What’s a B-Bender? Well, if you want to make your guitar sound like a pedal steel, or if you want a bit of that “country” tone, a B-Bender might be for you.
A B-Bender works by bending the B string of a guitar (usually a full step, so B to C#) using a mechanism such as a lever or pulley. There have been several designs in existence since the 1960s. The original designs were activated by pulling up on the neck, which activated a mechanism embedded inside the guitar which pulled the B string.
Another design is the String Bending System by Hipshot, which is what we recently installed on a customer’s telecaster. This system is hip activated.
For some reason we don’t have more videos of our install – but I was able to snag this one from our IG story! Check out how Jason activates the string bending mechanism.
You’ll hear a B-Bender most famously in All of My Love by Led Zeppelin. And here is a great video of Albert Lee, where you can see a close up of a strap activated B-Bender.
