The Ultimate Epiphone is back! This time I am doing a couple of hardware mods! Enjoy :)

perhaps they could engineer a version which switched between bending all the strings simultaneously or just the B, that would be very interesting

I bet adding a roller saddle will improve tuning stability, especially the b - bender. Then the strings won't bind on the tune-o-matic bridge.

Sure is less complicated than any other B bender I’ve seen. Looks like a great product.

Honestly, this is the first time I’ve considered equipping one of my guitars with a B-bender. Thanks for using it in a way that’s more than just cliché Country/Western

So, I just installed this on my Gibson Les Paul Tribute. I also installed a string butler and a bridge with roller saddles. I also have a Rolling Benders B Bender on my Strat. I used Rolling Benders string system which connects the Bender through a hole in the body to my belt, and I can absolutely say I prefer that system. It’s just easier to use. Also, I had to double up the felt washers on the fine tuner on the Easy Bender to keep it from rattling out of tune, which seems cheap to me. This will do in a pinch, but I definitely prefer systems that are not activated by my picking hand.

Darrell. I just LOVE the quilted top on that Epiphone. What a gorgeous finish…

To avoid tuning issues I'd put a roller bridge on to avoid friction at the bridge

Graph Tech Saddles just to sprinkle some Fairy dust on it. To hear use of a 'B' bender in a song, listen to Shoot you down by The Stone Roses. John Squire uses a B bender to great effect. Thanks Darrell.

The ultimate epi les Paul build is probably one of my favorites of yours. Such a versatile guitar.

The string butler isn't centered perfectly. :D But it's a great idea!

I have both Easy B-Bender and the new V1 String Butler and they are great well made. B-Bender super fun and you can play pedal steel type licks. It does take a little time getting use to it and understanding when to tastefully use it. Basically you can bend a major chord into a major 6th ( full tone ) You can also bend into a minor chord or a minor 6th chord. If you set it up to only go 1/2 step then you can bend into sus chords. Enjoy your vids D

Interesting update to the string butler! Much simpler installation than the original.

When you think of all that drastic surgery back in the say to get a b bender and its here no muss no fuss - it just works and looks beautiful

I like that option better then routing a channel in the back of the body and having all that hardware installed and then hoping your strap doesn't break or slip off- very slick

Hey, Darrell! You're a mad lad, and I absolutely love it!

I never realised how much I needed this. Amazing!

They should DEFINITELY make one of these for a Telecaster and also make a "G-bender" version as well.

I've been loving that LesPaul for years! Beautiful!

Never knew this thing existed! Really fun - would love one. The string manager thing also a thoughtful piece of work . . . great vid, thanks! The LP sounds great.

Not really my style of music but I can see a country guy making that sound amazing

I added a String Butler to my friend Les Paul. It would go out of tune about every 10 minutes and the group would stop and wait for those auto tuners to do their thing. The Butler fixed the problem as is worth every nickle. I also solved the problem by simply buying a different make of guitar.

Youre always reviewing the coolest new stuff, i was very interested in this thanks!

I find the String Butler to be expensive, but it DOES improve stability, especially when you add a trem system to a Les Paul or similar. A GraphTech nut was the most effective thing that ever improved my tune stability (Gibson ES-339). String Butler helped, adding a quality roller bridge was good, and of course quality locking tuners with no more than one wrap around the post. I added a Les Trem 2 system to my ES-339and all these things together, I get moderate bend stability. I took Darrell's advice & installed a Floyd Rose Rail Tail to my 2018 American Performer Strat & a GraphTech nut & locking Fender tuners, and after I work the strings in for a few mins (Ernie Ball 9.5's) I can NOT push it out of tune!

This is a great idea, at first listen it doesn’t sound as smooth as a fully routed B bender, this is just a difference of it being a small lever. But maybe you’ll get used to it, musically…

The String Butler is a nice piece!

Maybe try a Peterson Pitch Witch G and B bender. Palm benders. Strongly recommend.

These parts are a really good innovation. Thanks for the information.

First thought that jumped into my head once I saw what this device does was "This is cool but if we're going to this level of tech why stop with just the B string?" I mean, I bend a lot on every string, and sometimes two at a time (as for a double-stop unison bend). I guess Dirk's reasoning is that with a typical trem/vibrato you're actually changing tension and therefore pitch of ALL the strings at once, even if you're only meaning to alter the pitch of one string at a time. So making this gadget strong enough to affect all strings at once would require much more net spring resistance to balance it and therefore it would need to be more complex, and there goes the beauty of such a simple, slap-on accessory that doesn't force you to drill or cut on your guitar. I bet this unit is not cheap to buy. If it was capable of working for say the G, B and E simultaneously then that's where I might start to be interested in buying one for my own Les Paul. But for one string only, chosen by someone else, it's a one-trick pony that seems like a solution in search of a problem. I'm not interested at all in a big ugly Bigsbee on my LP. If I need a trem for a particular song I'll play my Schecter w/FR. Now the universal quick-install String Butler? THAT is a genius idea and product.

