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    • HOME
    • GALLERY
    • PRICING AND SPECS
    • BENDER MAINTENANCE
    • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • GALLERY
  • PRICING AND SPECS
  • BENDER MAINTENANCE
  • CONTACT US

Welcome to McVay BenderS

McVay Benders are very complicated to install. They are not a kit. Charlie McVay installs every one personally.

 We are proud to be the makers and installation specialists for the most innovative string bending mechanisms for guitarists. Our string bending systems can be used and are enjoyed by some of the world’s best guitar artists; Whether they are professionals, hobbyists, sessionists, or just out for fun, we have options available for everyone.

pricing

Browse around and tell us what you think.


Want to see something else on the site? Let us know! We’ll work on getting it up here for you. We look forward to your input and are ready, willing, and able to provide you with as quick a response as is possible for any questions and comments.


Gallery

WHAT IS A STRING BENDER?

  

Simply put, it is a mechanism that is generally an after-market add-on for guitars (primarily Telecaster style but can be installed on any guitar that does not have a tremelo installed) that puts the well-known sound of the whining steel guitar in the hands of today’s most innovative guitar players.

 

Brad Paisley’s extra-terrestrial style of chickin’/hybrid pickin’ is one of many success stories for McVay Benders. Brad has been using our system for years. Next time you hear his music listen for the whine while he plays an instrumental and you’ll put two and two together. However two and two with a McVay String Bender… Yeah, the result is much more than four! Brad employs a simple version of our system in which we have installed only a G-bender on his guitars.

testimonials AND AFFILIATES

“McVay Benders” the bender of choice.


– Brad Paisley

www.bradpaisley.com


McVay benders are the finest bender on the market. It’s the only bender I will use in my custom guitars.


– Bill Crook

Crook Custom Guitars

www.crookcustomguitar.com


When I got my McVay bender I couldn’t believe how good it was. It felt great, easy to use and with a great sound. Doing sessions I was a bit worried about how the intonation was going to be. I have to say that it’s absolutely spotless and it simply never goes out of tune. It simply works perfectly.


– Dario Cortese

www.dariocortese.com

Recorded with Melanie C (Spice Girls), Hayley Westenra, Anna Leddra Chapman.

Worked with Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Larry Carlton.


I have researched a lot of benders and found that the best system out there is McVay’s and from the research it sounds as if they are the smoothest and quietest. I’ll be able to tell you more soon. Charlie is the only person I trust with my guitar (aside from the luthier) let alone installing a bender for me. Charlie and his family will not only respect you and your gear but they will treat you like you are their very own family! If you are looking for that bent sound out of your guitar… Look no further, you are here and McVay’s your man!


– Micah Small

Guitarist/Lead Vocalist for Bad River Road


I couldn’t be happier with my McVay bender. The design is perfect. The installation was incredibly clean, and it looks like the guitar was built around the bender. Every time I play it, the notes bend to perfect pitch. It’s simple to adjust and use as well. My guitar is still incredibly light, and unless you know what to look for, you can’t really see that there is a bender even installed. The quality and performance of the bender stem from the quality of the builder. Charlie McVay stepped me through the process from the point I decided to have a bender installed through the day I received it, and he continued to follow up to make sure everything was working great! Honestly, McVay is the only bender I would use.


– Ryan Ochsner

Guitarist for Kellie Pickler


Charlie pays attention to detail on each bender (he’s built 2 for me so far). The construction is flawless, the performance is perfect and I have never had better customer service on anything than from Charlie McVay. I won’t trust my guitars to anyone else. I’ve owned them all and the McVay Bender is all I will ever use.


– Bryan Elder

Guitarist for Nashville recording artist Tami Hall.


I’ve been playing Bender Guitar since the early 1980’s. In that span of time I’ve owned several Bender equipped guitars. After getting my first McVay bender installed nearly 12 years ago I saw what I’d been missing. McVay Benders are much more precise in there function and have the best tone by far. Simply put I feel they are the finest made. “Pull that String and let it Ring”


– Jim Miller/ Fabulous Bender Boys/ Jamboree USA Staff Guitarist


I’ve got a McVay Single and Double Bender and I still think they are the best ones going. Charlie is a great machinist and with building steel guitars in the past, he has a wealth of knowledge of the mechanics and tone as well as being a great steel guitarist. As the staff steel guitar player for the Wheeling Jamboree for twenty years plus, we have done a lot of playing together. I tune my benders once a year whether they need it or not. You can get short, medium or long throw and the pull is smooth as silk and always comes back in tune. I can’t imagine a more reliable bender and it has “tone to the bone to boot.” It’s a real musical tool.


– Roger Hoard/Fabulous Bender Boys/Music Director & Lead Guitarist for Jamboree USA

Contact Us

Call us at (724) 622-3514

 

SHIPPING ADDRESS:


McVay Benders

c/o Charlie McVay

681 Hartzell School Rd.

New Brighton, PA 15066

Email us at McVayBenders@gmail.com

Copyright © 1992-2025 McVay Benders - All Rights Reserved.

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