A few good words about Bill Stroud and BJS tone bars

Bobby Bowman · Post by **Bobby Bowman** » 15 Mar 2008 3:27 am

I walked up to Bill Thursday (3-13-08) and handed him an old bar I've had for about 12 years or so and asked if he could fix it or help it out in any way. It had been put through the mill, so to speak, and was in pretty bad shape.
He looked it over for a few minutes and said he didn't think it was one of his bars to which I said I thought I had bought it from him years ago in St. Louis.
Bill reached down under his booth table and brought up a big box with a lot of new BJS tone bars in it. He fumbled around and finally found a new bar that pretty well matched the old bar and handed it to me. I felt of it and liked the way it was balanced in my left hand. I reached for my billfold to pay him and he just waved his hand and said "no charge". I was speechless but managed a meager "thank you Bill".
Folks, it just don't get any better than that!
If you don't have a BJS bar, you owe it to yourself to try one,,,,they are the best and so is Bill Stroud.
Thanks again Bill,
BB

I don't know where that smiley came from, but it looks pretty nice. It's suspossed to '08.

Dan Burnham · Post by **Dan Burnham** » 15 Mar 2008 4:49 am

Bill is a stand up guy. He's one of the finest I know. I have 3 BJS Bars and I wouldn't trade or sell them. Besides making great bars, Bill is a great person.

Dan

KENNY KRUPNICK · Post by **KENNY KRUPNICK** » 15 Mar 2008 6:52 am

I have 3 BJS bars,and they are THE best!

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 15 Mar 2008 7:50 am

Best bars ever.

Jack Ritter · Post by **Jack Ritter** » 15 Mar 2008 8:24 am

I have the BJS Hughey 15/16 lite bar and it is by far the best bar I have ever used ----ever! anyway you want to rate it!

Ron Brennan · Post by **Ron Brennan** » 15 Mar 2008 8:47 am

You can count me in as a BJS fan. Great Service from a terrific standup guy, for sure.

I have a BJS "LLoyd Green" model......best thing I ever did to get the best.

Sure, I like Bill....but I like his BJS Tone Bar better.

I'll be getting another one, slighly larger when it's avialible. TX

Rgds,

Ron

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 15 Mar 2008 10:26 am

Bill's service is top shelf and his 15/16" bar is my favorite.

Greg

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 15 Mar 2008 10:28 am

Frankly, I don't see how he stays in business. He stands behind his product to an extent I've never known anyone to do. I'm even concerned that perhaps we take unnecessary advantage of his good nature and absolute replacement policy.

I reluctantly showed him a BJS that I had kept in my music room at home and owned for several years, but had actually been used just a few times...less than a dozen. The chrome plating had begun to fade off the butt end. He gave me another bar, which is what I'm using all the time now.

I remain overwhelmed by what a fine man Bill Stroud is. And he happens to make a pretty daggone good bar too

Pit Lenz · Post by **Pit Lenz** » 15 Mar 2008 10:32 am

Bill´s a fine gentleman to do business with.

I just recieved his 15/16 Hughey 12-string bar after consulting him about which one to take.
In a very fast reply mail he convinced me to get the bigger bar and his advice was spot-on!
Even though I am lousy player (on good days

), I could hear and feel the fuller tone and grear sustain right away! Kinda scary...

The delivery to Germany was real fast and flawless.
After reading all your enthusiastic reviews about Bill´s bars, buying one was the best thing I could do!
I deeply recommend it to anybody.

I still have one big problem with BJS bars though:
Now I sold all my excuses for bad tone...

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 15 Mar 2008 1:05 pm

Bobby that was more than just a few words but everyone of them touched me also. I have had a BJS bar for more years than I can count. Other than a small dent on the back end it is still just great. I switched to my BJS sitar bar last gig, it has never been used in the 12 plus years I have had it, bought is as a back up bar.

Larry Behm

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 15 Mar 2008 3:35 pm

Yup.

Me too.

I got a 10 string bar from him recently and after I used it for a gig or two realized how used to my longer "Shot" bar I'd become.

I hesitated to ask, but he said NO problem, that he'd swap it out. Perfect shape, but still, I prefer the 3 9/16".

Good service as far as I'm concerned.

EJL

John Coffman · Post by **John Coffman** » 16 Mar 2008 4:58 pm

Bill makes the finest products and no one gives better customer service. Enough said. I have three of these great bars.

Bobby Bowman · Post by **Bobby Bowman** » 17 Mar 2008 6:52 am

A bump for Bill and his tone bars.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 17 Mar 2008 9:03 am

i'm in too
a great bar & great service
jump in there son !

