I like big bends and I cannot lie

[hurricane hugo]

[font:Verdana]You other players can't deny

that when the solo starts its electrifying scream

and the notes rise like a dream

You say "DAYUM!!!"

 

So I've recently begun working on a technical front that I've kinda long relegated to 2nd-tier status: bends. Coming from a classical/flamenco background in my early guitar days, bends weren't really a thing there, even though vibrato was very important. I did nail down half-step and some microtonal bends in earlier days, but the whole-step stuff...not really. Putting in the grind a lot during this pandemic, and things are coming along. As always, your tips and advice are appreciated. Feel free to post links to songs with inspiring bending. This has been my fave Stones song forever, and learning Mick Taylor's moves continues to be a fun challenge. Translation: yeah, I'm still working on it, hahahahahahaha.[/font]

 

[video:youtube]

[KuruPrionz]

I've been an extreme bender for a LONG time. I realized long ago that taller frets make it easier. Since I'm also a guitar tech, I started re-fretting all of my electric players with Dunlop 6100 or Jascar Super Jumbo.

I recently got some All Parts wire that is special order only and can only be ordered by a retailer/wholesaler. I got mine ordered at Guitar Center. It is HUGE, the Super Jumbo wire looks small next to it. I haven't put any on a guitar yet but soon.

 

Meanwhile, I also finally went ahead and scalloped a fretboard (3 total at this point). My main gigger has a scalloped board and it makes long bends really easy and precise. 2 whole steps plus? I'm in!!!!!

 

Second attached photo, take a look at the lower part. That shows the scalloping really well.

[Larryz]

Hugo, I'll let Marty give you some very cool tips to start out with. I used to be a bender but now as I get older I like to just use half-step bends for the most part. Having a Strat loaded with 9's is a good way to go. Marty shows how using 3 fingers, you can bend on just about any guitar with decent action like a nice 335. Instead of bending up to a note, I just play the note using major and minor scales LoL! Marty didn't cover two string bends that I used to like doing in my country rock band. But here he is showing how he bends using the Pentatonic scales for reference:

 

 

A cool start IMHO. I may even get back into it a little LoL! Have fun with it!

[desertbluesman]

I also do a lot of bends and slides with my fingers. I think music with bends and slides are more human and vocal like sounding. I also like jumbo frets. Although my Strat Clone has lower frets as does my homemade strat like guitar.

 

I don't use a tremolo, if a guitar that I buy has one, I block it solid, and throw away the handle.

[Scott Fraser]

Here's a style which is all about big bends: Vong Co music from Vietnam. Instead of pushing the string sideways across the fretboard, they bend by pushing the string down into the Yngwie-esque scallop. I'm a huge fan of this genre of folk music, almost to the point I might want to get a scalloped neck in order to do these wild bends. Check this example:

[skipclone 1]

Personally I think mastering vibrato is a cooler skill.

I definitely enjoy big bends like Steve Lukather's second solo on 'Roseanna',

or Clapton on 'Bad Love'. But to me it's asking to break a string.

[KuruPrionz]

But to me it's asking to break a string.

 

I bend like crazy all the time, often I am not nice or gentle about it.. I do put vibrato on my bends and my non-bends, there are lots of different vibratos.

One can pick a note and add vibrato, which is always sharper than the original note.

One can pick a note lower than the intended note and add vibrato, which can then be both sharper and flatter than the intended note.

One can do a quick, frantic swift vibrato at the end of a bend or a slower one.

Or as one releases the bend slowly back to the original pitch one can make the guitar "sob".

 

There are others. I broke one string in 2020, none this year. I think I broke a string in 2018 but I didn't document it.

In my experience as a guitar tech, when a guitarist is breaking strings it is usually the same string in the same location and cause by something that needs to be changed/modified regarding the guitar itself.

