Just ordered two 1" bars a couple of days ago (one for me and one for my nephew). Very eager to see how they work in comparison with my BJS bar and a red colored bar that my friend, Scott Anderson, sent to me.
I've always loved the BJS bar, but since my stroke and the associated nerve damage I have, my hands produce no moisture now; they're dry and slick all the time. Consequently, it's difficult to hang onto my BJS bar now and doing bar slants is out the window for me. The red bar (called, I think, a Red Raja?) is easy to hold onto, but it's a dreadful heavy thing that quickly wears my arm out and causes some ataxia in my left hand after use.
I'm hoping these new bars will help in my bar slanting as I rehab into playing steel again. As much as I love my knee leavers, there're expressions that I can get with forward or backward slants that I just can't produce with a lever.
I'm also intrigued with the two different metals ... my initial order is for the 316 non-magnetic with the light blue insert. I'm going to order myself a second bar in the 440 magnetic and, so I don't confuse it with my 316 bar, I'd like the 440 to have that bronze/brown colored insert as in my example.
As I work hard to rehab into steel, I'll be putting both of these babies through the paces. Very eager to start playing with them. An extra bar with a different sound can always be a plus at times.
My nephew is eager to try his new bar as it will be his first steel bar. His bar is also the 316 bar with a light blue insert like mine.
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