I just Bought a dark honey burst quilt top 60s Standard from zZound looks just like your epiphone I love mine .

I love that rootbeer finish... Other rootbeer finishes don't look as good as that... In fact, most of them look ugly, but Darrell's looks so sparkly and beautiful.

They look very clever and the bender has a great effect. Only question (and its probably a daft one) is with a string butler would you have to re-cut your nut to make it straight as the slots are cut slightly angled? As i said daft question. Great vid as always n that guitar is ace!

The first B bender was invented by Gene Parsons and Clarence White. Jimmy page used the B bender on later Zeppelin albums. It was a lever mechanism installed into the back of the guitar. You had to route out a large portion of the guitar to install the linkage. The Dietrich was way better than the Parson White B bender.

It looks very clunky and sharp. Why wouldn't they machine the bass side smooth? And the big question is, B-bender on a Les Paul? That customer-base has to be like four or five guys in total. This might be the most useless thing I've ever seen. If anyone out there buys one, please let us know in the comments! Thank you Darrel for showing us this stuff. Your channel totally Rocks and this was really fun!

That is a stunning guitar Darrell.

Wow, compared to a Tele B-Bender, this is super simple. Note that because of Brad Paisley, some prefer a G-Bender, so perhaps we'll see that eventually.

Thanks for this excellent intro to two interesting options for upgrading a couple guitars I have! And at $119 for that B-Bender, it’s a lot less expensive than others I’ve seen. Again, thanks and best wishes for happy holidays!

I’m accustomed to thinking that the guitar needs to be extra big, since I think often f how it was pioneered in the 60s. The model it was first built into was the Telecaster owned by Clarence White and modified by Gene Parsons before both of them joined the Byrds. In an interview, Gene described Clarence’ ark of using the bender as overusing it, ignoring it and easing back into it. I think a one-time acquaintance of mine who graduated from my high school 3 years ahead of me and was primarily a rhythm guitarist had his own Epiphone Les Paul fitted with those pickups. He never explained the switching though.

I did it to my custom made SG! I took them out! PRails, while good in theory, aren't good in actual practise! They are a jack of all trades, but master of NONE pick up!

I fitted SD P Rails with the triple shot rings to my Agile AL-3200 MCC Gold Top and am super impressed with the tonal options they offer. For much less than the price of a decent spec Gibson, I have a beautifully made and specced neck-through LP style guitar with just about every tonal option I could ever need and it’s the one I pick up to play most of the time now.

Very cool tones. Fun to play.

It's hilarious to see the over-engineered solution Leo Fender (or was it he who designed the Tele B-bender?) came up with, versus this dead simple and brilliant one! It's like comparing Gibsons stupid Robo-tuners and the genious Evertune system.

I just found this…I know I’ve asked for a B-bender show for years and I really appreciate you finally doing this. In Nashville, the bender is attached to the front strap connection and is activated by pushing the body down… This might be even better…and it’s definitely easier on the guitar. Thanks again…and everyone have a wonderful merry and safe Christmas

The B bender looks like an even easier mod than the bridge tremolo I fitted on mine.

You should try the Floyd Rose FRX again. It turns your Les Paul into a killer vibrato guitar!

Cool, man... IIRC, I've seen somewhere that there also is the full vibrato for Les Paul guitars. Completely reversible, no holes in the body or structural mods... just placed via the two strings of the retainer... (Schaller if I am not wrong?)

if you want a retrofit bender for a Strat check out the Duesenberg Multibender

y recommend also roller bridge, i saw the "teeth" move while using the b bender... AWESOE GUITAR!!!!!!!

Thus, launching a new generation of Eagles cover bands.

Dude this sounds awesome. Little country twang. But sounds great. Could be the new strings for that country sound. I like it

Darrell you need to adjust the string butler as its clearly higher on one side compared to the other and the strings are showing that. At 7:00 you can see its pushing the A string down but doesn't touch the B string. Just some minor adjustments needed.

Hi Darrell... I've bought two 'artist guitars' les paul style guitars here in Australia from their 'bargain bin'... For 299 and 335 ozzy dollars an l59csb and an apricot burst 59....inc postage... I understand they're now available in the US.. So sure you could arrange something in Canada. The 'vfm'...or bang for buck is incredible IMHO.... See if you can review one.... There is an Ozzie's review already.... Interested to hear your thoughts. Cheers Paul from Perth.

