G & L ASAT Tribute

 G &L ASAT TRIBUTE $300.00 SHOP 

Mouting instructions below.

Each Bowden B-Bender is handmade one at a time by the inventor, Richard Bowden, in his metal shop. The orders are served on a first come, first served basis. Because of this, we do not guarantee delivery times. Please allow time for your device to be custom made for you. 

1) For ease of installation, remove the handle of the bender from the front adapter by twisting and pulling back on the handle, separating it at the Chevron or V joint and removing it from the Pivot pin.

2) After removing the string on your guitar that you wish to bend, place the bender adapter over the tailpiece, straddling the bridge saddle. Line up the large front roller as closely as possible with the string path and while holding down tightly on the adapter, use the enclosed 7/64 Allen wrench hex key to tighten the two mounting screws. Tighten the shortest screw first very snugly, then tighten the long screw next very snugly and then go back and re-tighten the short screw one final tighten and then do one final tighten on the long screw again. The bender adapter should now feel completely solid on the tailpiece.

3) You can now replace the bender handle onto the big pivot pin with a twisting motion, pushing it on the pin until it is fully seated in the Chevron V joint.

4) With the bender now fully mounted, place the ball of the string on the top pin at the back of the bender handle and thread the string around the rear groove of the bender handle, then under the rear roller, over the middle roller and under the large front roller and over the bridge saddle to your tuning keys.

5) Tune the string to Pitch (making sure the string stays in the rear groove and all the roller grooves) and stretch it out repeatedly until the string stays in tune after a stretch. It is now time to set the travel of the bender handle.

6) An electronic tuner is helpful in this next step: With the string stretched and back in tune, flip the Adjustment Screw Lock (under the bender handle) out in a clockwise direction (looking down on it from the rear of the guitar) to adjust the pitch “travel” of the Bender Handle. With the string in tune, turn the Adjustment Screw until the handle, when depressed all the way down, raises the pitch of the string to the desired pitch, usually one whole tone. Alternately release the Bender Handle, adjust the Screw, and depress the Handle to check pitch until you have reached the desired pitch. Holding the Bender Handle down while adjusting the screw will not always get you to the desired pitch. Once you have attained the desired pitch, hold the Adjustment Screw in place and tuck the Adjustment Screw Lock back under the Bender Handle, locking the Adjustment Screw in place.

7)  Now that you have properly mounted the Bender and adjusted the pitch, you should have trouble free string bending indefinitely. Over 40 years of use by the inventor has proven that the original Bowden B Bender does not break strings. On this new model, if you have a problem with string breakage, make a note of where the string broke and advise bowdenbenders@gmail.com or call 903-814-1482 if the break appears to be at the bender. If the break is not at the bender, you may need to look for a burr on the bridge saddle or a bind in the guitar nut or elsewhere and take the proper action to remove the burr with sandpaper or a small file.

NOTE: When changing strings, if you use a different gauge than the previous string, you will have to readjust the Adjustment Screw, as different gauges require different “travels” of the Bender Handle, the heavier the gauge, the less “travel” and vice versa.

ADDITIONAL TIPS: An occasional drop of lubricant (silicone spray is good) on the bridge saddle, the Rollers, the nut, and the Hinge Pin at the rear of the Bender Handle should be all the maintenance required to keep the Bender working perfectly. If the bender starts to fail to return to pitch after a bend, it is time to oil the rollers. With heavy use, the Mounting Adapter Assembly may loosen a bit and need re-tightening. This doesn’t happen often, but keep these instructions handy in case.

You will notice a piece of fuzzy material at the rear of the Bender Handle where it comes to rest against the Handle Rest Pin. This serves to dampen any clicking sound when releasing the Bender. If this material should deteriorate or come off, it is simply the “loop side” of self-adhesive Velcro and can be replaced by cutting a small piece to replace it, available at most hardware or fabric stores. A small pad of the same material can also be used to replace the little round “landing pad” where the Adjustment Screw touches down, should it become damaged or come off.

NOTE: There should be a slight sideways movement of the Bender Handle in the body of the Handle Assembly to assure that the Handle is not too tight. Without a string in place the Bender Handle should easily flop down into its “depressed” position. If the Bender Handle is too tight, simply take a small screw driver, ice pick, your Allen wrench or other suitable device to spread the rear of the Handle Assembly slightly apart to allow the Bender Handle to move up and down freely with no binding.

CASE STORAGE: By lightly loosening the string and pulling the handle back out of the Chevron Joint, you can lay the bender over on its side for fitting into tight cases.

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