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Topic: In Praise of the Black Rajah |
David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 1:06 am |
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This little bar is IMHO the best bar ever made, and look at the price. 2-fifty wasn't expensive back then. It is tapered and the contact surface is about as drop proof as you will get. It works perfectly on 6 strings but I use it on 8 without trouble. Does anyone know who owns patent 2,073,331? Someone needs to start making these again. My suggestion, one quarter inch longer.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 6:27 am
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The only tapered bar I know of currently being made is made by Frank Ford and sold through Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA.
I have no idea how you'd find out who owns that patent currently, sorry.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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John Limbach
From:
Billings, Montana, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 7:46 am Re: In Praise of the Black Rajah
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| David Matzenik wrote: |
2-fifty wasn't expensive back then.
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Based on the mid-30's, that would be about $43.00 in today's dollars. Still not bad for a premium bar. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Kirk Francis
From:
Laupahoehoe
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 8:30 am black rajah lengths
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| just some black rajah esoterica: the no. 199K was sold as 2 11/16", but i've got one which is barely 2 1/2". the no. 200k was billed as 3" but comes out of the box at 2 15/16". but who cares? they're great bars! |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 9:44 am
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They must have been popular. I have never purchased one by itself but I've got 4 that have been "case candy" in various lap steels I've purchased. Three are the smaller 2.5 inch size, one is closer to 3 inch. Some have a brass core others have what appears to be lead.
They're all great!
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 10:11 am
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Chances are the patent has expired. I think the real issue is the bakelite. I don't think it can be reproduced due to what was in it. Some folks are making bars with other like materials but not exactly bakelite.
Buy'em up when you find an old one!
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www.deluxe34.com lap steel stands, Clinesmith, Gibson Console Grande, Northwesterns, The Best Westerns
https://www.facebook.com/TheBestWesterns |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 10:20 am
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I've been very happy with my black Tribotone bar. Sadly, like the Rajah, also out of production.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 11:07 am
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The Black Rajah was great just as long as it didn't accidentally slip out of your left hand and hit a hard surface....alas, mine did ! Goodbye Black Rajah  |
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Bill Sinclair
From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 12:28 pm
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| I like using my Black Raja but it seems to slip out of my grip more easily than my Dunlop 919 stainless bullet. I might have to try the tapered stainless bar that Brad referenced above. Besides just the way it feels in your hand, are there other perceived advantages to a tapered bar? |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 12:42 pm
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No question, My Tribotone is the best bar I have. Perfect weight, and unbelievably smooth. I keep waiting for some enterprising soul to make something similar to it again. But I'm sure in reality the market for such things is tiny.
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 2:09 pm
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I think that 2-fifty price on the package is late, probably post war, which would make it significantly cheaper than in the mid 1930s. They must have been cheap to make considering the materials. The moulded shell would have to be the easiest way to make a tapered bar; no machining. I don't think a taper is all that necessary, it just feels really comfortable to me.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2015 8:53 pm
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Same name, but very different from the original. No taper, and only available in larger sizes usually favored by pedal steel players.
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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Miles Lang
From:
Venturaloha
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Miles Lang
From:
Venturaloha
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2015 5:44 pm
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I stocked up on various sizes and weights of Tribotones (Delrin) bars ... Saw the writing on the wall .. 
I build my own bars now ... And powder coat (ala Chucks Red Rajah and Black Phoenix) them with high quality formulations ...
Plastics have undergone quantum leaps since Bakelite ( original Black Raja) ... The only thing I use my old Black Raja's for is to sand them down as a filler for B6 and bridge repairs ...
The guy making and selling powder coated bars right now ... Get a few that are your size ... If you can't do it yourself ...
Just trying to help |
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Chase Brady
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2015 7:39 pm
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| Is anyone familiar with the TSGA black Rajah bars? Are they plastic or powder coated steel? Light weight or heavy? I sent them an email once and never got a response. Are they still making them? |
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Bill Sinclair
From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2015 8:30 pm
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| Rick Aiello wrote: |
... The only thing I use my old Black Raja's for is to sand them down as a filler for B6 and bridge repairs ...
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Ack! Rick, I've got a half dozen bakelite microphone handles you could use for a lifetime supply of filler instead of sanding down your Rajas. I need to pay a visit to the Lapland sometime soon anyway. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2015 5:00 am
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| Don"t fret .... The only original Black Rajas I have are broken ones folks have sent me over the years ... |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 15 Dec 2015 6:09 am
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I had several bakelite bars when I was taking lessons in the 1960's but they cracked when I dropped them, so my dad got tired of buying new ones and made me a bar from solid steel and rounded the end on a grinder. It wasn't pretty but worked for me. Until I purchased a pedal steel 10 years later...
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYG9cvwCPKuXpGofziPNieA/feed?activity_view=3 |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 15 Dec 2015 6:41 am
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| Chase Brady wrote: |
| Is anyone familiar with the TSGA black Rajah bars? Are they plastic or powder coated steel? Light weight or heavy? I sent them an email once and never got a response. Are they still making them? |
They are great bars but not tapered and not Bakelite.
I'd say they are powder coated.
If you're in the market for a powder coated bar try one of Michael Hillman's here on the forum.
Since I got a couple of his bars, they are all I use now for lap, pedal and Dobro. |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 15 Dec 2015 6:54 am
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| Are the tribotones just weighted delrin or something proprietary? |
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