The dude who makes those drop tuners also makes benders and all kinds of gadgets. I've seen him demonstrate them live, and it is pretty amazing what he can do with all of his gadgets.
@@samuraiguitaristwhy do these companies only make B and G benders?! Why not make benders available for the other strings?! I guess they are stringist lol. 😂 But all jokes about “string racism” aside, it’s either either a gadget that bends all 6 strings or just the B and/or G. Is there a reason they don’t make such a gadget for the other strings? Really cool you found a bender of any kind for an acoustic guitar and bonus points that it uses the peg holes. I hope it won’t cause a guitar’s soundboard, bridge, and/or saddle to get damaged in the long run with the added string tension - even the neck. Would be curious to check back down the road to see if you’ve left it on a guitar consistently and whether there’s any visible signs of cracks, bowing, etc. Love all the other gadgets you found too!
@@samuraiguitarist I have a course/video content idea! recently got a D’addario partial capo for DADGAD in standard and some other tuning when it’s flipped. A whole $8 bucks was so inspiring just trying to use familiar chord shapes and noddle around - but I don’t quite know what to do to make some really good music with it beyond that. Can you do a YT episode about various partial capos and why a player might want to use one instead of changing the guitar’s tuning with the pegs. Can you take that a step further and perhaps even make lessons that show people how to get the most out of various types of partial capos and how to use them to make some sweet tunes in different styles of music? I think you did a video with a spider capo a very long time ago, but let’s do a deep dive on the types of partial capos out there, which brands make the best ones that hold tune well and are easy to adjust, which ones might be gimmicky vs musically sound, etc. You could even do a module about how to use full and partial capos on acoustic vs. electric. P.S. I call dibs on free access to this course if you use my idea! 😬😉👍🏻🙏🏻😇🎸
My very first fuzzbox, close to 60 years ago, involved taping a Canadian nickel to the surface of my acoustic, below the bridge, roughly where volume and tone knobs would go, if it was electric. The nickel had just the right mass, and was hanging loosely, such that it vibrated in sympathy with whatever I was playing.. I suppose it would sound disappointing these days if I tried it again, but it let me play "Satisfaction" for myself, and some of the tunes from "Rubber Soul". I also found I could get a droning sitar sound if I removed the saddle from the bridge. I was first introduced to Palm Pedals by none other than Ted McCarty, the man who people credit with Gibson's golden era and introducing their flagship models. I had stopped for the night in Kalamazoo, during a cross-country drive. I paid a visit to Parson's Street facility where Gibson was shutting down operations. Inquiring about getting a replacement spring for my Bigsby, I was told that Bigsby was just on the other side of the highway, and they'd have one. Hustling over, I was greeted at the door by the esteemed Mr. McCarty, who had left Gibson years earlier to head up BIgsby Industries. He enthusiastically began pulling boxes off the shelf to show me. Among them was a gleaming gold-plated 3-level palm pedal. I had never known such things existed. Left an impression on me, that's for sure. He gave me his business card, which I have framed.
If anyone has a top loading telecaster, you can make a DIY bender by drilling and bending the handle of a tea spoon. If you’re handy with a drill and a grinder, you can make it swivel so it doesn’t get in the way of regular playing. Jank but it works.
The fingerstyle guitarist Adrian Legg uses those drop tuners on multiple (if not every) string. He will drop and raise tunings several times during a song, and the effect is beautiful
@@dennishuffman3195 I think you're right! I remembering hearing that he used banjo tuners. I relistened to Guitar For Mortals, and was remembering seeing him live, he's really great
The spring thing is hilarious to me given that anyone with a floyd rose bridge typically wants to get rid of the noise from the springs. It's genuinely hilarious that someone would want to add it to a guitar that doesn't have that problem lol
One of my favorite guitar players (Robbie McIntosh) mounted a dual bender on his Dusenberg and he played it on a demo video for the Jackson Ampworks Britain 2.0…..my word it sounded so good! Jimmy Olander (another fave) uses two benders on his electrics. His style of playing is out of this world. Go, look them up and listen for yourselves!
You can get the aquaspacer effect by playing guitar on a sofa (if it has springs). Resting the guitar body against the frame will transfer the vibrations through the sofa until they hit the springs.
I, too, have been playing for close to 45 years. I am much more of a bass player than a guitar player, and I pretty much only do the two things as a hobby more than professionally. But like you, while I don't do outright "percussiony" things via slapping the body of the guitar, I will make my pick do kind of "percussiony" things in my playing, plus some string-slapping with either the heel of my right hand or sometimes the fingertips. When I play upright bass (my principal instrument), and when I'm doing certain styles of playing, I find myself slapping the strings on beats 2 and 4, if for no other reason than to shorten the pizzicato. Also like you, I really admire those who can "beatbox" on their guitars!
