The Steel Guitar Forum

I would suppose the 1" would give a better tone. does anyone use a 7/8"?

I think you would like the 15/16" bar made by BJS.

<SMALL>I think you would like the 15/16" bar made by BJS</SMALL>

I love mine! I find I can hold it much more confidently than a 7/8" yet it's not as heavy as a 1"

Where's the cheapest place to get one of those? also, I will have to order some strings in the near future. where is a good place to order strings? thanks

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TW Sneed

I'm the most expensive place, the worst service, grumpy attitude, and ugly girls in the office. But I dooooo have what you are looking for, in steel products, that is.
Yes, the 15/16ths bar is a good choice.
There are several good places to buy what you need for steel guitar, I'm just one of them.
bobbe

<SMALL>I would suppose the 1" would give a better tone. does anyone use a 7/8"?</SMALL>

Whatever size you end up with, I'd consider shelling out the extra bucks to get a BJS.

As far as larger size=bettertone, I don't necessarily agree. I have all three sizes of BJS, and I almost always use the 7/8, which happens to be the last one I got.

It depends on what kind of tone you're after, and also whether a larger size bar is worth a possible loss of mobility.

These days, if you can find a new BJS for less than 55$ you're very lucky. However, I think they are worth every penny.

I have big hands, but 1" bars always felt too big and clumsy for me. 15/16" bars feel better, but hammer-ons and offs and slants are still easier for me with 7/8" bars, so I've gone back to them.

I alternate between a 7/8" BJS and a Black Rajah, depending on how sweaty my hands are. The BJS is smoother on the strings, but the Black Rajah is easier to hold on to.

> These days, if you can find a new BJS for less than 55$ you're very lucky


allsteelguitar.com has the 7/8" ones for $50; the 15/16" are $58 (of course that's not including shipping).
http://allsteelguitar.com/Web%20pages/Inventory/Accessories/Bars/bars_main.htm

Although I have most every size made, I still use the 7/8" the most. As far as differences in sustain and tone between this size and the larger ones, I think the differences are negligible.

I think "better tone" is a kind of loaded phrase in this sense. I have a 7/8" and a 1", and keep them both sitting on the guitar. They just have a different character to them...

$50 for a tone bar???!!! WOW! I think I'll stick with my Dunlop.

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TW Sneed

Give Jim a call at Bullet Bars. He made me a really nice 1" for about 25.00. He paid almost 5.00 to send it to me. Got it quick too. Great bar for ballads. Excellent work! www.bulletbars.com

To a small extent, the bigger (heavier) the bar the better the tone. However, bigger bars are less mobile, and some have complained that a 1" bar interferes with visibility of the higher frets. It's all a compromise, you just have to find yours. If you are serious about playing the instrument the rest of your life. You probably owe it to yourself to get a variety of bar sizes (prefererably the less expensive versions) to try for awhile. Once you pick the one you like, you can sell the rest on the Forum, and spring for the luxury version of the size you have settled on. Compared to the cost of guitars, amps, volume pedals and effects, the cost of bars is trivial.

It's also not unknown for people to use different bars for different types of songs. Some use a big bar for great tone on slow ballads, and a smaller bar for speed on up tempo numbers. I use a 7/8" bar for country music, and a Shub-Pearse #2 grooved bar for blues and rock.

well, I use the 7/8 also. I really don't think i could handle anything any bigger than that. I have small hands and fingers.
thanks ya'll.

I had an embarrasing incident recently. I just ordered a 15/16" 10 string BJS bar from Bobbe Seymour. When I got it and compared it to my Dunlop (26 years old) I found I have been using a 1 inch 12 string bar. I had to send it back and get the larger bar. Shame on me for not measuring. I did not know enough to know the difference when I bought the Dunlop (with my first Pedal Steel, the Sho Bud LDG).
Too late to change. The 7/8 felt tiny. I am a big person at 6-3 250lbs. and big hands.
Felt pretty silly.
Lefty
Dekley D-10
Sh-Bud LDG
Dunlop 1" , 12 string bar

Remember Bobby Seymore is getting sued & needs the business. Has always treated me
fair. Didn't even charge me extra for all the Free advice.

I have a John Pearse One inch bar I never used. I guess I'll put it on "Buy and Sell"........al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Buy your strings from b0b, right here on the Forum!

Take care,

Les

I have a 15/16ths BJS, I tend to use it on slower tunes where more sustain, and slower vibrato is needed.
If memory serves I got it from Reggie Duncan.

I have a 7/8ths Twister double ender, and it is fast, so it goes on faster tunes.

I have just gotten a Black Phoenix (rajah) 7/8th to 5/8th tappered, snd like it a lot.
Good for fast, and it lifts well too for hammer-ons etc.

Each calls for a slightly different technique, but I see that as a plus.

With thousands $ in steel and amps etc. Why scrimp on bars...$50 is a drop in the bucket in comparison.
But a bar or bars you REALLY like goes a long way to playing well.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 05 March 2004 at 01:36 AM.]</p></FONT>

I still use a 7/8" x 3-3/8" bar. It has "EMMONS" engraved on the bottom. I have been using it for many years, In fact I don't even know where I got it. I have been playing steel for almost 60 years and I am so dumb I didn't realize the size of the bar made any difference in the sound. Anybody know anything about the Emmons bar? I might have to try one of the Bullett or BJS bars or one of the others. Maybe that's where my problem has been all these years. Thanks for any info.
Gere

Here's a great place to get bars. Especially if you're trying out different sizes. Some other players on the Forum suggested it to me.
www.bulletbars.com
Jim Burden makes solid stainless steel bars for $25 each including shipping. And he ships by priority mail. At this price you can have one of each size you are considering. Jim will make a bar and have it delivered to you quicker than some of the bar makers will answer their email.

I find the size depends on the song type. e.g., smaller diameter for fast tunes and flip-offs and hammers-on and larger diameter for slow tunes and fat tone.

I just got a solid stainless steel custom bar for my 14 string guitars and am really impressed with the quality and value and how quickly it was made and delivered. We used to have a music store with a full selection of bars. None of the cheap bars from the distributors compare to this bar. There is no middle man here. This bar is as good as the ones that came from Sierra in the 80's.
May not be as good as BJS but MUCH better than the cheap imitations. I agree that Ernie Ball ain't where it's at.

Jerry Clardy<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jerry Clardy on 15 March 2004 at 06:57 AM.]</p></FONT>

I second everything David Doggett said.

I also highly recommend BJS. Bill Stroud goes WAY out of his way to make sure the customer is happy. And besides that, his bars DO sound better than the cheaper bars (my main bar for a long time was an Ernie Ball....no comparison).

Joe

I use a 7/8 bar part of the time and a 1 1/16 stainless made by David Parker the rest of the time. The 1 1/16 sounds the best but the 7/8 is better for quick things. With my stubby little fingers, length is more of an issue to me than diameter. I have to be sure to have control with the bar up on the tip or with open strings.

These stainless steel bars, do they slide on your strings as good as a chrome bar? seems like they would be hard on your strings.

Russ Hicks uses a rather large bar.

I snapped this pic at the Dallas show last Saturday.


I perfer 11/16 BJS. I have many others, each has it own feel and tone. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Joey Ace on 15 March 2004 at 03:47 PM.]</p></FONT>