Bendertron

Dual Bigsby palm pedals let players emulate pedal steel sounds from double bends to startling glissandos

This deluxe-featured chambered-body guitar featuring master volume knob and dual Bigsby palm pedals is inspired by Steve’s sonic and aesthetic love of large post-war hollow-body electrics like Gretsch--but in his loving craftsmanship, he eliminates some of the more unwieldy elements, honing down the size and weight for a more accessible, playable guitar.

This guitar is the bridge to the slide family of his collection (Astral, Half-Astral, also featured on the site) and showcases his love for slide and pedal steel and allows the player to access and create those sounds fluidly. The interaction between the hybrid pick-ups (a P-90 and a Filter’Tron™) with the master volume knob, two volume and two tone knobs and the dual Bigsby palm pedals give players ultimate control and discretion over their tone at the guitar level.

Steve’s Take: “This has a different sound, more like a pedal steel the way the pick-ups work together. I grew up listening to the Flying Burrito Brothers and Sneaky Pete on pedal steel guitar and his pedal steel had a really unique sound and I suppose that’s what I’m going for.”

Specifications

Bendertron Body
• Double cutaway design, with easy access to all 24 frets.
• Chambered mahogany back, distinctively handcarved, bookmatched top with triple bound edges.
• Choice of hand selected tops: quilted or tiger striped bookmatched maple.

Bendertron Neck
• 25” scale.
• 1 13/16” nut width. Other widths by special order.
• Neck/body joint at 16th fret.
• Hand carved, quartersawn mahogany with scarf-jointed headstock and maple or ebony headstock veneer.
• Dual-action truss rod, with convenient adjustment inside
guitar body.
• Bound or unbound ebony, brazilian, or cocobolo rosewood fingerboard, with 10” to 12” compound radius.
• 24 jumbo frets, bound fingerboard with fret-end nubs
optional.
• Pearl dot position markers, with custom placement on neck side.
• Vintage bone nut.
• Stock carve is soft V, with larger 50’s feel. Other carves by special order.

Hardware
• Custom Dual Benders
• 3 on a side tuners, Gotoh 16:1 ratio.
• Exclusive knurled steel recessed knobs.

Electronics and Controls
• TV Jones TV Classic Filtertron pickup at neck, custom voiced Fralin P-90 at bridge. Opposite mounting by special order.
• Individual volume and tone for each pickup.
• 3 position toggle switch.
• Combination output jack/strap button.
• All pots and switches made in U.S.A.

Finish
• Hand rubbed, aged nitrocellulose lacquer. Ultra thin.