The Steel Guitar Forum

A few years ago I bought a bakelite bar along with a D-8 steel from a guy in my hometown. The bar was an E.R. Watson tapered 15/16 to 3/4. I fell in love! The tone is really unique: fat, but not dark; creamy AND sizzling on the high end. You know what bakelite sounds like! And, it feels really good to hold; it stays put in your grip!

Well, my bar wouldn't take the abuse of modern nickle strings, or my style of playing; it chipped and took on grooves. I quit using it, but never forgot its magic.

I discovered that Lee Jeffriess uses a Tribo-Tone bar, and decided to try one. Lee is one of my favorite players, and his style requires a lot of movement, so does mine. How could I lose?

I just bought a perfect chrome bar from BJS. AND IT IS THE BEST chrome bar ever. I see the difference in chrome and stainless bars of differing price and makers.But:

This is the perfect bar for me! I played dobro 5 years before I even thought about pedal guitar, and my natural style includes picking the bar up off the strings. Most teachers of PSG tell us not to do this, but to "slide, or roll," the bar. Good advice generally! But, there is a sound generated by the action of moving on, or off the strings. A heavy chrome bar is not easy to "play dobro" with. I kept looking for something to bridge the gap. I really thought it was the E.R. Watson bar.

The K-Bar I bought from Eric at Tribotone is exactly what I have been looking for! I like it's true bakelite tone (dead-on), The weight is half of a chrome bar; tone is really clear on bass notes above the 12th fret; bakelite grip-feel and warmth. As I use vibrato--the bar excites the strings, creating sustain. To my ear, better sounding sustain (more mids...less highs).

If you use distortion...you MUST try this bar!

I am totally sold on this bar! Have you tried one??

JMHO

I love Tribo Tone Bars from Austin Texas USA.
They come in different weights also.
http://www.tribotone.com/

Agreed. Eric is a great gut, making great products. In addition to bars, he makes EXCELLENT slides for playing bottleneck guitar (steel core/tube with his "Tribo-material" on the outside). Great tone, feel and weight.

Another satisfied Tribotone user, I have a red one, a white one, and a blue one, to match my various steels.

Here's the one that matches my Studio Pro.

I don't use any other bar. I like the smaller size bar as well. Sounds really great.

Ditto to the above posts!

I use a Tribo-tone very frequently myself, especially when I play non-pedal steel with Alvin Crow. It's very reminiscent of the now-vintage Black Rajah bakelite bars I used when I was a kid, only at a larger size more suitable for my playing style of today.

And Eric is one fine man and a supporter of the steel community. So we should support him in return.

I love my Tribotone bar!

Are they closed for vacation or no longer in business? Have sent two e-mails requesting an order and as yet have received no responses.

Must be vacation? I just got an email from Eric a week and a half ago.

How would this compare to an Emmons bar? I don't know if it's stainless or nickle. Do use nickle strings.

Bud,

Have you ever used a bakelite tone bar from the 40's or 50's? There is a real diference in the feel and tone of bakelite to any stainless or chrome bar no matter the brand. The Tribo-tone has the same qualities (but better) than bakelite.

No Rick I never did. I've always used this emmons bar that came used with the used emmons guitar. I'm looking for a birthday present, for ME! I've looked at the site http://www.tribotone.com/ and I know this kinda stuff is hard to put to words. I'm just thinking to get a better sound, might be my technique, before I get somebody else to plunk down the $$$ for MY present. It's all about ME!

Tribotone bars sound great, and the one I use, a K-bar, is very light and agile. Well worth the price.

The normal rattle, or bar noises, are just gone. I also like the clarity of the wound strings above the 12th fret, much clearer.

Theres no doubt I'll have to get one of the heavier bars too. But the K-bar is perfectly good for country styles. I've been bouncing between my D-8 and Uni-12 with this new bar...works for anything I'm doing. When I play with distortion this bar has a nice tone too. Less shrill and just sweet! YMMV

I sent Eric an email last week, and haven't eard back either. Is he on vacation? I love my bar, wouldn't trade it for anything, but it's getting some worn spots. It's a couple of years old. Can it be buffed and polished back to it's original state?

I use two: A manoloff bar on my 8 string lap and a "standard" 7/8s on the steel...great bars.

They're moving to a different building! Or at least I think they are based on this:

We lost our lease space and will be moving the Tribotone shop very soon. We are unable to fill orders at this time. Our plan is to work hard and build a large batch of stock before we move. We plan to start shipping from that stock beginning October 31st. No custom orders will be taken for the remainder of the year until we're back on our feet. Thank you for your understanding and support!!! This is temporary.
Eric Ebner

It was, ummm, sorta at the top of their website? Moving a whole business to a new location - NOT my idea of how to use vacation time.

Jana, Eric told me they start sounding better when they get some wear on them, as long as there is no grooves you should be fine

I use mine for everything, nowadays.

I bought one to use with my 8 string Dobro. I love it and Eric is a stand up guy!

I just picked up a used M size (7/8 x 3 3/8, 7 oz. )to use on my U12.
I was using a 7/8" double bullet Twister, which is highly polished stainless, about 8 3/8 oz, and roughly the same length.
The TT is so much easier to hang on to for bar tip playing! That alone would close the deal, for me.
Tone wise, there's not much missing on the top end; mostly the stuff you don't want, like the little zzt you can get when playing hammers and pulls. Twangy low string riffs sound really fine.
I have been messing with an SP2 for this style of playing, but I believe the Tribotone will handle both jobs better.
Spendy? Maybe, but well worth the $ in my opinion.

Chris