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Topic: 7/8 bar vs 1" |
Michael Haselman
From:
St. Paul
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Posted 3 Mar 2005 8:24 pm |
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I've been using an Emmons 7/8" bar since 1978, and it's served me well. Last weekend the original owner of my steel showed up to the gig and let me try his 1" bar and it seemed to make a real difference in sustain. Was it just me or does it make that much of a difference?
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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2005 9:22 pm
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| Michael, a one inch bar will almost force your hand off the strings behind the bar. thereby getting more sustain as the string is also ringing behind the bar. It's a small amount however. Try lifting your hand off the strings behind the bar with your 7/8 inch bar and I don't believe you'll see much difference in sustain. Just my opinion. |
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Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 4:44 am
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I tried the 1" bar a time or two but never liked it. It felt like I was using a tail pipe off a school bus.
Hook
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HookMoore.com
Allen Moore
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Roger Crawford
From:
Griffin, GA USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 4:55 am
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| 15/16ths is a good middle of the road solution. It's amazing what that small of a difference makes! |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 5:56 am
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I fiddled with this a lot, and I am convinced that all else being equal, sustain and weight have a direct linear relationship. Yes, I know the whole "Jerry Byrd and the Magic Little Sustainy Bar" story, vibrato, volume pedal etc., but if the same player using the same guitar, amp, strings etc. changes to a heavier bar, they will get more sustain. Likewise, I think there is a directly inverse linear relationship between weight and how fast you can move the bar, notwithstanding the elusive "grippability factor."
Regarding diameter, I regularly use 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" acrylic bars, my hands are not unusually large or supple and I don't have any problem muting behind the strings. At 1 1/2", muting without cramps or convolutions starts getting hairy. There is a healthy dose of customariness* at play here - "we've always done it this way", "If it was good enough for Grandpaw", etc.
*(this is a real word, I looked it up) |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 7:30 am
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| I tried a 1" bar. It felt good, and the extra weight did seem to help the tone a little on ballads. But it felt slow for fast work. The main problem is that it covered up too much on the high frets and made me feel like I was playing blind up there. In the end I decided to dump it. Now, in addition to a 7/8" double-ended bullet for country, for rock and blues I also use a Shubb-Pearse #2 with one round end, one sharp end, and a Stevens type grooved handle. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 8:07 am
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I played with a 7/8" bar for years and then decided to try a BJS 15/16" bar. I will NOT go back to a 7/8" bar again! Try it, you'll like it! 
Erv |
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John Davis
From:
Cambridge, U.K.
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 11:26 am
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My friend who has a machine shop turned me up lots of different sizes but the one I settled for (Ithink) was the 7/8" but it was much too heavy so I had him drill it out then weighted the hole end with some glass filler to counterweight the bullet end.this works for me, and you can move it quite fast.
My teacher Gordon Huntley was developing quite bad arthritas in his hands towards the end of his life and I often wonder if a heavy bar could exacerbate this condition?? |
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Larry Strawn
From:
Golden Valley, Arizona, R.I.P.
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Posted 4 Mar 2005 4:43 pm
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I started with a 1" bar, smaller ones never felt right after that. I'm not fast enough to worry about the wieght. Besides, they work better for hitting the back of a DRUNKS hand when he decides to twist my machine heads!! lol..
Larry
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Emmons S/D-10, 3/4, Sessions 400 Ltd. Home Grown E/F Rack
"ROCKIN COUNTRY"
[This message was edited by Larry Strawn on 04 March 2005 at 04:45 PM.] |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 5 Mar 2005 3:28 am
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| I think the difference is mostly psychological. I have made tapes here at the house, as well as used different-sized bars on my studio work, and I'll be darned if I can hear any difference, sustain-wise. I do think larger diameters (1" or more) change the character of the notes, probably due to the large contact radius. Also, as mentioned, a heavier bar helps you play smoother, but may slow you down on the really fast moves. |
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