(Thanks to eagle-eyed inSync reader Pete Giansante for this correction – Ed.) Our Word For The Day “B-bender” contained an error; here is the corrected version.
The B-Bender was invented in the late 1960s by two members of the legendary folk-rock band The Byrds — Clarence White and Gene (not Gram) Parsons — at a time when the group began to dabble in country rock. It employs a system of levers inside the body of an electric guitar (typically a Telecaster), which connects the bridge to the top strap button, just above the neck. When the player pulls down on the strap, the levers raise the pitch of the B-string, producing bends within chords to emulate sounds that are most often associated with the pedal steel guitar. Fender released a modified version of the device which was co-invented by Gene Parsons and Meridian Green.