What Bar For Dobro?

Byron Walcher · From: Ketchum, Idaho, USA

I am curious as to how many guys who play both pedal steel and dobro switch bars when they play dobro and use the stevens-type bar like bluegrass dobroists. It seems fairly difficult to get the bar bloccking technique down with the heavy bar. Any comments or insight greatly appreciated.
Regards to all,
Byron

------------------
Lashley Legrande D10 8x7,Emmons Legrande 8x7, Sierra Lap-Top, Webb Amps

David Doggett · Posted 21 Jan 2003 5:04 pm

I use a Shubb-Pierce #2 bar for Dobro. It has a grooved grip like a Stevens, but has a half bullet at one end. The bullet helps me do some smooth single string transitions, and works fine for hammer-ons and pull-offs. That's for bluegrass and country Dobro. If I did a lot of Haiwaian stuff on Dobro, I might want a solid bullet bar for that - but currently I don't do that.

I also grab the Shubb bar for fast slide blues type stuff and open string stuff on pedal steel. But on most country stuff I use a traditional 7/8" bullet bar on pedal steel.

I now have a couple of 12-string pedal steels. I have found that the blunt end of the typical bullet bar makes racket on, and gets caught on, the lower strings, even a 12-string bar. To help with that I just ordered a double-bullet ended Twister bar from Scotty's (7/8" diameter, 10-string length). I'll let you know how that works out.

------------------
Student of the Steel, and cheap instrument connoisseur: customized 1970 Sho-Bud Maverick, Fessy S12U, Emmons S12 E9 P/P, Nashville 400, Fender Squire, Peavey Transtube Supreme into JBL 15", 1968 Gibson J50, '60s Kay arch-top, 7-string Raybro, customized Korean Regal square-neck, roundneck Dobro 90C, 1938 Conn Chu Berry tenor sax, '50s Berg mouthpiece, Hamilton upright piano. You make it, I'll play it (more or less)

Joey Gaskins · From: New Bern, North Carolina, USA

Byron, Until just this last week I have been using a scheerhorn and thought it was just great but when my grandson "borrowed" it I picked up a bar I got for Christmas, a dunlop 2 3/4" 4.5 oz round bar and played single note runs much better than before. This bar is much to light for my steel but it seems just right on my Morrell squareneck.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I'm with David on the Shubb/Pearse bar. It's the best one I've ever tried. I used to use the Dunlop bar but I find that with the S/P bar I use the rounded end all the time and have no trouble with the hammer ons or pull offs. And the rounding of the end it doesn't dig into the string in front of it when I'm doing single string stuff. I don't think I'd ever go back to another bar again......JH

------------------
Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Ron Randall · From: Dallas, Texas, USA

Byron,

I think the music itself has a lot to do with the choice of bar. I don't do the real ruff pull offs or hammerons. I do pickup the bar and put it down a lot. I do forward and reverse slants whenever it is easier, than going somewhere else on the neck. I play non-pedal stuff most of the time. Some electric, some reso.
I use a 7/8 bullet steel bar on the electrics, and a 7/8 bullet plastic bar on the resos. This is the one made by Goodrich. It is very light and therefore fast. Sound is great or I would not use it. The plastic bar stinks on the electric. The red rajah is a good compromise for both. The 7/8 is drilled out, and the powder coat is fast and quiet on the strings.

I guess this is why they make so many different kinds. Lots of ways to skin that cat.

------------------
Fender Stringmaster T-8
Fender Custom D-8
8 string Benoit
Peavey Amps

Michael T. Hermsmeyer · From: Branson, Missouri, USA

I use BJS 7/8" bars for Pedal Steel, Lap Steel and on my Stringmaster T-8.

For Dobro, I had used a Stevens for years, but recently switched to a Dunlop Lap Dawg, a copy of a Scheerhorn. I love it!

For Melobar I still use a Shubb/Pearse original bar because of the Stevens grooved shape and the nose and length of a bullet. A standard bullet is too slick to hang on to and a dobro bar is too short, so the S/P is my favorite.

For slide guitar, you just can't beat the old Coricidan medicine bottle.

Michael T.

------------------
UTILITY MAN PRODUCTIONS
'73 EMMONS D10 FATBACK, '92 EMMONS D10 LASHLEY LEGRANDE,
'85 DOBRO 60DS, '95 DOBRO F60S,
'95 MELOBAR CUSTOM, 1955 FENDER TRIPLE NECK STRINGMASTER. EVANS, FENDER, PEAVEY,
and MESA BOOGIE Amps.

Forum Index > Steel Without Pedals		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: