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Post new topic What is this tone bar made out of?
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Author Topic:  What is this tone bar made out of?
Ben Orgil


From:
New York, USA
Post  Posted 31 Jul 2014 10:52 am    
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Video of Greg Leisz playing pedal steel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk4mtNFJL50

What is that tone bar he's using made out of? Is it agate? It looks almost acrylic. Never seen one like that before and was curious about it.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 31 Jul 2014 2:55 pm    
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Sometimes it appeared as though the bar had a dark blue cast to it otherwise it could be black zirconia.
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Ben Orgil


From:
New York, USA
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2014 12:27 pm    
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Found it: http://www.silicasound.com/brass-n-glass-bar-slides/

Its a brass bar surrounded by glass. Has anyone used this?
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Christopher Davidson


From:
Sonoma County, California, USA
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2014 3:06 pm    
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First post and new member here - howdy!

The bar Greg is playing with is our #115 Brass N' Glass bar slide. Technically, he might be using an older version of our #114 bar when we made them at a longer length. We only released the #115 a few months ago, and it looks like the video was made just before then. But, the #115 has the longer length needed to play with a 12 string...

Some dimensions on the bars:

#115 Brass N' Glass: 3.7" length, ~8.1 oz, 1.0" dia
#114 Brass N' Glass: 3.15" length, ~ 7.0 oz, 1.0" dia
#113 Brass N' Glass: 3.0" length, ~3.5 oz , 0.75" dia

What a great video by the way. I was extremely excited when I stumbled across it. He's jammin!

Very Happy
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Chris Davidson
Owner - Silica Sound, LLC
Handblown Glass Guitar Accessories
http://www.silicasound.com/
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Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2014 3:17 pm    
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I just passed some emails with Chris Davidson of Silica Sound and I just ordered a bar. I dig bars, I have a nice assortment, and I like the features this offers---all except the 1" diameter. I've been there. I have settled in at 15/16". But I look forward to trying this out.

---oh--I didn't see you there, Chris. Hi. Welcome.
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Christopher Davidson


From:
Sonoma County, California, USA
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2014 3:28 pm    
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Thanks for the welcome Jon - nice talking with you.
And thanks again for your order!

I did want to mention that Jon just bought the last #115 I have in stock, but I should have more ready by the middle of next week.

Jim Palenscar at Steel Guitars of North County in Oceanside, CA might have one or two available also.
http://www.steelguitars.me/
760-754-2120
Please give him a call!

Peace!
_________________
Chris Davidson
Owner - Silica Sound, LLC
Handblown Glass Guitar Accessories
http://www.silicasound.com/
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Ben Orgil


From:
New York, USA
Post  Posted 6 Nov 2014 7:03 am    
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You folks should release some demo videos with the bar.

Apart from that one video with Leisz I stumbled on there isn't anything else out there. It would been nice to see it in action on some different guitars.
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Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 6 Nov 2014 1:03 pm    
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I got the bar yesterday and haven't spent enough time with it for a comprehensive review.
First impression is that this is a VERY nice bar.

Tone: Excellent
Sustain: Excellent
Slickness on strings: Excellent
Feel in hand: Excellent

If you have tried a glass bar but couldn't work with its light weight, this bar has heft.

I have several 1st rate bars including a BJS and a Zirc. The Zirc is my #1.
15/16" is my strong preference. I arrived at that after spending a couple of years with 1" bars. Therefore, this 1" bar is not the ideal size for me but other than that, it's really nice. A bargain, too.

This has nothing to do with some sort of search for the right bar. I've got that covered. I just like bars a lot and I enjoy having an assortment, some which I definitely use and which definitely have subtle differences in feel and tone, and some which are not players and are just part of a collection.
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Ben Orgil


From:
New York, USA
Post  Posted 19 Dec 2014 11:18 am    
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Hey thanks for posting the little review. I'm considering trying it myself. Does it sound like a glass slide? How does the tone bar sound on steel vs a bottleneck slide?
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Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 20 Dec 2014 3:15 pm    
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I'm not sure what you are looking for but when I think 'bottle neck slide' I think low weight, low mass, low sustain string tickler.
This is most certainly not that. It has the weight and mass to provide fat tone and strong sustain.

If I want a bar for specific sound (such as swampy blues, eg.) I'll go for my Diamond glass bar (very lightweight) or a ceramic bar. These bars, due to low mass with the Diamond or due to low polish vibration dampening with the ceramic, contribute to the objective of reducing some of the PSG sustain characteristics for if/when that is what you are seeking.

As I said in the review above, this bar could easily stand in for my standard PSG bars. Sonically similar enough to the BJS and Zirc. Much less expensive. Also probably not nearly as bullet-proof (drop-proof).
It also is the quietest of any of my bars (string drag)--not a hugely important issue to me. Just an observation.
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Jim Palenscar

 

From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
Post  Posted 28 Dec 2014 9:02 am    
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Greg is using the #114 like Christopher said- a 12 string glass bar that he picked up at my shop. I use them too but please be forewarned- they will break when dropped as they are glass. They feel and sound terrific and look cool as well- a nice dark blue and I try to keep them in stock.
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