 

Before I got all the bugs out I would break a high E string right where it sat on the saddle on my Tele. After the third time in six months I took that saddle off the bridge and rounded off any potentially sharp edges. Now it doesn't break strings there.

My Strat has never been known for breaking strings, I leave them on way too long and eventually one might snap but not often. Usually after 3-4 months I change them and everything is fine up to that point.

 

It's pretty easy to break the octave G on a 12 string if you tune it to pitch but those are not easy to bend and don't stay in tune anyway so mostly I don't.

 

If you are breaking strings at the same point, get the guitar checked out. It's nice when it doesn't happen anymore!!!!! Cheers, Kuru

[skipclone 1]

Yup, lots of fun stuff with vibrato. I like that lateral, violin-like version that Greg Howe does.

At this point I'm not in a space playing-wise where I'm doing crazy bends. Back in the day I broke two different strings in the same song,

a version of 'Superstition'.

[Scott Fraser]

Every time I see this topic I think it says "I like big bands and I cannot lie".

[KuruPrionz]

Yup, lots of fun stuff with vibrato. I like that lateral, violin-like version that Greg Howe does.

At this point I'm not in a space playing-wise where I'm doing crazy bends. Back in the day I broke two different strings in the same song,

a version of 'Superstition'.

 

 

Nice! I was watching some friends long ago in a proto-punk-pop band playing and the guitarist broke 2 string, then an other. He yelled into the microphone "strings are for pussies!!!"

Pretty funny.

 

My greatest string breaking accomplishment defies all logic. I was ripping away and suddenly the high E string broke - in two places. I don't think that is possible but it happened.

[skipclone 1]

Well I definitely get runner-up for the WTF prize. My D string suddenly went completely flat. But it was still on the guitar.

I tried winding the tuner. And winding. And winding. Still totally flat. Then as I was winding, I saw the outer winding of the string going past me.

It had become detached from the core.

[KuruPrionz]

Well I definitely get runner-up for the WTF prize. My D string suddenly went completely flat. But it was still on the guitar.

I tried winding the tuner. And winding. And winding. Still totally flat. Then as I was winding, I saw the outer winding of the string going past me.

It had become detached from the core.

 

 

That a good one too!!!!! Easy 2nd place for frustration and deception.

 

Somehow, a friend of mine broke 2 bass strings in about 15 minutes at a gig. I don't know of many broken bass strings and these were less than a month old. He was a weight lifter and played like he was killing chickens.

Maybe that comes in 3rd?

 

And then there was the time I bought a box of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys and on all 10 sets the ball end on the first string came unraveled and the string was useless, all at one gig. I played with 5 strings for about a set and a half. That was human error, a machine not set up correctly or a new employee not properly trained. I wrote Ernie Ball a letter explaining what happened and they sent me 10 new strings. I'd never had any problems with Ernie Ball strings before that and I never have since then either.

So I guess that's 4th.

[skipclone 1]

I had an acoustic from the Philippines, that broke so many strings it could fill out the rest of the top 10.

I donated it to my former residence.

[Werewolf by Night]

My greatest string breaking accomplishment defies all logic. I was ripping away and suddenly the high E string broke - in two places. I don't think that is possible but it happened.

You still put your pants on one leg at a time, right? Or are you leaping and levitating now?

 

That IS pretty weird... I don't know as I've ever experienced that!

 

 

I bend A LOT, all manner of bends- and, I very rarely break strings at all.

 

Partly due to proper set-up, 'fit 'n' finish'- smooth and properly dressed nut-slots and bridge-saddles (very good to begin with- thanks, Gibson!- and even better with a little professional work later on- thanks, Eric Aceto!); and, I apply a tiny dablette of mixed Teflon gel and powdered graphite, a goopy grey mess, to the back-sides of nut-slots and saddle-notches...

 

And, partly due to the heavier string-gauges that I prefer; .011" through .050" on my Les Paul.