I like the idea of the spring reverb. Not all of us are ever gonna record something or play to audiences, and most certainly wouldn't do that all the time. I pike the analogue options when I sit at home
I like the idea of the spring reverb for touring - rather than bringing along a reverb pedal and cables and battery, any of which could die at an inopportune moment, just install the spring in your guitar before you leave home.
The first time I saw Tommy Emmanuel on PBS, I couldn't comprehend how he could have such destructive pick damage on the guitar top BEHIND the bridge. When I saw his percussive playing technique, I finally caught on. I wonder how often he has tops replaced.
I've been using the Sam Jam snare for a couple of years along with a foot tambourine that I removed the strap and attach every gig to the cutaway horn with the very same funtak that the Sam Jam uses. I don't play like those finger-tap folks-- I use the snare the same way I was pounding the pick guard during my strumming. What I really need at this point is enough foot discipline to trigger a kick on the right beat.
When I was in college, Brad Davis, who was in Marty Stuart's band at the time, came and did a workshop. He had this crazy b-bender contraption hooked up to his acoustic guitar that was operated by a foot pedal and some sort of hydraulic tube connected to an apparatus on the tuner. (see it here ua-cam.com/video/4TQlqRLtaKs/v-deo.html ). While he was telling us about it, he mentioned that it had gone through several iterations, one of which was a strap operated thing that pulled the tuner post (the part that the string winds through) back through the headstock from the back of the neck. He said that wasn't the best design, as one night while he was shredding on some fast bluegrass tune the string busted and that tuner post flew out and smacked some poor old lady in the head. She had to go to the hospital and get stitches. These seem safe by comparison.
Agreed Thinking one could position it better so your palm/wrist or fingers rest on it while you strum the strings, but of course that's not going to be conducive for *every* player
As a bass player, learning to fake a snare hit on 2 and 4 takes a bit of dedication. Normal melodies you'd syncopate become new challenges to figure out with your right hand (or left for lefties). IDK how much time you put into your final groove, but the fake snares were pretty good, IMO.
That was a pretty little diddy towards the end! I agree, benders are nice for that faux steel pedal sound without going too much into Conway Twitty town.
Those B benders could allow a player to have a David Gilmour-style bend sound on an acoustic. His bends on electric are...legendary.... Might be nice to see what three of them sound like on a B-G-e-string lead break.
I think the snare actually sounds great! Maybe the maker (or you) can switch to strong magnets so it can be quickly removed and added as needed so it's not always there rattling.
Decades ago (likely 30 years), I had a contraption that connection onto the outer body with springs inside (braced on the back end and bridge). It worked as well and sounded as good.
I am a pedal steet guitar player, and appreciate that the benders replicate pedals 1 & 2 on the steel. Something that dropped the E strings a half step would give the majority of the changes we steel players actually use (from an open 'E', you have access to Esus, C#m, and Amaj now. Adding the D# bender gives you G#m, D# half diminished, and B7 chords. That's six is seven chord degrees without moving your left hand.). However, the bumping noise on these Bowdens is so loud that you likely have to treat it as a percussive effect as well, which surely limits its value. Consider putting some soft silicone, or velvet covers on the levers, which might help some
i dont know man they work really good on floyd rose and 2 point tremolo systems on fender guitars if you remove the back cover and you play a chord you usually hear the springs ringing out in the back cavity, the acospacer is genius not only does it give you reverb but it also gives you slightly more volume
The b-bender seems interesting, but $250? That's just a silly price. I mean, so high that there's no real justification for it at all. I could afford that, but don't enjoy willingly letting someone rip me off. lol
Great review. And isn't it cool how truly innovative additions can reignite your enthusiasm in playing? Love you man. Leave the percussion to the percussionists - you play too well!
There is a different drop tuning gadget called the "pitch key", which is easier to install and works on most guitar because it just holds on to the strings. It works by twisting a knob and its adjustable from 1/2 step to 1 1/2 steps.
If springs are directly connected to the strings, not just to the guitar from the inside the reverb effect is more powerful and controlled. That is what I've done in my guitar 5 years ago.
Well that was pretty fun! I totally get not really vibing with the reverb and snare- when I'm playing acoustic I try to eliminate any rattling noises 😁 Both of the benders were pretty cool though, I REALLY like pedal steel sounds, but don't have the money or the space for one.
I don't remember the company, but they did make a spring based reverb system for acoustic guitars back in the early nineties. The difference was it was a black rectangle that was secured by a sort of comb under the bridge rather than magnets and to the face of the guitar behind the bridge (magnets and having inside the guitar is much better.) Sonically, I remember it being identical. I believe they disappeared for the same reason: If you record or amplify, you can add reverb anyway. Pretty much the only use is practicing in a small, acoustically dead space.
