"Casper Rawls is first off; one of the greatest people you'll ever be fortunate enough to meet and a guitar player whose playing reminds me of the few, great, classic country/rock guitarists that I am fondest of, with the addition of Casper's own wonderful and unique touch." --Gene Parsons, former Byrd and with Clarence White, co-inventor of the B String Bender
Parsons/White Stringbender
Vintage Guitar Magazine, April 2004—Edward B. Driscoll, Jr. and Dan Forte
The Parsons/White Stringbender
Vintage Guitar Magazine, April 2004
Used with Permission of Vintage Guitar Magazine
On September 20, 1983, Jimmy Page re-emerged into the public eye after the death of John Bonham and the breakup of Led Zeppelin with a thundering ovation at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Instead of a sunburst Les Paul, the model synonymous with his onstage persona with Zep, Page chose as his primary instrument an austere-looking brown Telecaster with what looked like an additional chrome volume knob behind the bridge.
Of course, it was not a volume knob. Page’s Tele was equipped with a Parson/White StringBender, which Page had previously used to great effect on the beautiful melodic, bent-note runs on Led Zepplin’s classic ballad, “All My Love,” and live on “Ten Years Gone.”