What's Your Favorite Dobro Bar? Is there a STANDARD?

Don Mogle · From: Round Rock, TX, USA

I'm looking to purchase a dobro-type steel bar sometime soon, but wanted to get some opinions first. I'll be using it for pedal steel.

What is the most commonly used dobro bar? Has one been elevated to become the STANDARD?

I've been looking at the Robert Randolph bar (RR1 & RR2), but it doesn't have the rounded nose like some other bars do. Is the rounded nose very important for pedal steel?

I see most of the sacred steel players use a dobro bar too, but not sure what the standard is for this style. It seems they can maneuver around the neck quickly with these dobro bars.

Any and all views are welcomed.

Thanks,

Don

Howard Parker · From: Maryland

Many styles and models.

Just be aware that when designed for dobro the bar will be pretty short for a 10 string guitar.

Here is an assortment.

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Howard Parker

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Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

I would venture to say that the Stevens bar is the default dobro bar. For a grooved bar for playing PSG, I like the SP-1. Here is a photo of some of the options:

The SP-1 is third from right.

Good luck in your search. Please remember that you can not own too many tone bars. HTH.
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Don Mogle · From: Round Rock, TX, USA

Michael,

Great! Thanks for posting the picture...very helpful. The one you mentioned that would be best for steel has the rounded nose I was talking about.

Don

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

My favorite bar for dobro is that Shubb SP-1

Mark Wayne · From: Wisconsin, USA

I use a standard pedal steel bar with a smaller diameter.
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David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

Don..My favorite for (Resophonic guitar) is the 'Shubb SP-2' (fourth from right I believe). If you will notice, the bar is slightly rounded on one end, but more square on the other making it better suited for pull offs...FYI: Please keep in mind that the Dobro style bars are also lighter in weight and therefore will require a bit more downward pressure to prevent string buzz on pedal steel.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

I like the Dunlop 925,which has one end rounded and one end blunt. It has the standard Stevens bar profile.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
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Norman Evans · From: Tennessee

Lane, How long is the Dunlop 925? Thanks, Norm

Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

Brian McGaughey · From: Orcas Island, WA USA

Don,

The square or non-rounded edge on any bar is used for pull-offs on the strings. A person can learn to use a square edge bar and move across the strings while applying pressure down toward higher strings without it getting caught up on a string.

The round edge bars both dobro and bullet style can be slid across from low to high without getting caught and without lifting but are more difficult to do pull-off with.

Try several, keep the packaging and keep them nice, then sell whichever you don't prefer if you can't afford to keep them all around at once.

Probably need one of the longer model dobro bars to cover your longer string grips on 10 string pedal steel.

Some traditional pedal steelers may argue that a dobro bar doesn't bring all the tone potential out of a pedal steel. Depends on what you're going for.

Steve Branscom · From: Pacific NW

My favorite Dobro bar? I once saw Jerry Douglas and his band at the Triple Door in Seattle. That's more of a supper club than a bar but it's still my favorite and JD was great.
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Steve

Brian Evans · From: Nova Scotia, Canada

My 1962 National Dynamic came with a round nose 5/8" diameter bakelite bar, in a little goodie bag with the picks and such, original to the guitar I think. It is getting too rough to use so just last week I bought a Dunlop round bar exactly the same, only polished steel. I get home, and what do you know - I just cannot hold on to it, it slips out of my fingers and falls on the floor, literally. I'm going to take it back and get a contoured bar that maybe my old feeble fingers will be able to hold. Or maybe use a hollow slide on my index finger, that probably won't fall off...

Brian

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

The only thing that does what I want it to, is my Stevens bar. The Ego feels like it's falling out of my hand. I tried the Tipton bar, but the radius threw my intonation off a little. I'd love to get a bar made like a Tipton--but with the Stevens radius, and squared off on the ends.

Any machinists out there?

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

Tom Keller · From: Greeneville, TN, USA

Stevens bar.

Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

I suppose that I should have ID'd the bars in the photo in the first place, but here goes now, left to right:

+ Shubb-Pearse GS1 Steel, hardwood and stainless
+ Elderly cobalt plated Stevens bar - currently my all around favorite for acoustic
+ Shubb-Pearse SP3, Sally Van Meter bar
+ Shubb-Pearse SP2, Pete Grant bar
+ Shubb-Pearse SP1, the original John Pearse bar - my favorite for my Fender 400
+ Shubb-Pearse RR2, Robert Randolph bar - the heaviest of the lot
+ Dunlop Ergo 925, basically a very nice Stevens bar

I hope that will minimize any confusion that the uncaptioned photo may have caused.
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Don Mogle · From: Round Rock, TX, USA

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Here's another question. Sometimes I will use a boss GE-7 to simulate a dobro sound. I wonder if these dobro bars will give me more of a dobro sound???

Don

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

Don, since most of these tone bars are relatively the same, I don't think you will hear a difference between a bullet bar. Using a bar made out of a different material, such as wood or plastic may achieve more drastic results.

I use the Boss GE-7 on guitar with a plain brass slide as a sim too, and have gotten compliments and inquiries from other players about the effect. I set the EQ in a comb filter style with a rounded football shape:

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

Mike Harris · From: Texas, USA

I like my Shubb SP-2 quite a lot.

Mike Spieth · From: Santa Fe, New Mexico

I'm not a Dobro player, but I have noticed that the SP-1, turned around, is pretty close to the Stevens bar. Two bars in one?

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

I prefer the Scheerhorn bar for dobro.
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Terry VunCannon · From: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

I like the SP-1...got 2 all brass that are wonderful.

Bob Simons · From: Kansas City, Mo, USA

My favorite bar for dobros is "Mike's Tavern"
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