New Duesenberg Fairtytale owner...

Timothy Foster · From: New Jersey, USA

Well, almost -- arrives via FedEx tomorrow. I got a great deal on a lightly used one, and couldn't help but to pull the trigger.

A guitar player of 25 years, I found myself picking up an old, borrowed Supro lap more and more over the past few months... almost to the point of obsession. So I bit the bullet, sold off some gear and picked up the Duesenberg.

I'm sure it's a bit gimmicky from a purist standpoint, but I'm excited about the new instrument and curious with regard to the multibender and it's creative applications... basically the perfect storm to get me playing lap.

So... now it's just a little matter of acquiring the chops to proficiently play the thing! All in good time I suppose, but it's this and my general excitement over the instrument which drove me to register for the forum today. Nice to meet you all in advance, and I look forward to gleaming some tips, advice and techniques off the folks 'round these here parts!

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Welcome to the club! Very Happy

Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Welcome, and do a forum search for "multibender" and Duesenberg", there are a bunch of threads here with some good stuff for you....
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Timothy Foster · From: New Jersey, USA

I love this thing. In person it's a pretty striking instrument. The sunburst finish has some sort of pearl sparkle that a nice blend of classy and "hey, look at me over here!"

The multibender will definitely take some getting used to, but I guess I'm in a good position as it's all somewhat new to me. One thing in particular is the clearance under the levers... A lot of my habits from years of guitar have followed me, one of them being I'm a particularly "plucky" player. I'd often palm mute -- lightly -- right where the strings cross the bridge to get a more percussive/controlled sound on faster finger picked stuff... The bars are set low enough to the body that they impede that:

Spreading them wide helps, but then the pivot point is so far back you need a lot of force to depress it. I wound up disassembling and flipping the 3rd string lever so the flange angles up, giving just a bit more clearance. Marginal difference, barely worth it. But between that and the fact that you can push them out of the way when need be, I'm thinkin it'll be a'ight once I get used to it. There is for sure a physical aspect to it -- takes some force to press 'em and as a bunch of folks in other multibender threads have stated it is a challenge to manage them without disturbing your picking pattern. But... hopefully I have lots of time left in this world to figure it out!

I'm off for a week long vacation with the family, and the Dues is coming with me. When I get back, I hope to be able to make some sort of music on the darn thing and will post some clips of each pickup setting through a few amps.

Did I mention i love this thing?

Tom Pettingill · From: California, USA (deceased)

Very cool finish Cool

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Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Very fine looking guitar. Beautiful.

I have not read the other threads on the subject but I have wondered about how those levers would interfere with picking and blocking. Seems like a player's got to reinvent some technique to accommodate.

Enjoy!

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

wow...really good looking!
that's a good incentive to play that sucker.

Asa Brosius · Posted 26 Aug 2014 9:08 am

I played one of those at a music store a few months ago- it sounded incredible with the neck pickup- unfortunately no one knew how to tune the multi-bender, but as a straight steel, it's voice was magic through a deluxe reverb. Congrats!

Stephen Abruzzo · From: Philly, PA

Nice score on the Deus.

What kind of pick-up is that in the neck? Reminds me of the classic Supro pup but the poles are offset 45 degrees? Bet she'll roar through a tube amp.

Will Jaffe · From: California, USA

That is a beauty. I see they moved the toggle switch. I've got a yellow one with the retro look. This steel has tons of tone.

The levers do require some adjustments in technique ...

I've played lots of dobro so I've put mine in G tuning so I don't have to relearn the entire neck, relearn tunes, etc. Anything I can play on dobro I can play on the Pamona. And visa versa ... Of course magnetic pickups require a very soft right picking hand. And the scale length is the same.

My 4th string, low D, bends up a full step. This gives me additional minor, 6th and 7th chords and double stops. It's my Western Swing/Blues/Jazz lever. I use this lever more as a retune than effect.

I use the levers not to sound like a pedal steel but for more chord and double stop choices.

My 2nd string, high B, bends down a full step. This give me a 4th double stop, 7th double stop, a cool pedal effect and B bender sound. I am currently having tuning issues with this setup on the B string. Awaiting a response from Martin at Duesy.

I use the levers one at a time and push it out of the way when not used.

I push the lever down with my wrist so I can still palm block with side of my hand. I also pick block, thumb block, bar block, left hand block and if needed will block with my nose.

I like to pick higher up the neck for sweetness of tone and keeps me away from the levers if they are in position.

I hope that helps someone...

Timothy Foster · From: New Jersey, USA

Thanks for the kind words regarding the new axe folks, and for the usage hints Will!

I've been playing a lot since I got it -- my guitars have been sitting sullenly in the corner ever since! Tried a bunch of setups and techniques to work the multibender into my playing, and I think I finally have something that's working for me....

It's more of a pivoting motion than a strict pressing of the levers. Picture reaching out to grab a door knob with your right hand and twisting it clockwise -- it's that sort of motion... "Twisting" in a clockwise direction allows me to push the upper 2nd string lever with the pinky-side of my palm; going counter-clockwise allows me to get at the lower 3rd sting lever the fleshy thumb side of my palm... pushing down along with one of those twisting motions allows me to get different combinations of press/release between the two levers. I've found the twisting technique to be a little less intrusive on picking if you're going for a single lever at a time.

Also trying to limit the necessary motion by keeping my hand as close to the fulcrum point of each lever as possible, instead of pushing near the tips... You don't have to travel as far that way, unfortunately it requires much greater strength. I can do it for little bit, but it gets fatiguing pretty quick. Practice, I guess...

In order for the above to work comfortably I had to adjust the lever heights so that the upper (2nd string) lever sits about 1/2" higher than the lower one -- this sort of accounts for the fact that the right side of your picking palm sits higher than the lower thumb side of the palm (for me anyway, in my usual picking position.)

I dunno. Who knows if it'll stick, but it's where I'm at now...

Sound-wise I'm still figuring it out. The usual pedal/amp settings I had been using on the borrowed Supro (which I love tonally) don't translate all that well. The Duesenberg is a lot hotter and more aggressive in general... more honking in the mids on the humbucker pickup... a bit more hollow-sounding and bass heavy on the neck single-coil... I hope that doesn't come across in too negative of a light -- no doubt it's perfect for some tastes/sounds. Just need to find my own comfortable place with it. Will definitely try to post clips once I get it together!

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