What kind of tone bar for Universal 12 string

William Carter · From: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

Do most people use a different tone bar when they switch from a E9 to a Universal, or do they keep the same one? If there's a difference, what's the best one on the market right now for playing a 12 string Universal?

John Sluszny · From: Brussels, Belgium

Same one for me...like Jeff Newman did !

Dale Foreman · From: Crowley Louisiana, USA

BJ’s 15/16 12 string bar.
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Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

There is no "best." Try out a few and see which one you prefer.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

On a uni, you're never going to play more strings at the same time than you would on either neck of a D10, or at least I don't and I use the same bar. I'm sure I'd find a longer one cumbersome.

I you think about it, choice of bar length generally follows the size of the hand, not the guitar.
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Mike Vallandigham · From: Martinez, CA

I use a 10 string BJS bar. I had a 5/16" one, but went back to a 7/8" one. I like the 7/8" better.

Bengt Erlandsen · From: Brekstad, NORWAY

For my S12extE9 7+7 I have a sligthly longer bar so I can play strings 11 8 5 2 at same time. It covers 10 strings plus a just little more.
I can use that same bar for my 10 string S10LG but I prefer a slightly shorter bar on the 10 string as I find it easier to get the thumb behind for doing slants.

Most grips on my JCHD10 C6 neck (10 strings) require only 8 strings to be covered at same time. So for that one I also use the slightly shorter bar.

B.Erlandsen
S12extE9 7+7

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Mike - that's what I've been using lately. My Excel is 25½" scale and the BJS has the weight to get the best out of it, especially the low strings.

Bengt, if you really need to cover that many strings then of course you will need a longer bar. Extended E9 is a different animal from a uni.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Ben Lawson · From: Brooksville Florida

Don't remember where I got it. Rounded on both ends.

Eugene Cole · From: near Washington Grove, MD, USA

I use a different bars on my different PSG’s.

I ordered a custom bar from bulletbars.com when I got my U12; I still use that bar on my U14. $25 for a custom made bar was a no-brainer.

I used a Shubb-Pearse on my Sierra D8.

I haVe standard bullet bar for the D10.
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Leon Champion · From: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

THERE IS A BEST , AND IT'S B J S PERIOD .

Alan Cook · From: Kent,England

Get the bar to fit your hand not the steel, that's what mr Franklin recommends.

Scott Denniston · From: Hahns Peak, Colorado, USA

It seems like part of the point of a D12 is bigger fatter chords so a longer bar might be appropriate. I'll have Bill Stroud's custom Dekley D12 set up soon (with my copedant) and don't know how well I'd get along with a longer bar so I'll try it with my D10 bar for a while first and see if it's a hindrance. I like big fat bars so don't know if I could handle a longer one without dropping it all the time. I'm curious to know what length most D12 players use. I've not yet hardly played a D12.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

For what little my input is worth, I have played both 12 and 14 stringers off and on since 1990. I have always used a George L's 7/8 bar. GL's are just a tad longer, but that's not why I used them. It's just my regular bar.

I also use a std. BJS at times or a std. Sho-Bud bar. No need for a longer bar on account of the string span. No one nearly ever plays all the strings at once and even if you do, it'll be a rake, or arpeggio, so you can follow the strings with the bar. That's what we normally do anyway.

Just use whatever bar is comfortable for you normally.

I can see if you use a lot of big grips as in Lloyd Green's Bars of Steel, how a longer bar might be appropriate, but I'm pretty sure even he used a normal bar.

Scott Denniston · From: Hahns Peak, Colorado, USA

Thanks Jerry. That's pretty much how I was thinking. Wow a 14? I don't know what possessed me to buy this D12 except that it's kind of the ultimate Dekley. These have a closer string spacing though that might help.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I should have related that my 12s and 14s were single neck Universal tunings FWIW.

Tom Sosbe · From: Rushville,In

this 10 string bar or 12 string bar is a myth that needs to go away. get a bar that fits your hand.

Pete Burak · From: Portland, OR USA

I think for gigging with a band, a bar that feels/fits good in your hand and functions/sounds good to you on the strings is what you are after.
Most of us have tried/owned many bars, I'd guess.
I also have a bar that covers all 12 strings and it is fun to play 12 string 7th chords for example. Kind of a Sacred-Steel/Robert Randolph style/sound.

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