Will Ray B Bender enquiry..

Hi guys hope you're all doing well.
Took major troutage for a spin last rotation through an AC30, and as assumed surpassed all expectations.
Absolutely stoked with the B bender,has opened a whole other world to my playing & am keen to up the anty some after noticing that petite little G orifice adjacent to the B hole in the bridge
Do have a problem with the B string popping out of the saddle though being an habitual hybrid picker n all
I'm sure I'm not the first.any pointers?
Anther thing is I'm about to pull the trigger on a G bender palm lever after hearing some real tasty exponents of G & B benders the last few months.despite having a reasonably healthy arsenal of steel licks up the sleeve there's just no way you can pull off some of the stuff I'm chasing while keeping the D & B strings ringing as some here are well aware.
Have read blarg's thread regarding the problems he had & like the big fella I too rest my hand on the bridge,so am a bit concerned that the arm may cripple me.
However I've been lurking some boards & noticed a few lads are setting their palm levers up like this & perhaps it will be my savior..



Can't find a pic of this set up on a G&L saddle lock though to be sure.is anybody out there running a G bender on one of these bridges they could perhaps post a pic of here to put my mind at ease either way?
Also what tools etc am I going to need to fit this?
Thanks in advance guys,cheers..

Black Page,

It's good to see you back around here. I almost started a thread this morning to ask if anybody had heard from you lately.

As far as the B Bender goes, I know nothing...

Ken

Black Page,

It's good to see you back around here. I almost started a thread this morning to ask if anybody had heard from you lately.

As far as the B Bender goes, I know nothing...

Ken

Hi mate & thanks for the kind words.i figured you boys might have been enjoying the peace
The last month here before R & R was pretty hectic which made it tricky bud but back on nights again for a while & with the LE-2 upcoming should be about a bit more all going well.
Speaking of we got any pics about of any LE-2's in progress? Would live to see some if so.cheers..

Hi Black Page, long time no see.

Anyway, I'm a little confused - is the B string popping out of that WR you got recently? Or another guitar?

If so, usually the hole drilled thru the back of the saddle-lock bridge keeps the right pressure on the B saddle.

Any Pics?

Will

Hi Black Page, long time no see.

Anyway, I'm a little confused - is the B string popping out of that WR you got recently? Or another guitar?

If so, usually the hole drilled thru the back of the saddle-lock bridge keeps the right pressure on the B saddle.

Any Pics?

Will

Hey sensei!
I've got it back in the Philippines now sorry will so can't take any pics of it for you until October unfortuneatly
Yes it's major troutage mate.whats happening will is its lifting out of the B saddle & onto the top of it bud,not sliding up & between the B & G saddle or anything bad.its still playable just lose some sustain & buzzes a bit.i trawled the TDRI(?) forum again lately where you're also hooked up & remember seeing something about it a while back in there but couldn't find it again.im "assuming" I've gotta grove the saddle a bit but being ma babeh I obviously wanna be absolutely sure plus what tools to use.be nice if it was just a simple adjustment though!
Another thing will,have you seen one of your sigs with a G bender on it with the G & L saddle lock bud? All I've found pic wise is stock tele bridges & wanna do what's pictured above without any compromise to right hand technique if possible.the whole bigsbyesque vibe of the G bender I think may spoil the esthetic & I wanna be able to cradle the G bender with my palm so I can still pick while using it.
Oh off topic here sensei but watched the departed again recently.anyway sweet dreams was the first song that comes up on the roll out credits & I bound out of bed thinking "wow i haven't heard this version of will's before!!!" Before realizing it was Roy buchanan's which is killer as well..
Thanks in advance will,cheers mate..

First, make sure the B string saddle hasn't slipped down in height after a few months of Bender use. Check to make sure it's up there with the other saddles, and also that one side of the saddle isn't lower than the other. Do you use unusually low action?

