The Steel Guitar Forum

Howdy Folks;

What is the most commonly used weight for a bar? I'm not sure if I sould use a heavier bar or stay with the bar I,m now using. I have heard that a heavier bar will produce a better tone, but isn't there a limit as to how heavy it should be so that contoling it wouldn't be a problem?
Opinions anyone?

Thanks;
Pete Storms

Buy a BJS standard size and forget about everything else.

Go w: Bo Pete

What Bo said.......

Get a standard BJS 7/8" 10-string bar and forget about your wondering. Yeah, some play w/ other weights, sizes & widths. Maybe you will too someday. But start with that.

Get the heaviest bar you can find to start with.I think will be about 12 oz. Then go to a lighter one than you have now.How ever you didn't say what you are using now.Keep that one and buy a lighter one.Thats the only way you will know which one you like.The faster you pick, the lighter the bar.

There are lots of good bars out there. BJS is one of them, for sure. It depends on what type of alloy you want. BJS are chrome plated. I'm not sure of the weight, but a nice heft.

www.georgels.com also makes a fine bar. High polish stainless steel. I'm guessing somewhere around 10-11 oz.

Jim Burden at www.bulletbars.com can build you a custom bar to your specs. Stainless Steel also and possibly chrome plated available.

More budget minded, the Dunlop bars. #920, I believe. Most common size is 7/8" x by about 3 1/4". Weight between 8 to 12 oz. A heavier bar will give you a better tone and actually be easier to use.

Try out a few and pick the one that feels right to you. You'll probably end up with 2 or 3 anyhow.

Check out some of the builders and distributors from the "links" header above.

I never had a BJS bar but I've had 2 stainless bars, both 7/8 dia.--a Dunlop first, then a Pearse "thermocryonic" bar--and finally, a 15/16 dia. Zirconia bar. The Pearse was better than the Dunlop--it seemed to have more sustain and a clearer tone. But zirc bar has them both beat by far. It's slightly lighter than the steel bars, and although I can't detect any difference in the tone/sustain between it and the Pearse, the way the zirc slides effortlessly on the strings (the zirconia material is actually smoother than any steel or chrome) is IMO beyond compare. They are expensive, but it's a one-time buy.

Seriously any bar that is standard sized is fine to start with... the cheaper bars will pit, and wear out, etc., you will have to replace them...

I tried a 1" bar last week.. it was fine if you played on only one fret but trying to move around the neck.. forget about it..

I bought one of the new zirc bars.. it plays very well..a little lighter, plenty of sustain, doesn't get cold to touch, easy to hold.. all positives, it also cuts a little zing off the stings, is is worth more than 3 BJS bars?

I would say it's a toss-up between the John Hughey model BJS bar the the zirconia bar, both super bars.
BTW: both 15/16ths bars.

Hi Pete,

Gotta toss my hat in here and plug my bars... Paloma Stone Slides. Light in weight, excellent sustain, great tone, lots of diameter and length options, and two glaze colors which yield two different tonal tastes.

The industry standard had been metal bars forever, and there a many excellent makers available for you to choose from, and folks who make Zirconia and Tribotone certainly offer excellent alternatives to metal as shown by their many followers.

I have tried to develop a ceramic bar which would offer yet another alternative to players and a search for Paloma bars in the forum will yield many comments for you to review. My bars are $20 plus $4 for shipping to the USA and Canada... www.stoneslides.com

Good luck in your search for the perfect bar!

My favorite, Carlos & Charlies in Cozumel.

This is another one of those things like knee lever placement or choice of color, that are subjective and have no definitive right or wrong answer. It's entirely a matter of what you prefer. Try out a few different bars and see which one you like the best.

Fortunately we have a lot of excellent bars from which to choose.

The weight of the bar does not affect the tone.

Bob, you are correct. The bar pressure is more important than the bar weight. A strong down force will increase your sustain and tone.

Doug

Just a mention about Jay Seibert's stone bars. I have one, I think it's 1" dia. When I first got it, the light weight seemed strange, but after using it more the lightness began to show its advantages in being able to move very quickly around the neck, and there is almost no drag on the strings at all. You have to put a little more pressure on it than a heavy bar, but there's very little difference, if any, in tone/sustain. Though the Zirc is still my favorite, For 20 bucks the stone bar is the best deal out there.

Doug Palmer wrote:The bar pressure is more important than the bar weight. A strong down force will increase your sustain and tone.

Doug

Perhaps this is true. If so, would not a heavier bar take less down pressure than a lighter one to achieve the same force?

Bingo!!

Once you have enough force to provide firm contact with the string, additional force does not improve your tone. Whether it comes from bar weight or hand pressure makes no difference. You just need enough pressure on the string to prevent any rattle.

You may find that the "just buy a BJS and fergit it" crowd also own 30 other bars....

I use lighter bars for the most part, hollow steel and delrin and leaded crystal, but I'm not trying to play traditional country, which is what most people took up the steel guitar to do.

I prefer stainless steel to chrome. I've use a Dunlop
bar for years. It's approximately 3 1/8 x 11/16, and weighs in a about 8 oz. Inexpensive, and durable
rick

Yesterday I ordered a black zirconia bar from Ed.
The way I understand it, once this present batch of bars are gone that will be it for a while.
The cost of material in the smaller quantities has skyrocketed. I have the white zirconia and since black sounds better, I have to give it a try.