Yeah, I had one of those. I pretty much never used it. Even the lightest touch anywhere on the body or neck of the guitar would set it off. Very noisy device.
What Clarence White and Gene Parsons did with the Telecaster was amazing but it seems a less invasive gadget would keep you from ruining a good guitar.
I had a clip on reverb tank for my acoustic about 30 years ago - surprisingly effective and added a bit of vibe for busking. But the fact that I can't remember what happened to it suggests it didn't really add to things. ;¬)
2:58 😅 Love it These gadgets's best application might be for sonic brainstorming. Imagine them installed on a guitar that is an acoustic and electric hybrid (not the best at either, but good enough) and being able to just create something no matter where you are. That Acospacer could be used to get people accustomed to playing in locations with a lot of echoes.
Really interesting gadgets (since I'm into percussive & on the fly tuning stuff)! Would love to see more. 1. I'll definitely check out the Bowden B Benders. I'm currently using Keith Banjo D-tuners. Those require changing the tuners (though its pretty easy). You can hear them used in my cover of Jon Gomm's Passionflower: ua-cam.com/video/RpnRjiMW5Iw/v-deo.html 2. I agree that Schlagwerk Sanjam is too sensitive. Also, I think it sounds more "high hat" than "snare". I was thinking of instead trying Schlagwerk's Multiclap. You might want to try that out in a future video. 3. For the reverb, it's interesting but doesn't sound nice to me based on the samples. I've only tried another device called ASPRI reverb. But it was not practical for every song (especially for percussive fingerstyle), and not practical when using a pickup system or for recording purposes.
I would LOVE to have the Acospacer on my autistic because I do jam around the camp fire with friends that can sing and play. But it's $180.... That price point blew me away for some springs and magnets.
The soundboard radiates the sound, the sound hole is predominantly a pressure relief duct. If it were not there the air inside the body would act as a shock absorber and dampen the sound.
The Sam Jam percussive snare drum thing, I would suggest may function better with some type of sensitivity adjustable dial, or slider switching mechanism perhaps which would free up the guitar player from any unwanted rattling by a kind of notched noise filter, sortta in order it only resonates above a certain volume. What that mechanism would be, tho', I am not too certain.
In this generation of smart technology musical instruments are coming with amazing tecs but back in our time which was 20/25 years ago we looked for feel in music rather than fill up our music with technologies.
I have an idea how the saddle should be modified for the B-benders. I wish I could lay my hands on this so I can experiment, but I guess I'll have to wait until one of my customers brings me those to install.
The bender device reminds me of a B bender Telecaster. Not sure what the snare thing does besides make a less pleasing sound than hitting the guitar body directly. It looks like a drink coaster. Spring reverb thing seems hard to install (makes me think of losing a pick in the sound hole) and I'm not sure if the amount of reverb is adjustable. Props to designers for trying to do something different, though.
This stuff reminds me of how I rarely notice anything that musicians are doing. They'll be all excited about it, but I don't hear much. For instance, I was listening to heavy/power metal band Anubis Gate's album "The Detached"-recommended, incidentally-and because I had the special edition I have access to a booklet where the band members comment on every single track from their first four albums, plus a bonus album with "B-sides and rarities," as they are sometimes called. Anyway, there's one section in the booklet where they're talking about using a didgeridoo, and another with choirs that required them to record like 40 separate vocal tracks. Wow! That sounds fascinating. I listened and. . . it sounded. . . O.K. I mean, it didn't give me any grandiose feeling or anything. It was, sure, choirs. I guess. My theory about why this is? A combination of dynamic compression and narrow stereo. Since the choirs aren't spread out across the stereo field, you get all the vocal tracks packed into this narrow point, and it's just impossible for that to sound massive. Combine that with dynamic compression, which stifles the volume changes, and you get an unrealistic, sanitized "noise" that you can tell what it is, but you don't _feel it._ Contrast that with a Telarc CD. Listen to Suite from Batman. Here's a link: ua-cam.com/video/_jyyNPLKQiQ/v-deo.html Now _that_ sounds massive! Ironically, this movie score sounds bigger and more intense than most heavy metal, regardless of metal genre, simply because it's uncompressed. And that's something to reiterate: It's not "lightly compressed"; it's not, "tastefully compressed"; the booklet says directly that it is _uncompressed._ Yet, there's no problem with cohesion! Looks like all that babble about how compression makes things sound professional was a load of hogwash after all. Go figure.
