What size bar do you use?

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 20 Oct 2012 2:00 am

I use a 3&1/2 by 1".

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 20 Oct 2012 3:14 am

My favorite bar since the '80's measures 3 1/4" X 7/8".

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 20 Oct 2012 4:24 am

I use a 7/8" x 3+3/8" bar for my U12.
It's an Emmons brand.
Mike, we met a long time ago at a St Louis convention in the early 80's.
BTW, I really appreciate the direction you've taken with the PSG and sincerely hope you continue.
Has your hand injury gotten any better?

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 20 Oct 2012 4:36 am

I use a 15/16 X 3 1/2" 17PH stainless steel bar.
Had it custom turned and finished to a silky smoothness& checked with an ultrasound machine for smoothness

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Oct 2012 4:38 am

3 3/8 x 7/8

Daniel Policarpo · Post by **Daniel Policarpo** » 20 Oct 2012 5:09 am

I assumed when I got my Dunlop bar that it was a 920, but now I am not so sure. It's pretty heavy, and a buddy of mine, the only other steeler I know personally, his bar is lighter and easier to move around for faster stuff. He says his is a Dunlop 920. But I do like how my bar sounds.
3 1/4" X 7/8", weight ???.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 20 Oct 2012 8:36 pm

3-3/4" X 1" @ 11.5 oz. (Dunlop 921).

Clete

Fred Justice · Post by **Fred Justice** » 20 Oct 2012 9:03 pm

1" x 3-1/4" Justice solid stainless polished.

BTW boys, $65.00 any size.

Carson Leighton · Post by **Carson Leighton** » 21 Oct 2012 12:39 am

I use a 3 3/8 x 7/8...

Daniel Policarpo · Post by **Daniel Policarpo** » 21 Oct 2012 1:01 am

Clete Ritta wrote:3-3/4" X 1" @ 11.5 oz. (Dunlop 921).

Clete

alright, that gives me a good gauge to affirm that I do have a 920. Thanks.

Gary Cosden · Post by **Gary Cosden** » 21 Oct 2012 4:56 am

i Use a 1" x 3.5" BJS bar. Its very hard to find fault with.

Bryant Aycock · Post by **Bryant Aycock** » 21 Oct 2012 6:03 am

My bars are 1"x3.5".HOLLOW!

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 21 Oct 2012 7:48 am

1 1/8"dia x3 1/4" solid.

Bryant, ditch the hollow bar

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 21 Oct 2012 8:10 am

3&3/8" x 7/8" BJS, but would use a 1" dia. bar when I can get hold of one made by BJS. The extra weight does make a difference.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Oct 2012 8:54 am

Agreed. Mass makes tone.
I have two 7/8"X 3.5, one's a sitar bar; and a 3/4X3.25

Joe Naylor · Post by **Joe Naylor** » 21 Oct 2012 9:34 am

I made a bunch of bars a few years ago. If you want to hear lots of opinions just start trying to sell bars.

The hollow bar discussion got real funny, just like the people that would say "I can't believe anyone would use _______ " fill in the blank with their favorite bar.

On at least 2 or 3 occasion I had players that I would class as people that are very particular about their tone. I simply ask them to try a hollow bar that was the same diameter and length as the one they had used for many years. On each occasion they were surprised there was no change in tone (according to them) also NONE of them could believe it.

I decided that bars are like women, politics and religion - DO NOT TRY TO CHANGE SOMEONE'S MIND ON ANY OF THE FOUR.

My observation was just listen to all the people's ideas and sell them what THEY told you was the best.

Oh, by the way steelseats is the same way.

Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com

Joseph Meditz · Post by **Joseph Meditz** » 21 Oct 2012 2:41 pm

7/8" x 3 3/8" zirconia

Michael Hummel · Post by **Michael Hummel** » 21 Oct 2012 4:28 pm

So...in complete naivete (that's a French word for you 'mericans) I bought my guitar 6 months ago from a nice fellow up the valley. Because I was paying the full asking price, he threw in a Goodrich pedal, a couple of decent cables, an instructional video, some thumb and finger picks, and a bar. All of these to get me started. Everything seemed pretty fine to me.

Turns out the bar is one of those super-duper BJs bars, which according to most, is the best bar going.

Darn, I guess those bad notes are due to me still learning and not the bar!

Mike H.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 21 Oct 2012 5:32 pm

I have three BJS 15/16" bars in rotation. I find that the 7/8" bars I used to use no longer seem to 'fill my hand'.

I once bought another BJS from someone here on the Forum - he'd said it was a 15/16" but, when it arrived, it turned out to be a 1" bar. There was no malice intended, he just was mistaken. I didn't send it back, however, but tried it and found I quite liked it.

Whether or not it's true I remain convinced that the more weight in the bar the more satisfactory is my tone. The 1" bar does make the upper frets 'disappear' but I'm getting better with it.

Bryant Aycock · Post by **Bryant Aycock** » 21 Oct 2012 8:53 pm

I like my hollow bar. It's like my Jimmy Day set-up, it's what I started with. After forty-two years, wouldn't change it.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 21 Oct 2012 9:03 pm

Mike, you ought to know by now: it's not the size of the bar that matters; it's how you use it!

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 22 Oct 2012 3:00 am

Jim, you obviously didn't see the 1998 Godzilla

movie starring Matthew Broderick. It was made very clear, size does matter.

But seriously, I have a reason for asking. My friend Mary Faith Pearse (John's widow) is thinking of making more of the cryogenically frozen bars, and wants to know what size to make them.

I think that the John Pearse frozen bar is at least as good as the BJS, and maybe even a little bit better. It seems to me that it produces a slightly brighter and louder tone.

Jim Priebe · Post by **Jim Priebe** » 22 Oct 2012 3:38 am

I use a 3 5.8” X 15/16” stainless bar hollowed out (drilled to reduce the weight). It suits me better than any others I have used and I certainly didn’t notice any reduction in tone. You just need one that has sufficient mass (see below) and suits your hand and muscle co-ordination – that’s why one bar suits ‘Bil’l and another suits ‘Ben’.
Sorry if I move slightly off the subject of the post but, I find the statement that Mass = Tone to be – well, misguided or perhaps an over simplification to be kind. So to take this to a logical progression – if I had a 4” (long) x 4” round (lots of mass) with a suitable hand grip, the tone would surpass any thing on the planer – I think not. Obviously the material the bar is made of can effect the tone.
I am no scientist but I do love watching an oscilloscope hooked to the output signal as they tend to take the dreaming out of people’s ears. The bar for a pedal steel only needs to have sufficient mass to overcome any rapid transference of energy from the string/s (is not too light) so that the string vibration does not decay into the bar ie. It maintains the maximum sustain that the particular guitar is capable of. It also needs to suit the player’s hand etc. as above. That’s why dobro players (or when using a Dobro simulator) etc. use their type of bar to get the tone they want or a slide player uses a bottle neck – to get ‘that’ tone – they want a particular type of string vibration decay and why we see so many variations of favourite bars as per this post.

Adrian Wang · Post by **Adrian Wang** » 22 Oct 2012 4:02 am

I experienced this

open strings, no bar. no pedals no levers
When I plucked 3 strings, the sound volume is louder than with a bar placed across the string at any fret
The difference in volume is very significant.
Im using Dunlop 920 7/8 inch diameter

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