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I'm really looking forward to executing classic behind-the-nut string-bends on my coming project Telecaster/Broadcaster stylee axe; I was originally intending to go with a reverse headstock, but then changed my mind for the sake of more easily done behind-the-nut bends on the plain-treble-strings.

 

And, I'm going to try running a set of 10's on it- "light", for me. But if I can stand them feeling so skinny and lite, I might also enjoy the wilder, squirrellier bendability of 'em on that Tele. And, it'll be a longer 25-1/2" scale-length, longer and tighter than my Les Paul...

 

Someday, I'm going to finally remember to try slipping some Teflon tubing- wire-jacket material- over the length of each string between the tailpiece and bridge on my Les Paul, to make it much easier and more forgiving to the fingers for similar behind-the-bridge bends...

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I love doing all kinds of bends...

 

Ghost bends, where you bend the string to pitch silently, before picking, and then pick and release to sound a descending bend.

 

Oblique bends, where two or more strings are played, but only one is bent up- a classic.

 

Double bends, where two strings are both bent- and sometimes, getting tricky (or trying too! ) and bending them by different amounts, respectively- so that one goes up, say, a half-step, while the other goes up a whole-step, for diatonically harmonized bends that fit within the key and chord, if you will.

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I do this crazy howling alarm/air-raid siren double-bend with feedback, on the 4th and 4th strings at the 7th or 9th fret, if I recall correctly... I bend the 4th string up, pressing it up against the 5th sting, bending them both, holding them, gradually releasing them back down, then back up, with the guitar howling with feedback the whole time; and I have my Leslie-sim pedal on (a Boss RT-20), Slow Speed to start, ramping up to High Speed as I bend up, ramping back down to Slow Speed as I release the bent-notes down in pitch, then both back up again, and down again, etc. People have actually mistaken it for the real thing before, thinking there was some emergency and the local siren was going off... !

 

It's a BEAR on the fingers, though!!

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There's a really cool, subtle type of Oblique-Bend that seems I don't see a lot of people doing- and that I, truthfully, learned about in an article in Guitar Player magazine decades ago (by Andy Ellis, perhaps?), who in turn was referencing some techniques that Eric Clapton deployed in some solos with Cream...

 

The underside of the tip of the 2nd finger, the index-finger, is laid over and across both the 3rd and 2nd strings, and let's do this at the 12th-Fret for example; the finger pulls downward, toward the floor or treble-side of the fretboard, bending the 3rd-String up by pulling it toward the 2nd-String, while the 2nd-String is NOT bent at all, the finger simply glides over it, applying only just enough pressure to make it contact the fret.

 

And here's the thing- the 3rd-String is deliberately bent up by only a quarter-step, a microtonal bend, for a VERY Bluesy, Blue-Note, " 'A Ringin' a Bell" kinda sound. At the 12-Fret for our example, this dovetails to an E chord, right exactly in-between the minor and Major 3rds. Go up and down the fretboard, to find where the same maneuver fits other chords (say, A, B, D, whatever you're hitting in a I-IV-V, for example). It's a great initial bit to lead into another lick or run or whatever you please, or just repeated a few times for everyone's dining and dancing pleasure while you make the point that you MEANT to do that. SO GOOD for Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, rootsy-bluesy stuff... Beautiful clean, clean-ish, overdriven, distorted, fuzzed, approved of in all cultures on all planets. I'm sure Clapton wasn't the first to invent it, that's just how I learned about it.

 

Now, of course, string-gauges and set-up and all allowing, you could bend that 3rd-String up from the m3rd to the Maj3rd, back down if you like, and that's cool, too. But that microtonal 1/4-Step bend is the real gem here!

[Larryz]

I haven't broke a string in about 10 or more years (knock on wood)...about the time I quit bending. I use 10-50's with a wound 3rd. I still do half-step bends (which really don't count LoL!). Back in my gigging days I did a lot of bending and two string bending and would break a 3rd, 2nd or 1st string now and then. I always carried an extra set of strings. Later in life I learned to always bring two guitars to the gig just in case. Still later, I learned to use locking tuners for gigging, especially if I was only packing one guitar LoL!