You need to listen to properly mixed metal. Orchestra's have a massive advantage for it being an orchestra. You're not really supposed to compress orchestral instruments. I mean you can, but you should do it lightly because Orchestral music is very dynamic in volume and you don't want to squash it. Orchestras are also designed to encompass the Low, Mid and High Frequencies a lot better as instruments were literall designed around the hertz so they don't bump into eachother. I'm not saying Metal is harder to mix, it's just a lot easier to mess up. Why? Well, the Kick and the Bass sort of occupy the same low end frequency 80 to around 250 Hertz. The Bass and I assume 2 guitars occupy the same Low Mid frequency to the Low High Frequencies which is 240hz to around 2000 hz and the Snare occupies the Low to Mid frequencies with some highs in it and the hihats and crashes take up the high ends. And yeah. This is why compressors are important in metal especially EQ Compressors. An Uncompressed Kick will get lost in the guitars because Distortion is a form of compression and the Bass is occupying similar frequencies. So you need that Kick to Pop. Also I love that Batman track, but heres the thing. Had it been released as totally new today. I think it would've sounded bigger. Skyfall sounds bigger and I know that was compressed in like every step.
If you want CONTROLLABLE built in soundboard vibrating reverb that actually sounds like reverb then buy a Yamaha TransAcoustic guitar. They're great! I have a red one.
Check out Alex Misko, he plays hi9s "Frankenstein" acoustic guitar live, with several benders and those tuning pegs, he uses almost all those gadgets regularly!
Those benders would allow me to play guitar again after getting diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis three years ago... It makes me wonder what other new things I haven't seen these last few years
That B bender is much less complicated than the Tele B bender. They rout out half the Tele body to install that monstrosity. Not worth it just to bend the B string IMO.
Hipshot sells a multitune bridge for guitars "DoubleShot Multiple Tuning System". I think it is designed for electric guitars, but I think i have seen them installed on acoustic guitars too. Super expensive though.
I don't like the thumping that the benders make. It really distracts from an otherwise nice sound, and ranks right up there with jangly whammy bar springs on cheap guitars, or nuts that go PING. I don't know if it is even possible to fix that, but it makes it a no-go for me until they do.
I’ve been curious about rigging a Bowden bender or two on my lap steel. PSG guys tend to scoff at them, but they’re so much cheaper than a beginner’s PSG.
The dude who makes those drop tuners also makes benders and all kinds of gadgets. I've seen him demonstrate them live, and it is pretty amazing what he can do with all of his gadgets.
Ya tim wallis, his demos are so good
He makes benders? 😂😂😂😂
Does he do gizmos?
Or contraptions perhaps?
Guitar gewgaws, mayhaps?
That spring reverb could be an interesting addition to other acoustic instruments
I feel like it could only fit in an acoustic guitar. Anything else is going to be too hard to get it inside
@@samuraiguitaristDoes it have to be inside?
@@MreenalMams You could put it on the outside like in the thumbnail, but you'd need to somehow get the magnets inside
@@samuraiguitarist You could probably sneak one (or more) into a stand-up bass
@@pileofstuff good luck getting them out
Those benders are really cool! Might need to get those!
hi Ola!!
Man I'd love to see some metal dudes use benders. They're pigeonholed for country music but I think there's a lot of unexplored ground there
@@samuraiguitaristwhy do these companies only make B and G benders?! Why not make benders available for the other strings?! I guess they are stringist lol. 😂 But all jokes about “string racism” aside, it’s either either a gadget that bends all 6 strings or just the B and/or G. Is there a reason they don’t make such a gadget for the other strings?
Really cool you found a bender of any kind for an acoustic guitar and bonus points that it uses the peg holes. I hope it won’t cause a guitar’s soundboard, bridge, and/or saddle to get damaged in the long run with the added string tension - even the neck. Would be curious to check back down the road to see if you’ve left it on a guitar consistently and whether there’s any visible signs of cracks, bowing, etc.
Love all the other gadgets you found too!
@@samuraiguitarist I have a course/video content idea! recently got a D’addario partial capo for DADGAD in standard and some other tuning when it’s flipped. A whole $8 bucks was so inspiring just trying to use familiar chord shapes and noddle around - but I don’t quite know what to do to make some really good music with it beyond that.
Can you do a YT episode about various partial capos and why a player might want to use one instead of changing the guitar’s tuning with the pegs. Can you take that a step further and perhaps even make lessons that show people how to get the most out of various types of partial capos and how to use them to make some sweet tunes in different styles of music? I think you did a video with a spider capo a very long time ago, but let’s do a deep dive on the types of partial capos out there, which brands make the best ones that hold tune well and are easy to adjust, which ones might be gimmicky vs musically sound, etc. You could even do a module about how to use full and partial capos on acoustic vs. electric.
P.S. I call dibs on free access to this course if you use my idea! 😬😉👍🏻🙏🏻😇🎸
But will it chug ?
My very first fuzzbox, close to 60 years ago, involved taping a Canadian nickel to the surface of my acoustic, below the bridge, roughly where volume and tone knobs would go, if it was electric. The nickel had just the right mass, and was hanging loosely, such that it vibrated in sympathy with whatever I was playing.. I suppose it would sound disappointing these days if I tried it again, but it let me play "Satisfaction" for myself, and some of the tunes from "Rubber Soul". I also found I could get a droning sitar sound if I removed the saddle from the bridge.
I was first introduced to Palm Pedals by none other than Ted McCarty, the man who people credit with Gibson's golden era and introducing their flagship models. I had stopped for the night in Kalamazoo, during a cross-country drive. I paid a visit to Parson's Street facility where Gibson was shutting down operations. Inquiring about getting a replacement spring for my Bigsby, I was told that Bigsby was just on the other side of the highway, and they'd have one. Hustling over, I was greeted at the door by the esteemed Mr. McCarty, who had left Gibson years earlier to head up BIgsby Industries. He enthusiastically began pulling boxes off the shelf to show me. Among them was a gleaming gold-plated 3-level palm pedal. I had never known such things existed. Left an impression on me, that's for sure. He gave me his business card, which I have framed.
that b and g bender is genius for how simple the install is.
If anyone has a top loading telecaster, you can make a DIY bender by drilling and bending the handle of a tea spoon. If you’re handy with a drill and a grinder, you can make it swivel so it doesn’t get in the way of regular playing. Jank but it works.
A bunch of weird, unnecessary additions to an amazing instrument.
I'd like to check out your idea. Do you have any videos or pics?
4:26 “Here’s how you can incorporate that sound” *proceeds to play the most satisfying thing I’ve ever heard*
Listen to some lap steel ❤
Pedal steel*
The fingerstyle guitarist Adrian Legg uses those drop tuners on multiple (if not every) string. He will drop and raise tunings several times during a song, and the effect is beautiful
I think he uses banjo style tunes on all strings, it’s 1/4 turn or less for pretty big change.
@@dennishuffman3195 I think you're right! I remembering hearing that he used banjo tuners. I relistened to Guitar For Mortals, and was remembering seeing him live, he's really great
The spring thing is hilarious to me given that anyone with a floyd rose bridge typically wants to get rid of the noise from the springs.
It's genuinely hilarious that someone would want to add it to a guitar that doesn't have that problem lol
plus they damage the guitar over time especially the bender
The only downside for those benders is the mechanical noise they make.
Weirdly when it resets it added a kick drum beat that works well with the snare thing!
I really like these kinds of videos. Having now seen this, there's probably nothing here I would want to actually get, which is good to know.
I love the bender units and the drop tuning switch!
Ya the bender is my favourite kind of gadget
I think you should advertise a sale that gives everybody $0.01 off their purchase.
One of my favorite guitar players (Robbie McIntosh) mounted a dual bender on his Dusenberg and he played it on a demo video for the Jackson Ampworks Britain 2.0…..my word it sounded so good! Jimmy Olander (another fave) uses two benders on his electrics. His style of playing is out of this world. Go, look them up and listen for yourselves!
You can get the aquaspacer effect by playing guitar on a sofa (if it has springs).
Resting the guitar body against the frame will transfer the vibrations through the sofa until they hit the springs.
ok, now do that on a live show
About the reverb, a company named Aspri was selling the same kind of thing for about 35$. Worked perfectly, and I still have it
I've been playing for 45 years but I never practiced playing acoustic with percussion simultaneously. I admire people who do it well!
I, too, have been playing for close to 45 years. I am much more of a bass player than a guitar player, and I pretty much only do the two things as a hobby more than professionally. But like you, while I don't do outright "percussiony" things via slapping the body of the guitar, I will make my pick do kind of "percussiony" things in my playing, plus some string-slapping with either the heel of my right hand or sometimes the fingertips. When I play upright bass (my principal instrument), and when I'm doing certain styles of playing, I find myself slapping the strings on beats 2 and 4, if for no other reason than to shorten the pizzicato. Also like you, I really admire those who can "beatbox" on their guitars!
Almost 200$ is crazy for some springs and a magnet. I’m just gonna make my own for less of a price. Excellent video samurai!
I love your commitment to using all the gadgets together. Your compositions sound really great!
I’m baked out of my gourd and I’m going to need an entire hour of you playing that guitar ASAP cuz that tune was bomb as FUCK
Thanks, Sammy...always look forward to your reviews of stuff like this. Saves me money and/or expands my horizons.
The snare one is class, I don't play that kind of thing, but even a simple on 2 beat works
I like the idea of the spring reverb. Not all of us are ever gonna record something or play to audiences, and most certainly wouldn't do that all the time. I pike the analogue options when I sit at home
I like the idea of the spring reverb for touring - rather than bringing along a reverb pedal and cables and battery, any of which could die at an inopportune moment, just install the spring in your guitar before you leave home.
The first time I saw Tommy Emmanuel on PBS, I couldn't comprehend how he could have such destructive pick damage on the guitar top BEHIND the bridge. When I saw his percussive playing technique, I finally caught on. I wonder how often he has tops replaced.
put a TONNE of those spring reverbs on that Martin!
