I've used a Stevens on both Dobro and lap steel for years and have no problem with slants, forward or backward.
...what about split slants? How are you going to play this with a flat nose Stevens bar?
The Shubb SP-2 is not flat-nosed. Another vote for the SP-2 bar here. It's actualy even easier for me to do a rolling vibrato with the Shubb than with my Boyett. Reverse slants are also easier with the Shubb.
You're right, this has been brought up many times but I've never seen a convincing argument that the SP-2 can't do something that a bullet bar can. The arguments all seem to revolve around flat-nosed stevens style bars.
Doug Beaumier wrote:Thanks, Asa. I can't say that I hear any "buzz" doing pull-off with a round nose bar, although I will admit that pull-offs are more snappy with a flat nose bar. For me though there would be too many trade-offs using a flat nose bar. More would be lost than gained, for the style I like to play.
"Valco Swing" sounded pretty clean to me Doug! I use Stevens steels because of the grip. I actually seldom do pulloffs. I use the round end mostly. I started with a Stevens in 1962 on a Dobro and just stuck with it. I'm really not hard core about it. I find it easier to lift and easier to control than a bullet. I'm sure I could adapt to a bullet but I'm sort of lazy be nature!
Hi- a stevens style bar for Lindley and Jerry Douglas on Lapsteel works (really!!)well so I gave that a go and left the bullet behind, prefering the grip. Amazing what Greg Leisz does with a bullet on bluegrassy stuff though!!
Cheers, Joel
I don't think it should be considered "lazy" to not use a bullet bar. If there is no real advantage for the musician, then it's just a purist's badge of honor.
Whenever I use my sole bullet bar, I notice that it feels less ergonomic than my SP-2. I've had RSI difficulties before and I would need a good reason to risk a relapse. I still use it in the studio because I like the sound of glass sometimes.
If there is no real advantage for the musician, then it's just a purist's badge of honor.
But there IS an advantage for some styles of playing. Jerry Byrd discussed this fully in his teachings. Byrd said that the slot inhibits the rolling and the slot gets in the way of the thumb/finger motions necessary to execute smooth slants. Those were Jerry's words, so don't blame me! Of course, some players aren't interested in JB's style of playing, and that's fine. Different things work for different players... and the players will Sound different.
Likewise for me.. Tribotone..
I'll wait 'till I can't walk before I get a walking aid, and likewise with the steel Bar (or the "other ones that aren't bars")
Because they're playing resonators and Weissenborn style acoustics and mainly blues they are calling the style "Slide".. how confusing for the non aficionado ?
BTW £25 admission is the equivalent of $41.4425
Y'know what's gonna happen ?... in a hundred years all these incorrect terminologies will become the norm and it'll be:- the Instrument Formerly know as "whatever", "I Mean", "You Know" FWIW..
SLIDE GUITAR ?
I tried many, many bars and amassed quite a varied collection. I finally settled on Tribotone bullet bars. I have two, one 3/4" x 2-7/8" and one 7/8" x 2-7/8". I go back and forth but tend to use the 3/4" most of the time. I guess you could say I found my personal "magic bullet". Heh, heh....pun intended.
Darn good thing I don't have any interest as a steeler to sound like Jerry Byrd, or anyone else. I put the time in to learn on a variety of bars, all of which have their benefits. I use an EG Smith bar for fast playing, a tribotone M bar for sustained stuff and a brass Elton Ergo bar for more primitive, scratchy sounding blues stuff. Why limit yourself? Bars are, for the most part, fairly inexpensive compared to most other steel accessories. Figure out what they do for you and what works and stick with it. Everyone else can curb their dogma about lap steel coming down to whatever one guy had to say about it.
...a variety of bars, all of which have their benefits.
Yes, we all agree that different bars have different benefits... which means that some bars have limitations for certain styles. That's the part some players have a hard time accepting... the limitations of some bars.
THE ORIGINAL POST:
I have noticed that the shubb bar I am using is awkward… It also leaves a lot to be desired on reverse slants… Is a round nose (like the Dunlop 920) more preferable to a bar with a slanted nose?
Please help, I can't afford to buy multiple bars.
The original poster does not want to buy several bars. He is asking about one all around (no pun) bar... the best type to get, the one with the fewest limitations. A majority of the responses here said that a round, round nose bar is the best way to go to cover all styles. The original poster has already discovered the limitations of slotted bars and he said so in his post. I quoted Jerry Byrd simply to explain why a round bar is preferable and more versatile and to recommend that the original poster get one.
Keith, you should sent the bar Kenn, the guy who started this thread. He's looking for a good bar and he can't afford several bars. I've been using the same style bar for 40 years and I'm happy with it.
Gryphon Stainless Steel Slide (their name for it, not mine)
Here's another Gryphon exclusive! Suggested by Al Dodge (of R. Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders), it's a reenactment of the classic tapered Hawaiian guitar steel popular in the 1930s. This one is made of solid stainless steel, polished to a mirror shine, and it has exactly the same taper and dimensions as the original, with a round nose and a dimple on the wide end for easy thumb control as you do the "slant bar" maneuver.
I've also got an old bar (Elton? Manoloff? Other?) that has the same dimensions, except the Gryphon bar is 5.5 oz. and the old bar is closer to 3.5 oz.
Why tapered? I don't know. I thought it was cool; the smaller tip makes it seem like I'm "pointing my finger" at the string when I'm playing single string stuff; and I've been using it for long enough it just seems natural. The only downside is that it makes slants harder to visualize, since the side of the slant is on the midpoint of the bar, and the taper can be misleading visually.
Why tapered ? .. I believe the thinking behind that was that the lighter strings needed less weight to have the same timbre as the heavier strings..probably correct..
Chris Drew wrote:A tapered bar will roll back around in a circle to greet you when you drop it, rather than disappear off the stage.
So presumably the optimum is the taper that ensures the quickest return !
Never dropped one,(bar that is) although I can admit to dropping my 50th Anniversary Tele whilst on stage at a C/W festival in Norwich, Outdoor concert 20K+ Pa, I was D.I.'d and the guitar was turned up to 11. It fell flat on its back with absolutely no damage EXCEPT to the hearing of the assembled gathering of the usual suspects at this type of event
Of course, some players aren't interested in JB's style of playing, and that's fine. Different things work for different players... and the players will Sound different.
touche'!
