“Correct” Bar Size

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Get in touch and we can do a quick FaceTime conversation. I was obsessed with how to hold the bar when I got serious as a player. Buddy Charleton spent 2 hours with me doing nothing but having me slowly slide the bar up and down the strings until I understood what relaxed meant. I still have problems with cramping up every once in a while because of unnecessary tension or working to long.

Longer bars can be more easy to handle. I’m thinking of trying a longer bar myself. Paul Franklin is pretty adamant about it and as far as I can tell he right about everything regarding how and what to play on the pedalsteel !
You might be due for a better bar anyway.
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Bob

John Sims · From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

Another thing to consider is diameter of the bar. I was given a 7/8" bar when I first started with steel guitar. My fingers on my left hand would cramp trying to hold on to the bar. I was at a show 1 night and the steel player and I was talking, I asked to handle his 1" bar. I could grip the bar below the center of the diameter which give a much better grip and control of the bar. I went to 1" bar.

I left 10 string about 6 years ago, I now play a S12 Universal guitar, My bar now is a 1" X 3 3/4" bar. I like the size of the bar. It takes very little down pressure on the bar. Just move it up and down the neck. I can grip the bar and lift it if needed too.

Good Luck and Happy Steelin.

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

I've recently been asked how I block... and I answered "like a Adult Film Star" (using a different word instead of "Adult"... but since this is a family forum...).

What I meant by that is, "I do EVERYTHING";
I pick-block, palm-block, pinky-block, ring-finger-block, thumb-block...
BUT, I also block with my left/bar-hand thumb and -and by now you may be scratching your head wondering why I go off a new rant on blocking on a "Bar Size"-thread-:
The thing is I also block with my bar-hand's middle finger sting out further than the bar's bullet tip, while pulling back. This addition has changed the way I hold my bar (tucking it a little further back so the my index does stick out definitely.
I might add, that unlike BE and rather more similarly like John Hughey, I play single notes with my bar's tail end lifted off the strings and only play the bullet nose... so my bar-hand's ring finger and pinky do also block behind the lifted tail of the bar. This all reduces my palm blocking to basically silencing wide grip chords.

SO, bar length: I have played 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and even a 14 string guitar, but my main guitars are all S12. I would never use a 12-string bar. I think I only would if I had hands the size like Bill Clinton's or Johnny Cash's Very Happy

.
I've never seen Maurice Anderson use anything but a standard length 10 string bar either. Jeff Newman the same and I am tempted to theorize that neither did/do Joe Wright or David Wright (from what I remember seeing).

I should want to add that I have used a "Jerry Byrd" 8th string length 3/4" dia. bar on my 6 & 7 string lap steels for a certain time. It just seemed a more appropriate mass and size on these often also shorter scale guitars. But today I might as well play them with my 10 string 7/8" dia. bar, because my hand "seeks to find" that mass.
Jerry Byrd, by the way had big hands.

There was a discussion about this subject on the FB-PaulFranklinMethod-"Forum" 2 or 3 years ago. And he has a somewhat different way to look at it, and you should check that out, if it's still accessible (haven't been on there in years).

So, my opinion is that it depends rather on the player's hand size than string numbers. I just would want that middle finger to stick out and lay on the open string ahead so that I'd be able to count on that finger to mute any string I pull away from (from treble to bass). It's a BIG deal to me, because it's one less note to worry about and when working on playing single notes clean and faster, having less to block with the picking hand is a big help. For normal sized hands, a standard 10-string length 7/8"dia. bar seems to fit most players' hands and have established itself as the "standard". Incidentally, it's professionals who seem to be least prone to use "exotic" size bars (hint!... just practice, play and don't worry to much about the "mechanics" of it. Every instrument feels odd, uneasy, un-fitting at first.).

... J-D.
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Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

Kendell Scott · From: Effingham Illinois, USA

Joseph Lazo · From: Wisconsin, USA

Have you tried holding your playing hand a little lower or higher above the instrument? Or even angling the fretboard slightly away from you (towards the floor)?

Ron Pruter · From: Arizona, USA

Ken...Here's a easily obtained piece of rigid foam at Home depot. You could cut it to size on a band saw.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Soft-Foam-Kneeling-Pad-90346/315303737
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Emmons SKH Le Grande, '73 Fender P/J bass, Tick tack bass, Regal high strung, USA Nashville 112.

Darren Clark · From: United Kingdom

I used to hold the bar like your picture. I went to my teacher with hand/finger pain and he told me to try holding the bar with a slight kink in my index finger (at the second knuckle). Since I switched to this grip all the pain has gone.

I think it may have helped me relax, although I made a conscious effort to reduce pressure on the bar as well.

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I have almost every size of bar but it comes down to just two - both BJS.

One is a standard 3/4" that I like for its lightness and the way it helps with single-note passages.

The other - in some ways my new favourite - is a 1" x 12-string bar. I love the tone and it fills my hand better than the shorter one.

I have both sitting there and I switch between them; each has its own advantages, even as different as they are.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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John Sims · From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Butch at BJS bars contacted me last week as he received a shipment. I ended up buying a 4 inch X 7/8" bar. I have long fingers. It fits comfortably in my hand and I seem to be able to control it better. I like it! Smile

Regular sized '10 string' bars barely get to my hand knuckle... Here is the PF video that convinced me to try a long bar. I'm glad I watched it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNpIBCd_WA8
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Best Regards,

John

1997 Carter U-12 Double Body-Natural Birdseye Maple-8p/5k, Peavey Nashville 1000 Amp, Goodrich L10K Vol. Pedal, Boss DD-3 Delay, Boss CE-5 Chorus, Behringer UMC-204HD Audio Interface, AKAI MPK Mini MK3 Professional Midi Keyboard/Controller, Gretsch Bobtail Resonator, Fender Banjo, Rondo SX Lap Steel (C6), DIY Lap Steel (Open D), and a few Mojo Hand Cigar Box Guitars (MojoHandGuitars.com).

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

John:

I believe that your option would suit me best - a 7/8ths, but longer than standard.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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John Sims · From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Roger, give Butch a call or text him. I PM'd you his number. Do it before he runs out again!

Here's a better PF bar video at 20 seconds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oo5PphMHAI&t=133s
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Best Regards,

John

1997 Carter U-12 Double Body-Natural Birdseye Maple-8p/5k, Peavey Nashville 1000 Amp, Goodrich L10K Vol. Pedal, Boss DD-3 Delay, Boss CE-5 Chorus, Behringer UMC-204HD Audio Interface, AKAI MPK Mini MK3 Professional Midi Keyboard/Controller, Gretsch Bobtail Resonator, Fender Banjo, Rondo SX Lap Steel (C6), DIY Lap Steel (Open D), and a few Mojo Hand Cigar Box Guitars (MojoHandGuitars.com).

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