I've been using the Sam Jam snare for a couple of years along with a foot tambourine that I removed the strap and attach every gig to the cutaway horn with the very same funtak that the Sam Jam uses. I don't play like those finger-tap folks-- I use the snare the same way I was pounding the pick guard during my strumming. What I really need at this point is enough foot discipline to trigger a kick on the right beat.
When I was in college, Brad Davis, who was in Marty Stuart's band at the time, came and did a workshop. He had this crazy b-bender contraption hooked up to his acoustic guitar that was operated by a foot pedal and some sort of hydraulic tube connected to an apparatus on the tuner. (see it here ua-cam.com/video/4TQlqRLtaKs/v-deo.html ). While he was telling us about it, he mentioned that it had gone through several iterations, one of which was a strap operated thing that pulled the tuner post (the part that the string winds through) back through the headstock from the back of the neck. He said that wasn't the best design, as one night while he was shredding on some fast bluegrass tune the string busted and that tuner post flew out and smacked some poor old lady in the head. She had to go to the hospital and get stitches.
These seem safe by comparison.
Yeah that rattle with the snare would make me go nuts
Agreed
Thinking one could position it better so your palm/wrist or fingers rest on it while you strum the strings, but of course that's not going to be conducive for *every* player
That was exactly what I needed. A chill SammyG video.
And as always
I was entertained
Your playing can only be described as simply breathtaking. Thank you.
As a bass player, learning to fake a snare hit on 2 and 4 takes a bit of dedication. Normal melodies you'd syncopate become new challenges to figure out with your right hand (or left for lefties). IDK how much time you put into your final groove, but the fake snares were pretty good, IMO.
Pays the bills timer... 😂
id wait every time if i saw that phrase. 🙏
That was a pretty little diddy towards the end! I agree, benders are nice for that faux steel pedal sound without going too much into Conway Twitty town.
I like that bowden bender, it's really clever. But my concern is putting it in a case.
0:22 Me imagining Samuraguitarist making a cacophony of noise literally playing all the gadgets at the same time.
the hipshot xtender is a better quality drop tuner. ive had one on my bass for over a decade.
Very cool vid! It is great to see that people are coming up with new ideas and engineering them into existing spaces. Great vid!
Those B benders could allow a player to have a David Gilmour-style bend sound on an acoustic. His bends on electric are...legendary.... Might be nice to see what three of them sound like on a B-G-e-string lead break.
Holy cow, I want all of those.
I think the snare actually sounds great! Maybe the maker (or you) can switch to strong magnets so it can be quickly removed and added as needed so it's not always there rattling.
I would love to see a collab between you and Marcin with this guitar I wanna see the crazy shit he’d do with this many cool gadgets on a guitar.
it would be sick to have like sympathetic strings to make a chorus effect but then youd need a mechanism to mute them maybe on like a foot switch
Saw the short, came for more. I want those gadgets
I'm really surprised you didn't try a sound sample with a slide when you were trying out the bender units.
My word that guitar sounds amazing:)
I'd love to have those tuning switches on every string of my Epi.
Decades ago (likely 30 years), I had a contraption that connection onto the outer body with springs inside (braced on the back end and bridge). It worked as well and sounded as good.
When using the G and B benders, you might want to roll off everything below 100 Hz or so to get rid of some of the mechanical thumping.
I love how you are able to make those gadgets work! You definitely show the potential of these products !
You really should try the jellyfish guitar pick.
😂
he already did. sammy g channel is really great if you need something to watch
I would love to try the Acospacer on my 1971 Ovation Balladeer.
You did great with all that stuff.
I like his smooth u tube out style and he plays quite well. Glad you're still doing this!
Yeah, the Bowden Benders make a lot of noise when using on an acoustic. The effect is great and sounds good, but that bumping noise is annoying.
I am a pedal steet guitar player, and appreciate that the benders replicate pedals 1 & 2 on the steel. Something that dropped the E strings a half step would give the majority of the changes we steel players actually use (from an open 'E', you have access to Esus, C#m, and Amaj now. Adding the D# bender gives you G#m, D# half diminished, and B7 chords. That's six is seven chord degrees without moving your left hand.).
However, the bumping noise on these Bowdens is so loud that you likely have to treat it as a percussive effect as well, which surely limits its value. Consider putting some soft silicone, or velvet covers on the levers, which might help some
Those benders are awesome! Helps kinda get a pedal steel sound!
I was not expecting that acospacer to work, let alone sound good!
i dont know man they work really good on floyd rose and 2 point tremolo systems on fender guitars if you remove the back cover and you play a chord you usually hear the springs ringing out in the back cavity, the acospacer is genius not only does it give you reverb but it also gives you slightly more volume
I WANT ALL OF THESE :O
Such a cool batch of gadgets. Nice to see some that actually work and do what they advertise.