[desertbluesman]

I never break any strings these days, I use D'Addario XL 110's tuned to concert pitch. All of my guitars are 25-1/2" scale. I used to break strings back in the day quite a lot, but I think these newer strings may be a little more resilient. Maybe I am not bending as far. I leave my strings on for several years at a time. And still no breaks in many years.....

[RABid]

If you really like BIG bends consider a mix of bending and whammy bar. Jeff Beck was a master at this. Check out some Jeff Beck technique videos on YouTube.

[KuruPrionz]

If you really like BIG bends consider a mix of bending and whammy bar. Jeff Beck IS a master at this. Check out some Jeff Beck technique videos on YouTube.

 

 

Fixed that for you, Jeff Beck is certainly a master player in all respects.

 

Despite my list above, I hardly ever break a string and I still beat them without mercy.

[Werewolf by Night]

If you really like BIG bends consider a mix of bending and whammy bar. Jeff Beck IS a master at this. Check out some Jeff Beck technique videos on YouTube.

 

 

Fixed that for you, Jeff Beck is certainly a master player in all respects.

IN~DEED.

 

David Gilmour also gets a lot of bends and vibrato out of both finger and whammy-bar deployment. Using one, the other, or both combined is a big part of his style and sound.

[Larryz]

 

Oblique bends, where two or more strings are played, but only one is bent up- a classic.

 

 

 

+1 I like to pick a note on the 1st string say on the 5th fret A to match the key or the chord being played over. Then pick the 8th fret 2nd string (4 frets up) and bend it up a whole step till it matches the A while holding the 1st string like a drone string. Then let the 2nd string slowly back down and continue down in the pentatonic scale to the A on the 4th string 7th fret...can be moved to any note on the 1st string like the D on the 10th and the E on the 12th, etc....

[KuruPrionz]

Good one Larryz!

 

Then there is the classic "bar the two high string with your little finger, put your 3rd finger on the G string and push it up a whole step. Country rock train whistle lick. There's more than one way to do it but that's how I do it.

[skipclone 1]

Well technically it's not on topic but, i was just picking up a few things on the way back from work-it's a different train station.

Outside the station there was a guy playing Shamisen, the Japanese three-string banjo. The Okinawan version is San shin.

i almost bought one there years ago but, they are an investment both time and money wise.

Anyway, the player can add microbends to certain notes in the scales, similar to a sitar.The fretboard is not scalloped but maybe the action is high,

not sure. So how do dey do dat? I'm going to ask about it.

[KuruPrionz]

Well technically it's not on topic but, i was just picking up a few things on the way back from work-it's a different train station.

Outside the station there was a guy playing Shamisen, the Japanese three-string banjo. The Okinawan version is San shin.

i almost bought one there years ago but, they are an investment both time and money wise.

Anyway, the player can add microbends to certain notes in the scales, similar to a sitar.The fretboard is not scalloped but maybe the action is high,

not sure. So how do dey do dat? I'm going to ask about it.

 

Microtones are an inherent and important part of Asian, Middle Eastern, South American, Aboriginal (world wide), and African music. They exist in European folk musics (Gypsy Jazz for one) but until recently keyboard based European (and American/Canadian music was limited to 12 notes per octave and predominantly the Tempered Scale - featuring "The Notes That Are Wrong" (with the occasional concession to the Just Scale). This s why guitars rule, we can make any and all of the notes if we want - we are not trapped by the tempered scale.

 

Another option for big bends is to play some form of slide guitar. There are virtuoso Indian musicians who use a slide guitar as their primary instrument.

[wraub]

I don't bend strings much on my Strat, but do all the time on my LPSO... I think it's the sustain, it just works musically in a way the Strat doesn't do as well.