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Topic: Tone Bar Questions |
Gary Jones
From:
Mount Vernon, Wa
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Posted 11 Nov 2002 9:24 pm |
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I am just coming back to playing steel guitar, after having quit in 1989. I see a lot of products out there for steel that I am unfamiliar with.Could anyone tell me about the relative merits of different tone bars,such as the Black Phoenix, the Red Rajah, and BJS.
I have read a lot on this forum about the Zirconia bars, but they do not seem to be available. What makes that bar so desirable ?
I used to work for the Ernie Ball company, so I used their bars (which were made by Jim Dunlop) for many years. I also used a Dunlop Sitar Bar, for a heavy bar.
I know better than to ask a highly opinionated group of people which product is the "best", but it would be helpful to know which products are good, and which ones to avoid.[This message was edited by Gary Jones on 11 November 2002 at 09:26 PM.] |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 12 Nov 2002 2:52 am
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| Get the BJS, it gives you the cleanest, loudest sound, with the best sustain. The others you mentioned are more "gimmick" than anything (IMHO)....buy them if you want a softer sound and less sustain (maybe for Hawaiian music). You'll find a very small percentage of players that swear by the Rajahs for general use. The zirconia bars are still impractical due to their cost and availablity, and probably not worth the time and money it would take to get one. [This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 12 November 2002 at 03:01 AM.] |
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 12 Nov 2002 7:10 am
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I have tried the Red Rajah bar. It has its merits. It is quiet on the strings. The 7/8 diameter bar I have is hollow, therefore lighter, which is nice for fast work on non pedal.
Acoustic steel is a very good application for Red Rajah. Light, fast, quiet.
For electric steel guitars, the polished stainless steel bars, have the sustain and tone that I like.
Hope this helps the thread.
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Fender Stringmaster T-8
Fender Custom D-8
8 string Benoit
Peavey Amps
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 12 Nov 2002 2:48 pm
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I agree that you can't go wrong with a BJS bar. It is a great bar, but it is not the only high quality bar on the market. IMHO the John Pearse frozen bar is every bit as good. Possibly even better.
Recently I took the BJS, Pearse, Zirconia and Red Rajah bars to a gig and alternated between them all and compared them. The zirconia bar produced a cleaner tone with each note being more clearly articulated. It also felt better than the other bars. But the tone when I used the Pearse bar was noticably lounder and brighter than that produced by either the zirconia bar of the BJS.
The Red Rajah came in last. I felt it sounded muted when compared to the others.
This is of course purely my subjective opinion and is not meant to be taken as any sort of definitive answer.
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Death to all guitar players who hog all the fills and rides.
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Bob Knight
From:
Bowling Green KY
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Posted 12 Nov 2002 2:55 pm
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Mike, I agree. The John Pearse Cryogenic bar is unequaled as far as I'm concerned. The service from JP is also great. www.jpstrings.com
I have owned most brands of tone bars that are available, and I prefer JP.
Bob
[This message was edited by Bob Knight on 12 November 2002 at 02:58 PM.] |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 12 Nov 2002 3:47 pm
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Hey Gary, don't overlook the George L's tone bar...You won't ding these up....
they are hard, slick,consistent, have good heavy weight and although not cheap, they are less expensive that some of the others mentioned... some of which I also own..... but prefer the Geo.L to all of them. JMHO
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Whip Lashaway
From:
Monterey, Tenn, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2002 7:59 am
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I have a zirconia and it is great, but since you can't get one anymore!!!! I also have a BJS. I can tell you that this is a great bar and the company will stand behind it's product 110%. I actually had a problem with the bar begining to "flake". One, repeat one, call and a new one was in the mail to me that same day with a postage paid sticker to return the old one. Apparently they had gotten a bad shipment or something. That was about 10 years ago and it's still as good as the day I got it.
I trade off between the BJS and the Zirconia depending on what I'm playing. If I want a brighter sound or I'm using heavy effects, distortion, fuzz, overdrive, etc.., I use the BJS. I use the Zirconia for everything else.
Whip
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Whip Lashaway
Sierra E9/B6 12 string
Sierra E9/B6 14 string
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Rex Thomas
From:
Thompson's Station, TN
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Posted 13 Nov 2002 8:58 am
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| I too have a George L's bar & like it a lot. But here's my favorite: http://www.bulletbars.com/ [This message was edited by Rex Thomas on 17 November 2002 at 01:10 PM.] |
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Jim Burden
From:
Georgetown,Indiana,U.S.A.
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Posted 14 Nov 2002 6:49 pm
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| Rex;Thank you for the vote of confidence.I am trying to keep my bars a secret,cause I am covered up with orders most of the time.They are just micro grain stainless but I think they are worth every penny.Jim Burden Bullet Bars |
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Karlis Abolins
From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2002 11:19 am
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Has anyone ever tried lignum vitae? There are times when I want an "acoustic" sound and have experimented with wood. Wood is soft and wears easilly. Years ago, a buddy brought a block of lignum vitae home from the shipyard. They use it for bearings on large shafts. The wood is extremely hard and is self lubricating.