The b-bender seems interesting, but $250? That's just a silly price. I mean, so high that there's no real justification for it at all. I could afford that, but don't enjoy willingly letting someone rip me off. lol
Great review. And isn't it cool how truly innovative additions can reignite your enthusiasm in playing? Love you man. Leave the percussion to the percussionists - you play too well!
There is a different drop tuning gadget called the "pitch key", which is easier to install and works on most guitar because it just holds on to the strings. It works by twisting a knob and its adjustable from 1/2 step to 1 1/2 steps.
If springs are directly connected to the strings, not just to the guitar from the inside the reverb effect is more powerful and controlled. That is what I've done in my guitar 5 years ago.
The most impressive of anything here is that none of the gadgets are permanent. That's insane!
Well that was pretty fun! I totally get not really vibing with the reverb and snare- when I'm playing acoustic I try to eliminate any rattling noises 😁 Both of the benders were pretty cool though, I REALLY like pedal steel sounds, but don't have the money or the space for one.
I have an SC-13E and they are pretty amazing guitars.
Great video SG!
I don't remember the company, but they did make a spring based reverb system for acoustic guitars back in the early nineties. The difference was it was a black rectangle that was secured by a sort of comb under the bridge rather than magnets and to the face of the guitar behind the bridge (magnets and having inside the guitar is much better.) Sonically, I remember it being identical. I believe they disappeared for the same reason: If you record or amplify, you can add reverb anyway. Pretty much the only use is practicing in a small, acoustically dead space.
yeah, I remember Al DiMeola was one of their endorsees.
Yeah, I had one of those. I pretty much never used it. Even the lightest touch anywhere on the body or neck of the guitar would set it off. Very noisy device.
Bro looking like nice Deadpool
I like those benders, they give a soft change.. Nothing too harsh
What Clarence White and Gene Parsons did with the Telecaster was amazing but it seems a less invasive gadget would keep you from ruining a good guitar.
I had a clip on reverb tank for my acoustic about 30 years ago - surprisingly effective and added a bit of vibe for busking. But the fact that I can't remember what happened to it suggests it didn't really add to things. ;¬)
The bender is truly innovative
2:58 😅 Love it
These gadgets's best application might be for sonic brainstorming. Imagine them installed on a guitar that is an acoustic and electric hybrid (not the best at either, but good enough) and being able to just create something no matter where you are.
That Acospacer could be used to get people accustomed to playing in locations with a lot of echoes.
Really interesting gadgets (since I'm into percussive & on the fly tuning stuff)! Would love to see more.
1. I'll definitely check out the Bowden B Benders. I'm currently using Keith Banjo D-tuners. Those require changing the tuners (though its pretty easy). You can hear them used in my cover of Jon Gomm's Passionflower: ua-cam.com/video/RpnRjiMW5Iw/v-deo.html
2. I agree that Schlagwerk Sanjam is too sensitive. Also, I think it sounds more "high hat" than "snare". I was thinking of instead trying Schlagwerk's Multiclap. You might want to try that out in a future video.
3. For the reverb, it's interesting but doesn't sound nice to me based on the samples. I've only tried another device called ASPRI reverb. But it was not practical for every song (especially for percussive fingerstyle), and not practical when using a pickup system or for recording purposes.
That single-string pitch dropper looks like it will break the string in just a few weeks if not days.
I would LOVE to have the Acospacer on my autistic because I do jam around the camp fire with friends that can sing and play. But it's $180.... That price point blew me away for some springs and magnets.
The soundboard radiates the sound, the sound hole is predominantly a pressure relief duct. If it were not there the air inside the body would act as a shock absorber and dampen the sound.
The Sam Jam percussive snare drum thing, I would suggest may function better with some type of sensitivity adjustable dial, or slider switching mechanism perhaps which would free up the guitar player from any unwanted rattling by a kind of notched noise filter, sortta in order it only resonates above a certain volume. What that mechanism would be, tho', I am not too certain.
Those benders make it sound like a steel guitar, if you could get more out of that reverb device you could prob make it sound like a resonator
Very nice sound with those benders on board.
In this generation of smart technology musical instruments are coming with amazing tecs but back in our time which was 20/25 years ago we looked for feel in music rather than fill up our music with technologies.
That snare adds a snare to your guitar, and the bender adds a bass drum. Much noise everytime it is used.
I discovered the Hipshot about a year ago and don't understand why every fixed bridge guitar doesn't come with one.
Crazy timing! I just bought a 4 lever bender a few weeks back for my tele; great little devices!
I have an idea how the saddle should be modified for the B-benders. I wish I could lay my hands on this so I can experiment, but I guess I'll have to wait until one of my customers brings me those to install.
