated.
your second question is a great one! these are just opinions, so what the heck do I know.... buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut,
Glenn and Don were neophytes when they hooked up with Bernie and Randy. Bernie and Randy had all the credibility and pedigree... I think they got a deal because G & D had looks and talent and they knew that Randy and Bernie were first rate and could make great music.... soooo, I think they may not have even known what a bender was... they just knew that Bernie was legit--> on guitar, banjo, harmony arranging.
If you want a fun listen--> go get Restless Heart's "Big Iron Horses"
That is Bernie baby! those are the vocals we really love... and that the Eagles lost when they lost Meisner and Leadon.
It is interesting to hear how different the parts started getting when they get to One of these Nights. Much more LA style mixed with Muscle Shoals than the country rock from the earlier records. Still great, but other than "hollywood waltz" and "lyin eyes" (which I only include because someone else will think it a legit country rock song, when it is just soft rock to my ears.. the descending maj to maj7 thing is more bobby goldsboro than bobby bare)
anyway, fun to talk about this stuff!
In John Einarson's book Desperados, Gene Parsons says that they sat him down in a Laurel Canyon coffee shop to tell him about their new band, and that they were friends. Also in the book, Einarson reckons that the Ballad Of Easy Rider album probably had a significant influence on the Eagles' sound. That's why I started that other threadQuote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
it has been awhile since I read that book. John is a good researcher and a great guy... that is an interesting story....
Gene and Dave are/were friends.. Dave has only recently begun making benders again after all these years...
your thread about the Byrds and Eagles is perfect for this site.... I think anyone who didn't understand how much the Byrds influenced the Eagles would not have to look much farther than the names, right?
I've read Glenn's account of how the name was arrived at... but, I think the Byrds part was pretty dang important!
Some of my bender friends (hard core and I mean HARD CORE Clarence fans) are also humongous Byrds fans.... their general take is that the Byrds were the American Beatles and looking back, I'd probably agree.
There were tons of guys trying to capture that lightning in a jar... and I'm sure Glenn and Don saw how self destructive the Byrds were and the Burritos were and probably thought... hey, if we can avoid the dark holes, we can be huge....
I think they sensed the country fusion thing wasn't really gonna happen and the horror at the initial sales of desperado probably scared them away....
The weirdest mix is Bernie mostly being annoyed with Gram, but then writing a song for him and Glenn and Don and Jackson practically taking his persona and then being rejected by him....
musicians are a strange lot...
I was not familiar with the "Bender". Started reading up on it.
OOPS! Should have read the Byrds and Eagles thread before posting this. I see that the "bender" is just for the "B" string and not the entire 6 strings.
How does it differ from a Whammy Bar or Floyd Rose Tremlo in final effect? From what I read, the purpose is to raise the pitch by some mechanical means. In the Case of the Bender, it is by pushing down on the neck to force the strap button to change positions effecting the "bend"...right? At least, looking at the pictures of the device, that is what it appears to be doing. Sounds "handy" as it would free up the hand that would otherwise either have to manipulate the whammy bar or use the heel of the hand to press down on the back of a Floyd Rose Tremlo.
The point of the bender is to mechanically raise pitch so that it emulates the sound of a pedal steel.
You cannot get the same effect with a vibrato or tremelo.
There is a cool device that Jock Bartley used to use called a bigsby palm pedal (Jock was in Firefall.. you can hear it on several of their songs) that used the bigsby bridge but with individual string activators.
they always required after market engineering to get them to work right, but they are cool! (I had one for awhile but sold it for stupid money)
The whole whammy/talent bar thing is for two basic purposes: 1) to provide an 'all string' vibrato sound (like old duane eddy stuff or the stuff Jimmy Wilsey does on "Wicked Game" or 2) the dive bomby Van Halen thing.
the b bender works with a cam and gear. as you pull the strap 'up' toward your face (using your shoulder) it actuates and you get the bend... here is a picture of mine...
the back
http://homepage.mac.com/macmanager/....her/rhback.JPG
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIilq3JdCT4[/ame]
specific technical explanation begins around 2:38
bb, have you read Einarson's Hot Burritos! book about the Flying Burrito Brothers? Bernie is interviewed at length and gives some great insight into just about everything. As far as Gram's "rejection" of the Eagles, I'd chock it up to good old fashioned jealousy. Watching his old bandmate Bernie shoot straight to the top right out of the gate must have driven him nuts especially since he never saw any chart success in his career (or even in death). Bernie even said he was surprised to read years later that Gram badmouthed the Eagles as he had come to one of their performances and been really complimentary to the band backstage after the show.Quote:
Originally Posted by bernie's bender
And when Gram died, he was genuinely moved (he was in London recording On the Border). That's when he wrote My Man.
Anyway, thanks for the insight on the legendary b-bender...
oh man! you have made my day with both the byrds thread and this one! I love hearing and discussing this stuff! I have read all of Einarson's books (he and I are both HUGE John Stewart fans)... yes, the burritos book and the video about gram Fallen Angel, Bernie really kicks down the reality about the Gram thing....Quote:
Originally Posted by GettheLeadonOut!!
I don't know if you are a burrito fan but Greg Harris has some interesting stuff to say about that era, his son has told me some interesting stuff about some of the 'inner workings'...
it is so weird to think of Sneaky making Gumby during the day and then dealing with Gram and a totally unrehearsed band at night...
The books always kind of make things look organized, but the guys who are a few years older than me and who played in that scene with tons of different artists who went on to other stuff say it was just totally chaos and random.... that the bands were so fluid nobody had any idea they were making history... they were just playing and trying to make enough money to get by....
What I think is cool is John Einarson who has chronicled all this stuff is a school teacher in western Canada! I think his manner is so honest and so direct with people they are willing to talk...
his book on Gene Clark is especially good as is his book on Randy Bachman.
okay.. I have to listen to these people who are staring right at me!
I am shocked that something this significant (B Bender) with which I was not the least bit familiar with! It's not talked about much....at least not within the circle of Rock music, yet it seems to be a very intriguing device! I see that there are models of it that have been adapted to several guitars other than the Tele....even one for acoustic.
Apparently, it is not unknown to the guitarists though. With Page and Keith Richards mentioned who have used them.
Learn something new every day! Thanks again
Anyone know what year that Telecaster was that he used on "Take It Easy"?
Hi Tonetwister, I haven't any idea about the year. Hopefully someone can answer your question.
http://evanspullstring.com/gallery-p...iginal/#leadonQuote:
Originally Posted by Tonetwister
Outstanding, sir! :applause:
Hey Bernie,
Did you teach anyone to play during your days in Gainesville. Stephen Stills taught me.
John