Never have I ever gone so fast from , "what is this gimmicky thing"...to ...shut up and take my money! LOL...now ill cool off for a couple days and revisit it later ;)

I have that exact same Epi LP, I love the quilted top, it is my favorite to play, other than lining the cavities with copper tape I have not made any mods yet. I did remove the pickup guard, a real shame hiding that top.

Never seen an epi with such a great looking top

still wanting to try that midi? whammy bar thingy one day... great videos and keep up the fun!

I love this channel and the crazy stuff you find and try out.

Very interesting I never heard of B bender before. Gives Les Paul some interesting character.

You should learn the intro clean riff from unforgiven 2 by Metallica

Another mod that would be great is the Zeroglide nut replacement! You should try it man. So good. Actually requires no ‘mod’ at all, just knock the nut and replace with the Zeroglide that has an integrated zero fret. If you don’t like it (not possible!), just put the old nut back!

When I saw the thumbnail I was worried that you had drilled into that fantastic Epiphone top for a minute there!

Check out the Certano benders. Great quality and easy to install!

Hi guys welcome back to the channel and hope you’re having a great day 👍, thanks Darrel , I’m loving it dit-dit-dit-ta-doooo 😂

I was hoping this was the Erector Set for guitar. Oh well. Maybe next time. 😂

First time I heard/seen a B bender he made it sound like a steel guitar which blew me away but that was way way back and it was a complicated affair as he had to rout out chamber in the back to install things have changed so now maybe i can get one!! thanks for your work and great site..

That Paul is a monster!!

Хорошая деталь !!! 😎😎😎

Never heard of this-- interesting-- thanks again

If he just added some thread tape to the post's on that guitar, he would improve tuning stability as the post's would not rock back and forth as much. I do this to any guitar with a TOM type bridge. Heck, I add thread tape, or plumbers tape, to the posts for a two point tremolo. I have noticed since I started doing it, guitars go out of tune a lot less often. I don't think it affects tone in any way, but if you are one of those "Tone wood" people, the tape causes the transfer of vibrations into the wood better.... Take that how ever you want. But thread tape makes the bolts more secure and they usually don't wobble when you bend your strings.

Very interesting mod. The string butler is very cool.

That string butler being not centered on the nut bothers my OCD....cool mod. The b bender is not my style, but looks well made and sounds very functional

Lap steel licks coming up 👍👍 lol beautiful guitar man👍

So, basically it's an ooh-wee-ooh machine

Now *that's* cool! Much cheaper, and much, *MUCH* less invasive than a real B-Bender!

Darrell, could you please review Stetsbar Tremolo and the Easy Rider V-Twin Tremolo ? Thanks

OMG that guitar is BEAUTIFUL

just use your PRS if you want those strings aligned better at the head stock :) Anyway, break out a lap steel for those bending feelings :)

Between this and the Hipshot kit I'd be surprised if anyone ever routes out a full back for a B bender again.

Super easy, barely an inconvenience! 😊

Look up Clarence White playing his b-bender tele. He was the originator of the b-bender

what timing. I just looked up mods for my epi lp some twenty hours ago because I was curious what was out there suddenly.

Man, I love guitar gadgets. Also I love your videos. Also, dust your Audio InterFace man 😂

You should either get a roller bridge or string saver saddles for the one you have

Hi Darrell! Quick question, the lever seems to have a life of its own hehe. Sometimes it’s perfect, sometimes it’s really loose and sometimes very very tough - I’m talking about the arm in terms of ROTATION.

Boys and their toys! Looks more compact and your not striping the whammy bar!

Gotta say, awesome episode!⚡🤘

Look up some Clarence white

Love the new string butler

No comment on th B bender, but that string butler should be standard on all Les Paul's, or, better yet, a better headstock design.

Neat les paul man

What model string butler is that? I can't find ir on their website, ir looks so much better on a Les Paul than the old V-shaped ones!

Nice review. Although the B-Bender appeared to be made with solid parts, it didn't have an attractive design.

good video, you could also test stetsbar they dropped the v3 recently it's a killer vibrato !

I wish you could try out the seymore Duncan preamp. I cant decide between active emgs or my factory Jackson pickups with the Duncan preamp and nobody on KZfaq has a good video on the preamp.

Check out "Hummingbyrd" by Marty Stuart for more inspiration on using a B-Bender. He owns the original Clarence White/Gene Parsons B-Bender Tele.

The butler makes truss rod adjustment a bit of a faff?

i believe Clarence White used one

Cool. Peddle steel sounds on a guitar 🎸

The string butler is kinda neat if not usually necessary, but I hate that it makes truss rod access impossible.

Would a graphite saddle on the B string help to save the string?