BAS coming on / control ring question

Greg Pettit · From: Ontario, Canada

As stolen from a thread ca. 2002 or so, I feel BAS (bar acquisition syndrome) coming on. The BJs bars have come recommended to me, and I'm quite enamoured of Chuck's Red Raja and/or Phoenix tone bars. Additionally, although it seems like "real men use round bars," There's something about grooved bars like the Shubb SP2 that still apeal to me and my developing style. Hope I don't spend too many hundreds of dollars on bars.

Although the threads I've read have all indicated that the powder coat is less slippery, I'm still interested in Chuck Brattain's control ring as well. Call me a wimp, but I really like lifting the bar and I don't see it fading out of my budding list of techniques any time soon. And a slick bar like my Ernie Ball isn't going to cut it for too long. After about half an hour of practicing, I get tired of it and have to switch over to a Dobro-style grippy bar (a GS-1) in order to not go berserk.

Now, the way I've been gripping my bar so far (a 3 1/8" bar) is to have the base of it pretty much back into my palm. For anybody that's used it, how much back "into the palm" can you adjust the control ring to accomodate that kind of grip? I know I could probably just e-mail Chuck and ask, but I figured that questions like this could aid future users of the "search" function.

With Regards to my Ernie Ball-- there are teeeeeeeeeny little imperfections on the surface already, and it's making for some noisy or "rough"-feeling work. The little miniature (can't even see'em with the naked eye without extreme effort) grooves are catching on the strings and "plucking" them a little bit when they're at their worst.

Is there any way to even this out? Will taking some fine steel wool to it completely screw it up, or can I get away with something like that?

Greg

[This message was edited by Greg Pettit on 18 May 2006 at 11:19 PM.]

Keith Cordell · From: San Diego

I have the same problem with my Dunlop Lap Dawg bars. So I keep tossing the dinged ones and getting new ones, however I would suggest the Smith bar as I have had one of those for quite awhile without any marks whatsoever; they are stainless steel and nearly indestructible.

Stephan Miller · From: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Greg, I think true BAS means collecting bars
when you already have what you need. Nothing wrong with that

... but it doesn't sound like either of the bars you're using is right for the 6-string lap steel. The GS-1 feels great in the hand but it's not made for slanting. And that Ernie Ball behemoth is more like a 10-string bar for pedal steelers.

You mentioned the Brattain bars-- my advice is...for now, forget about the control ring deal and order a Black Phoenix bar from Chuck, size 3/4" x 2 3/4". It's a half inch shorter than the EB and slimmer, and due to the coating is the easiest bullet bar to maintain a grip on. It'll make a huge difference. (The one big downside of the BP bar to me is that, with my heavy touch I'll wear off enough of the coating after a few months that I need to send Mr. Brattain $10 + postage and the "old" bar, in exchange for a new one. Folks with an average or light touch will get more use out of one.)

The BP surely won't be the last bullet bar you ever try-- but owning a bar of the right size (and shape) will open your eyes.
Then the real BAS can kick in!

--Steve

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

No offence to Chuck - I love my Black Phoenix bar - but stay away from devices like the control ring. People have been inventing these crutch devices throughout the history of the steel guitar. There is no substitue for putting in the time and effort to learn proper bar technique with an appropriately sized bar. There's no magic formula, just practice. You can't properly manipulate the bar for slants unless your index finger is curved. Now, many great players don't use slants (Cindy Cashdollar, for example) but many others do - even great pedal players like Green & Emmons. My personal view: except for fast hammer and pull-off technique, there is almost no technique on the electric steel guitar that isn't enhanced by a bullet bar. For resophonic, too many great players use a Stevens-style grooved bar to argue. Some fantastic sacred steelers also use 'em on electric so there are no definitve rules. As they say in Pirates of the Carribean: "These be guidelines".

[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 19 May 2006 at 12:29 PM.]

Greg Pettit · From: Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the replies. Last night I grabbed the GS-1 first, and practiced for a while. My girlfriend was there, and she knows all about my "conundrum" so she knew what I meant when I said, "man, this is SO much easier!"

Then, as if to prove it to myself, I grabbed the bullet bar. A few seconds later I said, "Wellllll... hrm.... this isn't that tricky either, after all."

The EB bar is definitely a bit long, but it's not that thick. At 3/4" it's the same slenderness as the bars that come recommended for lap steelers. In my first thread here, someone mentioned it was huge, too, and I can only suspect that EB must make more than one model.

That said, the shortness and slightly reduced weight of an appropriately-sized BP might be Juuust enough of a difference that I don't get that "man, this thing is slipping again!" feeling so often.

--

Regarding BAS, I think you're correct. I'm not quite there yet. But I'm exactly the kind of guy who's going to end up with 10+ different bars that he didn't really need.

Greg

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