Video about Behind the Bar Bends

Raphael McGregor · Post by **Raphael McGregor** » 23 Jun 2012 9:27 am

Hi, I recorded this the other day, love to see what you guys think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQEqq8wDNRo&feature=plcp

Thanks,
Raphael

Paul Sutherland · Post by **Paul Sutherland** » 23 Jun 2012 9:34 am

Very good demonstration.

Johnny Baldwin · Post by **Johnny Baldwin** » 23 Jun 2012 4:25 pm

Very cool....

Chris Dorch · Post by **Chris Dorch** » 23 Jun 2012 5:29 pm

That's neat... Nice job...

Raphael McGregor · Post by **Raphael McGregor** » 24 Jun 2012 12:33 pm

Thanks guys, appreciate you watching!

Jonathan Shacklock · Post by **Jonathan Shacklock** » 25 Jun 2012 4:40 am

Excellent! Can I ask what tuning you've got there Raphael? Do some tunings lend themselves to string bends better than others...?

Raphael McGregor · Post by **Raphael McGregor** » 25 Jun 2012 12:51 pm

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! The neck I'm using in the video is a C6 ACEGACEG. I also do some bends on a standard 6 string version of that, CEGACE, and on my E9 neck, which I have strung up as EF#G#BEG#D#F#. There are cool bends to be found all over the place...what you need to experiment with a bit is the string guages to find ones that allow you to do a full whole step bend, if that's what you want, and to figure out which specific intervals you want to be able to get. For example, I first wanted to imitate the sound of the A and B pedals on the pedal steel going from a I chord to a IV chord, so I messed around and I figured out ways to do that on my necks. I also wanted to have the nice sound of a 9th going up to a 3rd, for example D G C going to E G C, another really common country sound. For that bend, the E9 neck is perfect, you can just bend the F# string a whole step while playing the B and E strings above it. Hope that's helpful! Thanks again!

Jonathan Shacklock · Post by **Jonathan Shacklock** » 26 Jun 2012 3:13 am

Hi Raphael, very helpful, thanks for the info. I gave it a go last night and it's a lot more tricky than you make it look! It's not easy to keep the bar controlled and keep the bent string in contact with the bar. The thumb is definitely the key and I need lighter strings in places. Cool stuff!

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 28 Jun 2012 2:00 am

nice work Raphael!!
one question aside from planting the thumb
on the back of the steel
did it take a while for you to build up your fingers to be able to pull those strings up?
I like that a lot....

Raphael McGregor · Post by **Raphael McGregor** » 29 Jun 2012 10:09 am

Hi Mike,

Yes, it took a little bit of work. When I first started doing it, I had permanent string-shaped dents in my fingertips for about a week. Doesn't happen anymore, though!

Thanks for watching,
Raph

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 2 Jul 2012 4:40 pm

yeah I would say by now your finger tips
and finger ends are real tough!!
you sure do great with that type bend and all
I bend the f# string a half step on my e9
pedal steel its not bad but any of the others might be real hard to bend that way
I can see where string gauge would be a factor
as well

cool stuff!!

The Steel Guitar Forum

Video about Behind the Bar Bends

Video about Behind the Bar Bends

way cool stuff......

yes