I have a few tone bars but my go-to to is the Dunlap 919 (4.5 oz. - 3/4" x 2-3/4"). I like it for the maneuverability the smaller/lighter bar has.
But I find a larger/heavier bar such as the Dunlap 921 (11.5 oz. - 1" x 3-3/4") gives me a better tone and sustain.
I recently got a Clinesmith thermoplastic tone bar (4.5 oz. - 3/4" x 3") that I really like. Less noise and very easy to move around with.
I'm curious what you guys are using.
I'm also curious if any of you found the heavier bars more difficult to use at first, but persevered with them until they became easy to jump around the neck with.
I've got a pile about like you do, and I use them all occasionally, but right now I'm really loving a glass 3" x 1" made by Silica Sound, it's big but only has a brass slug in the middle so it's quite a bit lighter than my stainless ZB of the same size. I've been finding the 1" bars way easier to hold.
I too have so many tone bars I likely couldn't count 'em, and if I put 'em all in a bucket I probably couldn't lift it. But for years, my go-to bar has been the standard stainless Latch Lake (formerly Broz-O-Phonic) 3/4" x 3" bar from Eagan, MN.
I have tried several on my 8 string Rukavina lapsteel. Of the three Dunlop bars I tried I like the 918 the best. Not too short or too heavy. The Rocky Mt Tone Bar didn't seem to have quite enuf sustain and felt too light and too short. I tried the Amos but that didn't seem to have quite enuf sustain either, It was too light and it was noisy and scratchy sounding. For my the best weight is around 5 ounces and 3 inches long. I use a lot of Slants and a shorter bar gives me problems, partly because my slants aren't as accurate as they should be. It would help if I was a better player. I am still experimenting.
I know when I started out I was using the Brozophonic bullet, which is on the smaller side...then I went to a larger Ezee-Slide (similar to the other thermoplastic ones, a really nice slide) and at first I didn't like the size...reverse slants in particular were harder for me...enough that I eventually ordered a smaller one from Basil. But I think that was user error...eventually I preferred the original larger one and that's my main bar.
Rereading your question "I'm also curious if any of you found the heavier bars more difficult to use at first, but persevered with them until they became easy to jump around the neck with."
Yep, I guess that was exactly my experience! Started out disliking the larger bar and ended up preferring it over time.
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
Most any bar will give an acceptable tone and sustain, for me anyway. My priorities are comfort, maneuverability and quiet on the strings. The Clinesmith bar checks all these boxes and it sounds great too. It would be hard to go back to a slow, noisy metal bar. I prefer the 7/8" for the right grip and 3" to cover eight strings.
Everything depends on tuning. If you are playing 6 strings (or even 8 strings) you are going to have to move the bar a lot. lighter, faster better. If you are with pedals or a 10 or 12 string tuning like Alkire or Reece's ext C6, you are going to move the bar less. There for, more weight, the more mass, the better for that tone which you can't get on a bar with less mass.
I'm going with an Ernie Ball bar,$16.99. Right now I'm using the only bar I own, a Dunlop 919.Its the same bar I took lessons from Jerry Byrd with back in the early 90s,but arthritis is making it difficult to handle so I figure bigger is better
Aloha
one of your bars?