Karlis |
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Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 16 Nov 2002 3:30 pm
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| Quote: |
| Has anyone ever tried lignum vitae? |
Watch it Karlis. This is a family oreinted forum and that kind of talk is not allowed.
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Some of the confusion over our instrument is due to the fact that the name has three words. I propose we simplify it down to one word. I suggest TIFKATPSG (The Instrument Formerly Known As The Pedal Steel Guitar.)
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Chris Lang
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Posted 3 Aug 2010 5:53 am
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Mike says:
| Quote: |
| Recently I took the BJS, Pearse, Zirconia and Red Rajah bars to a gig and alternated between them all and compared them. The zirconia bar produced a cleaner tone with each note being more clearly articulated. It also felt better than the other bars. But the tone when I used the Pearse bar was noticably lounder and brighter than that produced by either the zirconia bar of the BJS. |
Mike, is this due to the fact that the Zirc bars have less sustain than the JP Cryo?
_________________
NOTE FROM ADMIN: The "Chris Lang" account was determined to be fraudulent.
Many posts made from this account were deliberate attempts to undermine the integrity of other Forum members.
Many statements made by this user were knowingly false and inflammatory, a disruptive technique known as <i>trolling.</i>
The "Chris Lang" account has been permanently deactivated. |
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Ray McCarthy
From:
New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2010 9:54 am
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| My Zirc bar has at least the same sustain as the Pearse, and the way it feels in the hand and riding over the strings is incomparable--IMO. |
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Elton Smith
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2010 4:20 pm
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Did I see a steeler playing with a coated bar of some kind?It looked like it had a plastic coating on it.What does that do?
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Gibson Les Paul
Reverend Avenger
Paul Reed Smith
Fender Telecaster
MSA S10 Classic
ShoBud
Old Peavy Amps |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 3 Aug 2010 4:26 pm
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| anyone ever use a gold plated bar? |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 4 Aug 2010 3:04 am
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I believe Tri-Bow bars have a life time money back guarantee.
Most people that try these are very surprised at the difference.
A good thing about a steel guitar club is you can check out and try lots of stuff for comparison.
Made in Austin Texas USA
http://www.tribotone.com/
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MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Skip Ellis
From:
Bradenton, Fl USA
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Posted 4 Aug 2010 5:06 am
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Danny Hammers brought a couple Tribo-tone bars to last month's Manasota club meeting for us to try out. I must say I was fairly impressed - they're light weight and 'slicker 'n gut on a hoe handle' (as my ol' grandad used to say). very nice bar, but by the end of the night I was back to my Emmons.
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2022 Brook Lyn, 2014 Martin 000-18, 2022 Ibanez GB-10, two homebrew Teles, Evans RE200 amp, understanding wife of 49 years. 'Steeless' at the moment |
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Robert Fleming
From:
Camden, NY
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 3:23 am George L Tone bar
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I have a Cobra Coil bar that I thought I liked. Last nite a guy let me try his George L bar. A noticable difference in slickness. Now I need one.
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Stage One PSG, Old Deluxe Reverb,Peavey Session 500,Nashville Telecaster, Alvarez Yari DY62 Cedar Top acoustic, Alvarez AJ-60-12 acoustic 12 string, Larivee OM-3 Acoustic, Harmony MOTS lap steel, Magnatone MOTS lap steel, Gibson BR-9 lap steel, Andy Hintons coated picks, Ernie Cawby's amp stand, Sharp Covers Nashville Amp and Guitar covers |
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Dave Alfstad
From:
Indianola, IA USA
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 4:58 am
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| Buy a BJS bar and never worry about tone bars again. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 7:13 am
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| Elton Smith wrote: |
| Did I see a steeler playing with a coated bar of some kind?It looked like it had a plastic coating on it.What does that do? |
That might have been one of Chick Brattain's powder coated bars. I think he no longer makes them.
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Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 10:05 am
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Well, here's a "quilted" MDF nylon one, a couple of delrin ones, a leaded crystal one from Diamond Bottlenecks, a few hollow steel ones... no one bar is the absolute "best"; I guess I'm kind of a slut huh.  You should see my pick collection....
(and that's less than half....)  |
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Bob Moore
From:
N. Rose, New York
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 3:16 pm
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| I need a ne(extra) bar for my lap steel. Where could one be pursched. No music stores carry them up here. Bob |
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Jack Wilson
From:
Marshfield, MO
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Posted 31 Oct 2010 7:03 pm
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| I think Zirconia bars are still available, I just bought one from zbars.com about 3 weeks ago. It is now my favorite. |
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Teddy Ray Bullard II
From:
Pocatello, Idaho
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