Tips for String bending?

[Corbic]

Hey all, I was wondering if there were any tips, tricks, or exercises or anything I could do to improve my ability to bend the strings. I can do half-step and sometimes full step bends, but anything above that is nearly impossible unless its around the 7th fret on either the D or G strings. I'm trying to bend the strings 2 steps up, but it seems nearly impossible. How does fretboard radius affect string bending anyway? Thanks!

-Corbic

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Tips for String bending?

Flatter radius (16 is flatter than 10, for example) means the string can be bent further without it choking.

Practice bending first on the wound strings, to build calluses - string bending is as much having a good callus as it is finger strength. Honestly, it shouldn't take much to do whole step bends - I can nearly do whole step vibrato on the B string, for instance.

Use reinforcing fingers - ie, place the second finger behind the third to help bend the string.

If you want to do 2 step bends, you're gonna need a light string guage - 9's or possibly even 8's.

Most important tip I can give is to really concentrate on the feel of your bends, and the subtleties. Technically, try and make the bend as smooth as you can, whatever the speed you're doing it at, and be sure to always bend to the right point. Double-stop bends are great for learning this, as long as you don't have a floating trem.