The bender device reminds me of a B bender Telecaster.
Not sure what the snare thing does besides make a less pleasing sound than hitting the guitar body directly. It looks like a drink coaster.
Spring reverb thing seems hard to install (makes me think of losing a pick in the sound hole) and I'm not sure if the amount of reverb is adjustable.
Props to designers for trying to do something different, though.
This stuff reminds me of how I rarely notice anything that musicians are doing. They'll be all excited about it, but I don't hear much.
For instance, I was listening to heavy/power metal band Anubis Gate's album "The Detached"-recommended, incidentally-and because I had the special edition I have access to a booklet where the band members comment on every single track from their first four albums, plus a bonus album with "B-sides and rarities," as they are sometimes called.
Anyway, there's one section in the booklet where they're talking about using a didgeridoo, and another with choirs that required them to record like 40 separate vocal tracks.
Wow! That sounds fascinating. I listened and. . . it sounded. . . O.K. I mean, it didn't give me any grandiose feeling or anything. It was, sure, choirs. I guess.
My theory about why this is? A combination of dynamic compression and narrow stereo. Since the choirs aren't spread out across the stereo field, you get all the vocal tracks packed into this narrow point, and it's just impossible for that to sound massive. Combine that with dynamic compression, which stifles the volume changes, and you get an unrealistic, sanitized "noise" that you can tell what it is, but you don't _feel it._
Contrast that with a Telarc CD. Listen to Suite from Batman.
Here's a link: ua-cam.com/video/_jyyNPLKQiQ/v-deo.html
Now _that_ sounds massive!
Ironically, this movie score sounds bigger and more intense than most heavy metal, regardless of metal genre, simply because it's uncompressed. And that's something to reiterate: It's not "lightly compressed"; it's not, "tastefully compressed"; the booklet says directly that it is _uncompressed._
Yet, there's no problem with cohesion!
Looks like all that babble about how compression makes things sound professional was a load of hogwash after all. Go figure.
You need to listen to properly mixed metal. Orchestra's have a massive advantage for it being an orchestra. You're not really supposed to compress orchestral instruments. I mean you can, but you should do it lightly because Orchestral music is very dynamic in volume and you don't want to squash it.
Orchestras are also designed to encompass the Low, Mid and High Frequencies a lot better as instruments were literall designed around the hertz so they don't bump into eachother.
I'm not saying Metal is harder to mix, it's just a lot easier to mess up. Why? Well, the Kick and the Bass sort of occupy the same low end frequency 80 to around 250 Hertz. The Bass and I assume 2 guitars occupy the same Low Mid frequency to the Low High Frequencies which is 240hz to around 2000 hz and the Snare occupies the Low to Mid frequencies with some highs in it and the hihats and crashes take up the high ends. And yeah. This is why compressors are important in metal especially EQ Compressors. An Uncompressed Kick will get lost in the guitars because Distortion is a form of compression and the Bass is occupying similar frequencies. So you need that Kick to Pop.
Also I love that Batman track, but heres the thing. Had it been released as totally new today. I think it would've sounded bigger. Skyfall sounds bigger and I know that was compressed in like every step.
If you want CONTROLLABLE built in soundboard vibrating reverb that actually sounds like reverb then buy a Yamaha TransAcoustic guitar. They're great! I have a red one.
gotta approciate when companies make mods that are not permanent. you could always remove all of them if you change your mind :)
Man, I really like the approach you took with all of this. If we ever run across each other, I'd like to hang out. Cool vid!
That wonderful guitar sounds like an acoustic guitar should sound.
Check out Alex Misko, he plays hi9s "Frankenstein" acoustic guitar live, with several benders and those tuning pegs, he uses almost all those gadgets regularly!
Those benders would allow me to play guitar again after getting diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis three years ago... It makes me wonder what other new things I haven't seen these last few years
All the great things you can do with an acoustic guitar! I love it. What's next?
Very interresting! Thanks for this video!
That B bender is much less complicated than the Tele B bender. They rout out half the Tele body to install that monstrosity. Not worth it just to bend the B string IMO.
The Acospacer would be the one I would be most interested in, but it's really pricey, best price I saw online was $179!
Hipshot sells a multitune bridge for guitars "DoubleShot Multiple Tuning System". I think it is designed for electric guitars, but I think i have seen them installed on acoustic guitars too. Super expensive though.
The best part of all of these is that they don't permanently mess up your instrument
I don't like the thumping that the benders make. It really distracts from an otherwise nice sound, and ranks right up there with jangly whammy bar springs on cheap guitars, or nuts that go PING. I don't know if it is even possible to fix that, but it makes it a no-go for me until they do.
I’ve been curious about rigging a Bowden bender or two on my lap steel. PSG guys tend to scoff at them, but they’re so much cheaper than a beginner’s PSG.