Usually the neck angle on a WR is perfect for the Hipshot. And the hole drilled thru the bridge keeps the string at a real good angle.

You could try making a groove in the saddle, but I've never had to do that with a WR model. And I also do a lot of hybrid picking where I'm lifting the string up slightly with my finger when I'm playing.

As to the B&G bender, I used to have G&L drill the bridge for both the B and G strings. I'm not sure if they still do that, or if they just do the B string now. If your WR only has the B string drilled, you'd need to drill it yourself for the G.

Another option is to use the standard saddle-lock string holes for the Hipshot - both the B and G ones - to see if more downward angle helps with the string popping issue. On my WR's the string angle would be too severe and would probably hang up the strings, but yours may be different.

And I love the music in the Departed, especially the cool Hawaiian music.

First, make sure the B string saddle hasn't slipped down in height after a few months of Bender use. Check to make sure it's up there with the other saddles, and also that one side of the saddle isn't lower than the other. Do you use unusually low action?

Usually the neck angle on a WR is perfect for the Hipshot. And the hole drilled thru the bridge keeps the string at a real good angle.

You could try making a groove in the saddle, but I've never had to do that with a WR model. And I also do a lot of hybrid picking where I'm lifting the string up slightly with my finger when I'm playing.

As to the B&G bender, I used to have G&L drill the bridge for both the B and G strings. I'm not sure if they still do that, or if they just do the B string now. If your WR only has the B string drilled, you'd need to drill it yourself for the G.

Another option is to use the standard saddle-lock string holes for the Hipshot - both the B and G ones - to see if more downward angle helps with the string popping issue. On my WR's the string angle would be too severe and would probably hang up the strings, but yours may be different.

And I love the music in the Departed, especially the cool Hawaiian music.

Hi again will.
I'm pretty sure it's not the action mate.i haven't did a set up on it yet & it came out of the factory with 10-46's pretty high to how I intend to adjust it later.
There's a hole already in the bridge for the G bender as per your instructions sensei so she's ready to rock n roll in that regard
I've been very mindful of the climates she's been in both here & the PI.it's spent all its time in the case with a humidipak in a cooled environment when not playing it,but maybe there's a slight chance the neck has moved a touch? saying that though its always done it too.
it's not a major issue thus far but will message you some pics when I'm back home again bud.my main concern for now is if the G bender is going to affect my right hand by being too close to the bridge after I fit it & cut the arm back
Thanks as always will cheers mate..

I must say I totally agree with what Will has written.
Unless your B saddle is really low for some unusual reason, your hybrid must be pretty forceful to get the string to pop out like that! I thought I was quite a heavy handed hybrid sometimes, but I've not made mine pop out.
Using the "normal" string hole in the bridge, instead of the custom B-bender one, just might work OK, though I think you'll need some Nut Sauce or similar to keep it sweet. Plus the string will be getting bent more sharply and may break sometimes (I've never had a B break on my WR, using the custom hole, not once).
Otherwise, filing a deeper groove in the B saddle and then setting the saddle correspondingly higher would seem a sound idea, with the string through the "custom" hole. Maybe someone at G&L might sell & mail you a couple of saddles to experiment with, if you describe your problem to them?

Fitting the G-bender is going to need a pair of Circlip Pliers to get the shaft free and fit the G parts onto it. I'm sorry I don't know exactly which type / size you will need, as I've never done this to mine, but it might probably be best to ask Hipshot what tool spec they recommend for their circlips. What you'll be doing is slightly springing them open, with this special tool, so they can slide on the shaft. DON'T try to improvise it with the contents of the average family toolkit unless the guitar has broken down on your tour of some deep jungle region and the promoter is threatening to do terrible things to your girlfriend. I think you would be very wise to remove the whole bender unit from the guitar (remove the strap button and the two screws either side) before going near it with circlip pliers. If those guys slip when you're applying force (and they can) you could lose a LOT of finish, and even some wood, off the front of the guitar!