View Full Version : Bending?
Hey, just wondering if anyone actually bends strings on eletric without the thing going out of tune. Is the scale too short to do this. I did see where folks are using the Whammy pedal to get the effect...but wodering if there are any models that allow you to bend...thanks
Christian McKee
May-05-2005, 11:57am
I bend the hell out of my Ryder whenever anyone gives me the chance, make it scream and moan, baby! Correct me if I'm wrong, but whether or not it stays in tune has more to do with the tuners than the rest of it, right? Perhaps an upgrade to better tuners would address whatever problems you're having.
Christian
I bend the hell out of my Schwab 5 string, no problemo. I have read that people w/ whammy bars attribute the shorter scale to not staying in tune, but I'm guessing the whammy mechanism is probably the culprit...
if i just use a moderate amount of bend it seems to go out, but when i let it rip...well, say goodbye...it's mandobird, so it's not like a real expensive axe...
Christian McKee
May-06-2005, 10:24am
Replace those tuners with something that can take the strain, and you'll be moaning along with us... I'd suggest brands if I could, but I don't really know.
Christian
mandocrucian
May-06-2005, 12:09pm
I don't think it really is the tuners. If it were, you'd be continually going out of tune even when you weren't doing any bending. The bending is also changing the tension between the nut and the tuners and when you release, not all the tensiont between the nut and the bridge goes back to what originally was, cause some of tension transfered to the area between the nut and tuner stays there. #So, get out the pencil lead or whatever lubricant you use and grease up the string slots in the nut, which will allow the tension to equalize.
(This is why a lot of whammy bar players use the system that has the locking nut which freezes the tension/release to between the bridge>nut, without moving to the tuner side of the nut.)
On the single string electrics (17" and 19" scales), it's the wider bends (minor 3rd, major 3rd) that'll throw it out of tune (sometimes).
NH
That's a great idea mandocrucian...I had done that back in my METAL days and had forgotten about that trick...will follow up with a report
Report: a little nut sauce and I'm bending...nothing crazy, but enough to satisfy that blues need...Thanks for help y'all
mandroid
May-09-2005, 6:52pm
a set of strong coil springs between the neck and body would make it bendy,
so would ,and does, one built with a weak neck joint.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
but what a cool stage prop....
mandroid
May-09-2005, 7:32pm
Quote:It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere.
reminds me of the sign[in my folks camper] "no drinkin' till after 5", and the clock face , of course was only 5s.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif
mrmando
May-09-2005, 7:35pm
Ever bend a note at the headstock? Put your left thumb against the back of the headstock, right in the center. Hook your 2nd finger over the top of the headstock. Now strike a note with your pick, then push on the headstock with your thumb and pull with your finger.
Saw Tom Prasada-Rao do this on his guitar ... I think he brought the note up a half step!
P.S. Don't try this on a Galveston, unless you didn't really want the instrument anyway.
fredfrank
May-09-2005, 7:47pm
Ever bend a note at the headstock? Put your left thumb against the back of the headstock, right in the center. Hook your 2nd finger over the top of the headstock. Now strike a note with your pick, then push on the headstock with your thumb and pull with your finger.
Saw Tom Prasada-Rao do this on his guitar ... I think he brought the note up a half step!
Tim O'Brien actually does this on a tune he recorded years ago with Hot Rize called Pow-Wow the Indian Boy. Drove a lot of us crazy trying to figure out what he was doing. He also used a crazy tuning on the E-strings. And this was on an acoustic mandolin.
I do that on my Tele..there is one song our band does where I use my whammy bar on my Strat (I remember the metal years where the comment about using it ONLY once seems ridiculous..tee hee)...but sometimes I find I'm wearing my Tele as the song starts, I've got no choice....but it can knock the thing way out of tune, thankfully, for me it happens at the end of this song.
I have not tried this on my Bird, but when I get home from work tonight...
PS...mandroid...the signature is from a Buffett song the line is "It's only half past 12, but I don't care....It's five o'clock somewhere" It has started to become my battle cry when things aren't going well :-)
Christian McKee
May-10-2005, 10:32am
I have a lot of fun pulling the G in and out of tune by alternately bending behind the nut (as above) and then pushing it back the other way by pushing the back of the headstock forward while holding the body tight towards me: as if I were going to fold the whole instrument in half. Add some overdrive and wah sounds, and you've got one heck of a growl from one little thing...
Christian
mandroid
May-10-2005, 12:39pm
The application of the guitar B bender to the electric mandolin, an A bender on StewMac 5 string,as I recall, didnt really take off, maybe it didnt work so good, or the timing was too early for introduction of the product.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif
mikeomando
May-10-2005, 4:58pm
4 ways I know to bend a string:
1. #With your left hand pushing up or down at the fret. #The most common bend. #It sounds cool, but there's always the chance that it will go out of tune, but you can say that about any bend.
2. #As described above, grab the headstock and push or pull. #If you grab with your picking hand, and hold a chord with your left hand, you can bend a whole chord. #If you have a belly, you can hold a chord, pull back with your left hand, and pull back against your emando body with your right forearm below the bridge for the same effect. #To bend down, you push forward with your left hand, and hold your emando body toward it's center and pull toward your body with your right hand.
3. #Push against the string you want to bend behind the nut. #If you use your right hand, you can fret a note or a chord at the same time.
4. #Grab the tuner and turn it while you're playing a note. #The nice thing about this technique is you can go crazy, and if you end the effect by going low you can tune right back up to the note without skipping a beat.
It's hard to pick fast and bend except when you use technique 1. #The others make cool sound effects though. #If you watch guys that really bend a lot, you'll see them compensate for a de-tuned string by bending the notes into tune and waiting for a rest to reach over and tune the flat strings up. #Then they switch to another guitar (it's always a guitar, huh...), and hand off the out-of-tune axe to a trusty roady. #Where's MY roadie? #Huh? #Where?
Mike, your roadie and mine are hanging out at a bar somewhere waiting for that call when we can afford to pay (WHAT!) them...And since they won't work for the mere pleasure of hanging out with me, I've started using smaller amps and less effects...:-)
Mike, your roadie and mine are hanging out at a bar somewhere waiting for that call when we can afford to pay (WHAT!) them...And since they won't work for the mere pleasure of hanging out with me, I've started using smaller amps and less effects...:-)