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Topic: Which Tone Bar for Mellower Tone? |
David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2007 10:40 am |
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Here is one of my latest, a MDS-filled QUILTED nylon bar:
As threatened, here is Pandit:
And Pip:
As soon as I figure out how to take a picture of my NEW DIGITAL CAMERA, I'll post that too....  |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 9 Oct 2007 7:36 pm
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| Do the cats use the same bar as you, or do you have specially-contoured ones to fit their paws ? |
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Jim Robbins
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 9 Oct 2007 8:15 pm
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Pandit will give you better tone than Pip; Pip looks scratchy.
Also, how about picking with the fingers? No loss of sustain but if you go with finger and not nail you'll get a mellow attack. A lot of the jazz guitar players from the 30s & 40s appear to have used their thumbs to pick in photos from Metronome & Downbeat -- check out: http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ for the one of Charlie Christian at the Waldorf Astoria in 1939.
Of course there is a callus-building period. But no pain, no gain. & vitamin E helps.
PS: I apologize for the use of the word, "mellow". |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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C. Christofferson
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Posted 9 Oct 2007 10:43 pm
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| On the picking side again, www.alaskapik.com. The mellower sound of hard plastic with fingertip-flesh muting. I just found out they're also available in brass. |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2007 12:17 pm
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| I second the Boyett's Glass Bar recommendation. The difference is note huge, but definitely mellower. Also, what about NO fingerpicks? |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 10 Oct 2007 5:27 pm
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Yes, I bought one. I'm not that impressed. It does cut out some of the string scrape when using an acoustic instrument, though. |
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C. Christofferson
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Posted 14 Oct 2007 9:15 pm
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| One time while trying something else I happened to put a slice of rubber band under a string between it and the top of the changer, so the string was on the rubber instead of metal. Believe me it was way mellower. I havent tried it but i'm thinking some thin soft material, like the foil-paper gum stick wrapper folded double (or more) placed under the strings would possibly give that effect. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 27 Mar 2009 6:13 am
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| Alan Brookes wrote: |
Yes, I bought one. I'm not that impressed. It does cut out some of the string scrape when using an acoustic instrument, though. |
In all fairness, I remember posting this a while ago, and I feel I should add that, of all the tone bars I have, I find myself using the Tribotone most of the time nowadays.  It really has a nice feel to it. I have one of the smaller bars. I should get a larger one too.  |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 27 Mar 2009 11:40 am
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I use a black TriboTone bar of about the same size of a regular 10 string PSG bar. I use it all the time.
It's especially impressive when you first try it out unplugged... you'd be amazed at all that sizzle one usually hears at the bar end... GONE.
It EQ's in the thin strings with the strings bellow quite nicely, takes out some of the shrillness of the 0.011th while keeping the thicker wound strings more lively too. Virtually NO drag and vibration pickup of the wound strings without being slippery either. Nice control and feel.
I gave one to my fiend and fellow Forumite Ken Kotsay of Davie Florida for his 60th birth day, and he still writes me now and then about how much he likes it.
I like it so much, I got me a second one to keep in stock, just for the case they would stop making them.
I don't know what it is made of. It is definitely not anything like a RedRadja. Mine even dropped on the tiled floor... metallic noise, no chipping... actually, I think I have to feel lucky the tile didn't get chipped.
... J-D. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 27 Mar 2009 11:47 am
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I remember years ago when I started on lap steel, I used a Nick Maniloff (sp) bar.
It was black and plastic looking. It was quite heavy though. It gave a nice mellow sound to those Hawaiian songs. |
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John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2009 10:25 am
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I started using one and I like it a lot. It's a black D size and it works well on my 8-string. I think it'll be okay for 10 string, too. I found that I had to get used to it becuase it's a little lighter and faster than the big 'ol bar I was using. Nice tone and very controlable. And Eric's a good guy, too - a fellow South-Austinite.
_________________
John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 28 Mar 2009 6:15 pm
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I suggest a Tribotone also. Great bars that should be exactly what you are looking for.
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Bob |
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Colm Chomicky
From:
Kansas, (Prairie Village)
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Posted 28 Mar 2009 8:46 pm
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I have a tribotone and just love it. I have an a 7/8th E weight bar. I also have a Zirc bar which I got last July. It was at least a 6-month wait for the zirc bar so as of last year it was something you had to be very patient for -- but absolutely well worth the wait. I don't know if production is still going on the zircs. I figured I better grab a zirc while I had the chance.
I don't think you can go wrong with either. I use both interchangably. When I ordered the tribotone I received it in less than a week. IMHO the tribotone feels and behaves even smoother than the zirc bar.
Erv said
| Quote: |
remember years ago when I started on lap steel, I used a Nick Maniloff (sp) bar.
It was black and plastic looking. It was quite heavy though. It gave a nice mellow sound to those Hawaiian songs. |
I believe the Maniloff bar is the inspiration for the Tribotone. |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2009 11:20 pm
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| Alan Brookes wrote: |
I've bought many different bars over the years. The most recent one I received came in a plastic tube. When I tried the plastic tube container as a bar it sounded better than the $80 bar inside !  |
Alan, I've got one of those too. Send me your bar and I'll send you the tube mine came in.  |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 29 Mar 2009 4:56 pm
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| Andy Sandoval wrote: |
| Alan Brookes wrote: |
| ...Alan, I've got one of those too. Send me your bar and I'll send you the tube mine came in. |
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Andy, you'ne missed the point. I made that comment on 24th October, 2007. During the past 18 months I've come to like the bar, and my subsequent posting of 27th March, which brought the whole subject up again after a lull of 17th months, was intended as a retraction. I felt that my original comment was premature and unfair. |
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Kenneth Farrow
From:
Alaska, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 11:03 am contact
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| Can anyone furnish contact info for Mr Mason in re: his bars?? Attempted direct email, no joy. thanx |
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T. C. Furlong
From:
Lake County, Illinois, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2009 7:55 pm
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I have two Tribotone bars. I got a 7/8ths bar about a year ago and it is very good. Eric Ebner - Mr. Tribotone - at my urging, hand machined a 15/16ths Tribotone bar for me and it is awesome. I better not lose it, he said he'll not hand make another! I love the feel, tone, absence of scraping noise on wound strings. The midrange is soooo full and smooth sounding.
I highly recommend Tribo-Tone. Not only are the bars great but Eric is a really interesting and nice guy.
TC |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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