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Topic: Tell me about aftermarket stringbenders for non-pedal steel. |
Kristen King
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2024 3:42 pm |
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I've taken a look at what's on the market but I figured I could ask if any of you have suggestions about what's available and what's good. I'm not interested in doing pedal steel style bends but rather just being able to change chords the way one does with the C6 neck. I have an SX lap steel from Rondo music tuned to B11 (ABC#D#F#AC#E) and I'd like a bender to bend the D# up to E to give more like a traditional A6 tuning (albeit with the low B) and I have a Melobar CC-8 tuned C13 (BbCEGACEG) and I'd like a bender that can bend the A and higher C up to Bb and D to make a C9 chord.
I guess to me, I really like the B11 and C13 tunings but they each are sort of lacking in an area where the other excels. The C13 tuning has a lot of 6ths for harmonizing melodies and all the inversions of major and minor chords but lacks a particularly nice dominant chord. Obviously C13 vs the 6 string C6 tuning does at least add a 7th on the low string but having a 9th chord would be preferable and I don't find the 7th+13th in that tuning to be particularly attractive option for a dominant chord.
The B11 tuning on the other hand has the 9th chord for the big dominant chord as well as having m6 and half diminished chords baked in while lacking some inversions of the major and minor chords and lacking a lot of 6ths between strings. The low C# and high A strings at least gives a diad to sort of get the sound of a major chord in the first inversion (with the root as the highest note).
The string bends that I have in mind rectify these issues, essentially giving each neck the other's strengths when the pitch benders are engaged. It's so nice to be able to have the C6 chord and then the D11 (which is the C#D#F#AC#E B11 tuning up three semitones) available with the fifth pedal to give a nice 9th chord. It's right there on the C6 neck of the pedal steel but it would be nice to have a similar change on lap steels for when I want to bring steel guitar to a jam session but don't want to bring the pedal steel due to the size, weight, setup, etc.
So figured I'd ask what's on the market these days and if this is doable with either of the lap steels that I have.
_________________
74 MSA Classic D12 8x4 ~ Melobar CC-8 (C13) ~ SX LAP 8 (B11) |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 12 Jul 2024 9:26 am
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| It sounds like what you want is to change your tunings on the fly rather than bend strings. When I ordered my write bender I had an idea of going between A6 and E9 tunings but I found that as I got used to it I found that I would play more in triads that in full chords. Benders also really affect the way that you play, they make blocking hard and it is tiring to hold the bender down. What I thing you want is either a double neck with both tunings at the ready or something like a Scruggs tuner that will let you move between two notes on the fly. |
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 12 Jul 2024 11:20 am
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https://www.pitch-key.com/
I use a “pitch-key” on my B11th neck, which is the same as yours but I have the B an octave lower:
E
C#
A
F#
D# -> D
C#
A
B
Just needs a quick twist to go between the two, but not exactly instant as a pedal or knee lever of course.
I’ve found going to D is much more interesting than on that string.
The A6th approximation is close enough as is, IMO.
Another potential solution would be the C6th/A9th tuning used by Joaquin Murphey:
G
E
C
A
G
E
C#
b
There you have the same as your C6th, with the 9th chord you described from B11th thanks to that that reentrant B on the bottom (B being the 9th of A). |
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 12 Jul 2024 11:30 am
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If you don’t like voicing of the 13th chord with the Bb on the bottom you shouldn’t use that tuning anyway, maybe you could try either
G
E
C
A
G
E
C#
A
or
G
E
C
A
G
E
C#
C |
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Jeffrey McFadden
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 13 Jul 2024 9:35 am
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| Paul Strojan wrote: |
| It sounds like what you want is to change your tunings on the fly rather than bend strings. When I ordered my write bender I had an idea of going between A6 and E9 tunings but I found that as I got used to it I found that I would play more in triads that in full chords. Benders also really affect the way that you play, they make blocking hard and it is tiring to hold the bender down. What I thing you want is either a double neck with both tunings at the ready or something like a Scruggs tuner that will let you move between two notes on the fly. |
What's a Scruggs tuner? Link, pic, description?
_________________
Well up into mediocrity
I don't play what I'm supposed to.
Home made guitars |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 13 Jul 2024 12:25 pm
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| Jeffrey McFadden wrote: |
| Paul Strojan wrote: |
| It sounds like what you want is to change your tunings on the fly rather than bend strings. When I ordered my write bender I had an idea of going between A6 and E9 tunings but I found that as I got used to it I found that I would play more in triads that in full chords. Benders also really affect the way that you play, they make blocking hard and it is tiring to hold the bender down. What I thing you want is either a double neck with both tunings at the ready or something like a Scruggs tuner that will let you move between two notes on the fly. |
What's a Scruggs tuner? Link, pic, description? |
Here is a cool example, they are also called Keith tuners after Bill Keith who invented them I believe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4h0Z7h0IAQ
Since they were conceived for banjo, they jut straight out like a banjo tuner, Lane Gray said someone makes right-angled ones but I couldn't find anything about them. |
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