Yes, it's me again—with another fairly basic B-bender guitar lick! Before we get started, however, here are my two obligatory "What's a B-bender?" paragraphs that I use in every column—just in case you're reading this column for the first time:
A B-bender is a contraption that lives in- or outside your guitar and allows you to pull—usually with some sort of arm, palm, shoulder or hip movement—your guitar's B string up a perfect whole step. So, a B note would suddenly become a C# (or a C, if you don't bend the string all the way).
Although this simple explanation might not convey the wonder of a B-bender (it sounds more like an exercise regimen), let's just say the contraption allows guitarists to create sounds that would be impossible otherwise. And it sounds cool as hell. Or "cool as heck" if that offends anyone.
OK, I'm back. For today's column and video (like last week's), I grabbed my ancient grey shirt and my Gibson Music City Jr. with B-Bender (a limited-edition guitar Gibson issued in 2013), to play a Clarence White-inspired country lick in A. I'll use a different B-bender guitar for my next video, promise.
As an electric guitarist, White (the Byrds, Muleskinner, Nashville West) built the bridge between country and rock in the late Sixties. His work with the Parsons/White StringBender—an ingenious B-string-pulling device invented and installed in White's 1954 Fender Telecaster by fellow Byrd, multi-instrumentalist and machinist Gene Parsons—is legendary.
This is a very brief lick with only three well-timed bends—because you never want to overuse a B-bender. You can have too much of a good thing!
To start, place your pinkie on the 12th fret of the E string (that's an E note) and your index finger on the ninth fret of the G string (another E). Next, hammer on to the 11th fret of the G string (an F#) and quickly move your index finger to the 10th fret of the B (an A), followed by your ring finger on the 12th fret of the B string (a B) and bend that high B note to a C#!
Without tab, this sounds annoyingly complicated (or annoyingly explained), but it's incredibly easy to play. I picture this lick being used as an intro to—or as the ending of—a mid-tempo country tune. As usual, feel free to steal it.
If you have any questions, write to me at damian@guitarworld.com. I'll try to reply before 2021. By the way, this guitar uses a Joe Glaser bender and a modified Gibson Nighthawk bridge. Enjoy!
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
