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Topic: Two gizmos I saw in Dallas 2003 |
Carter York
From:
Austin, TX [Windsor Park]
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 12:54 pm |
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Hello,
While attending the TSGA Jamboree in Dallas, March 2003, I ended up chatting with a few fellas outside with the smokers, and saw the following gizmos, and wanted to know if anyone has used/tried these.
The first was a bar that had some sort of 'celestial ringing' inside of it. Apparantly it provided noticably more sustain? It sounded like one of those hand bell things you roll around your hand and hear sounds.
The other were little 1/4" x 1/4" magnets that were to be placed onto the legs or wherever on your guitar, and it would change the tone. Moving them into different positions would change the color of the tone. I guess that one would be pretty easy to experiment with on my own...
I passed on both, but was curious about them.[This message was edited by Carter York on 01 December 2005 at 12:54 PM.] |
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Allan Thompson
From:
Scotland.
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 1:41 pm
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Carter,
I saw those as well often wondered if anybody used them. I think the bar was a Perkins bar but can't be certain. |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 1:58 pm
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I noticed something one day when i was just picking around on my guitar, no amp, and my 1 in. bar was laying between the neck and pad close to the keys and i could hear what seem to be a kind of a sustain effect around the bar area and when i put my hand on the left leg it wasn't as loud and of course when i moved the bar it quit. I guess string vibration travels through the whole guitar, and even the legs, which makes me wonder what effect it would have (If any)on the tone if you took off the rubber feet so the legs sat on the floor with no padding?
Maybe the magnets where altering the vibrations in some way.
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 2:43 pm
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There's a device called a "Fat Finger", which clips on the headstock of a straight guitar. It purports to add sustain by reducing vibration which might cancel out some sustain. It's a clamp, basically, that only weighs a couple ounces, and some players swear it makes a noticeable difference.
Lots of things on a steel make a difference in the sound! I notice a lot more sustain when the steel is set up on a wooden stage. Conversely, setting up on a concrete floor seems to kill some sustain. And yes, the whole steel vibrates as a system when it's played. |
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Carter York
From:
Austin, TX [Windsor Park]
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 2:50 pm
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intersting about the "Fat Finger" on the headstock. I leave a kyser capo on the headstock of my acoustic underarm guitar when I don't use it (the capo, not the guitar!). I'll have to experiment...
[This message was edited by Carter York on 01 December 2005 at 02:51 PM.] |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 1 Dec 2005 8:44 pm
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| Carter:If you live near a Walmart go to the toy dept.and near the Yoyos they sell a set of two magnets that are shaped like long footballs,they are about 1/4" in the center and about an inch and a half long.They are about $2.00 and are packaged in a cool looking plastic card.I have a pair but haven't tried them on my guitar. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 5:22 am
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| My experience with making bars indicates to me that sustain is absolutely a function of the overall weight of the bar, all else being equal. If you drill a hole in the bar and put in rattly things, it would not sustain as well as that same bar undrilled. Regarding magnets, I think that when/if we see Paul Franklin, Buddy Emmons, Tommy White with magnets stuck all over their guitars, we'll hear about it. What is the science behind this idea, besides the obvious P.T. Barnum-esque psychology? [This message was edited by David Mason on 02 December 2005 at 05:26 AM.] |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 5:41 am
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Both of these devices are the brainchild of Jack Perkins, a Kerrville TX resident. Some people swear by Jack's inventions, some swear at them, and some are simply amused viewers standing by the sidelines.
There was a thread here awhile back about Jack's bar. It's a drilled-out bar with ball bearings sealed inside. I played one and didn't notice anything particularly better or worse performance-wise. Seemed like an okay bar to me, but he wanted $95 for it ("the picker's price"... okay, but who else BUT a picker would get one of these things?  ), so I passed on the offer.
The magnet thing I'm especially dubious about. He goes from gig to gig putting these stick-on magnets on people's guitars, amps, volume pedals (?!), fiddles, etc. He says he hears the improved difference in sound. I don't. Maybe my ears are just shot from all the honky-tonk gigs.
I've not jumped on Jack's product bandwagon, though he's asked me for my support. But he has sent me numerous tapes of people like Randy Reinhart, Gary Carpenter, and Dicky Overbey playing at gigs, doing A/B test of his bar/magnets with their old bar. While I couldn't tell the difference between his bar and the old bar, the playing on the tapes are awesome, so I'm in Jack's debt for that.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 6:23 am
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So, one wonders, are Randy, Carp or Dickey using the magnets after their own A/B tests?
Jack sent me a tape of these so-called A/B tests except the recording quality was so poor that one could distinguish nothing about the sound. It sounded like a $10 handheld tape recorder held in front of the PA speakers in a live, noisy club, with the band playing different tunes on the "A" than on the "B" (of course). If he is seriously interested in getting any interest in this idea, he ought to make the investment to go into a proper studio and have the same player play the same thing twice in a row, acappella, once with the magnets and once without. Somehow, I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon. |
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Carter York
From:
Austin, TX [Windsor Park]
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 6:26 am
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| thanks for all the replies, and thanks Herb, for filling in the blanks. Mr. Perkins was a very nice gentleman, quite sincere in his delivery, but as they say, I couldn't tell if I was in the midst of a genius, a madman, or both! I found the bar to be a bit price-prohibitive as well, but interesting nonetheless.... |
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Curt Langston
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 6:37 am
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I have some snake oil tonic! It actually cleans out your ear canals, so you can hear better. Thus, your tone is better! "You won't pay 99.95 for this product." "You won't pay 79.95 for this product." "You won't pay 59.95 for this product". "You won't even pay 49.95 for this amazing product". "You can have this amazing technology for just two easy payments of 19.95!"
"Hurry, while supplies last"!..............
"Operators are standing by"
Lord help us..................
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I'd rather be opinionated, than apathetic!
[This message was edited by Curt Langston on 02 December 2005 at 06:38 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 7:24 am
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A few years ago, the rage was to put cow magnets on the fuel line of your car to increase gas mileage. I'm suprised with the present day price of gasoline, this old chestnut hasn't been resurrected again. Oh by the way, if your mileage didn't increase, it was because you had the magnets turned the wrong way! 
Erv |
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Bob I. Williams
From:
Sun City West, Arizona, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2005 8:36 am
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| Curt,I hear Your snake oil is also good for moles,colds and sore holes,fits farts and freckles. |
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