Bob Knight · Post by **Bob Knight** » 17 Mar 2008 10:59 am

I have been using Bill's bars since the early 70s. There's not another product that come even close in quality and service. Beside all that, Bill is my Friend.

Brandon Ordoyne · Post by **Brandon Ordoyne** » 17 Mar 2008 1:30 pm

I bought a BJS bar at the TSGA Jamboree this past weekend...I really like it soo far

Brandon

Jody Sanders · Post by **Jody Sanders** » 17 Mar 2008 5:04 pm

I have used the same BJS bar for many, many years with no problems. I purchased a 1" bar at the show, and it is the greatest ever. I did not really need a bar, except when I almost lost my left hand a couple of years ago, it was real hard holding on to the smaller bar. The 1" completely corrected my problem. Thank GOD for Bill Stroud and BJS bars. Jody.

Dennis Lobdell · Post by **Dennis Lobdell** » 17 Mar 2008 6:39 pm

I just finished a two and a half hour practice session with the BJS bar that I purchased this week end at the Dallas show,it really seems comfortable.Thanks Bill. Dennis

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 17 Mar 2008 7:33 pm

I picked up a 15/16 Hughey bar in Dallas to stand alongside my 7/8 birthstone bar. Bill is really good people......we had a few laughs about how you can buff a BJS bar on concrete.

Bill Stroud · Post by **Bill Stroud** » 17 Mar 2008 7:42 pm

Thank all of you for your kind words, the reason I try and take care of my customers is that I would not want anybody playing a product that I made that I would not use.
Let me say that I really enjoyed and felt honored to come back to Dallas this year, everyone was so friendly, made me feel so welcome, the hospitality could not have been any better.
All the Steel Guitar vendors made you feel welcome and invited you to play their steels, but if your like me you have to have your personal picks with you to do that.
Met with some really nice people down there, and you can count on me next year also if the good Lord allows me to be there.
All of the vendors were nice and Albert, Jody, Bro Hallford, and all was just a pleasure to talk to.
Boy that Ms Tally at Sunday Church really sung her song with feeling, it was good. Everyone sounded great.
Wasn't it great to see all of our UK friends and all that traveled a great distance to come over here to share their talents, and imput on subjects that we all share with one another.
Looking forward to next year.

Thanks to all that uses the BJS Bar from the bottom of my heart.
Your Friend,
Bill & Shirl Girl
PS: She (Shirley) will be with me next year....

David Hartley · Post by **David Hartley** » 18 Mar 2008 6:18 am

It was such a great pleasure meeting you Bill and your friend Lee too. Thanks for sending those pictures through to me Bill so quickly. I arrived home today at 11.30am (UK). It was just an amasing weekend for myself and Keith too. We are both coming back in 2009.

And now for my coments on the BJS bars, I own 3 now, I purchased my first plain 15/16th a few months ago, then Bill insisted I have a birthstone bar free of charge and sent that to me along with a selection of picks, AND at the TSGA he handed me another one of his fine bars with a special gemstone in the end again which he insisted is another free of charge. I am forever in his debt in my mind but Bill insists, its a gift. Thank you so much. David Hartley

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 18 Mar 2008 6:51 am

I was home for only 1 day, and Bill called me on the phone to tell me he had my bar ready to ship...Great service, great guy, great product...thats bar #4 for me...Mickey Adams

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 18 Mar 2008 7:29 am

I, too, had the pleasure of meeting Bill in person. I
bought another John Hughey 15/16 bar. It's probably the 5th or sixth I've bought from Bill. My students talk me out of them after they see the difference in quality and feel.

Glyn Bone · Post by **Glyn Bone** » 18 Mar 2008 8:11 am

I have just recently purchased a second BJS bar from Bill...this time a 1" x 11.7 oz job...and I swear on my Mothers grave that it has cured my intonation AND sustain woes.....(see recent thread on `sustain` )

Bill...as the Aussies would tell ya.." ya bloods worth bottlin` mate " only one breed of bar for this little black duck from now on.

What kind of picks did you get Mr. Hartley ?

A Squillion thanks Bill

Bill Stroud · Post by **Bill Stroud** » 18 Mar 2008 11:09 am

Hi to all,
David you have help me with your products also, so the least that I could do for you is to present you with a gift. It was my pleasure to have met you and Keith. I will see you in Dallas next year as I'm going to make Dallas an annual thing, everybody was so nice and pleasant to be around.
Glyn, the picks where an assortment of Hard Chrome Picks, Nationals which by the way I sold all of them in Dallas have to get some more, Kyser picks they are good picks, Dunlop gage picks, Pro-Pik different stlyes. Also the Zookie 10 degree thumb pick which I really like.
Thanks to all for using the BJS Bars
Bill

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