 Fig.A The first B-Bender was the Parsons/White Pull-String | |
| Other instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Guitar accessory |
| Inventor(s) | Gene Parsons and Clarence White |
| Developed | 1968 |
| Playing range | |
| A minor third | |
A B-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to fluidly alter the pitch of a guitar's B-string. This works by mechanically bending the B-string through the use of a series of levers and/or pulleys attached to an external lever that is controlled by the player.
There are several different designs, but all use levers or pulleys inside or outside the guitar body that are activated by a pull or push of the guitar neck, body, or bridge. The resulting tone sounds much like a pedal steel guitar and contributes a "country" feeling. The original device, named the "Pull-String" or "StringBender" in various iterations, was designed, built, and installed by musicians Gene Parsons and Clarence White, and as such the device is sometimes called the "Parsons-White B-Bender". Parsons licensed the device for use by several electric guitar manufacturers, but the bulk of the first decade and a half of production was done by Parsons himself, building and installing an estimated 2000 kits before he outsourced the production and installation to other companies.
Originally designed for the Fender Telecaster, B-Benders are now available to fit many solid body electric guitars, and even acoustic guitars.
