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Topic: Slide/Bar/Steel |
Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 6:49 am |
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I'm doing some bottleneck-style playing on steel (pedal but it could be anything) and my standard bar isn't right---too bright, fat, sustainy and harmonically rich (damned BJS!). I have a glass slide (finger-type) that gets much closer to the sound---it'll never sound quite right because of the nature of the string tensions and high nuts vs. underhand slide on a standard fingerboard.
Any experiences and ideas for bars that are much lighter & lower in density and sustain but still have shapes that will work on a 12 string expanse?---that glass slide is way too short and catches in the strings. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 12:54 pm
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I use homemade delrin, nylon or acrylic bars myself - for jazz and rock, decay is an important characteristic, and I think lighter bars get a more human, less machine-like tone... to each their own! Anything below three ounces doesn't work for me, but four to five ounces is perfect. For a killer, slightly heavier six-ounce leaded crystal bar, Diamond Bottleneck has a great line:
http://www.diamondbottlenecks.com/DB08/index.asp?n=17
My preferred size is 1.25" X 3.75", but I've made some 1.375" bars that work fine too. I don't find them hard to mute behind, but they sure freak out the conservative crowd - always a good thing....  |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 3:27 pm Stevens-style
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Jon, have you tried a Stevens-style bar? I find them a lot easier than a bullet bar to pick up, which is, at least for me, a part of the blues slide sound. Think third fret, then open string. Shubb-Pearse makes one a little longer than the standard Dobro bar.
More info
I don't have any idea how wide your fretboard is, but these work great with a Fender 400, which has pretty wide string spacing.
HTH.
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 4:49 pm
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For heavy distortion ala Greg Allman type blues.
Try a Mud Slide ceramic and bare fingers to get the tone.
OR... Send me money and I'll tell you the real secret tricks.
 
_________________
MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Jim Bates
From:
Alvin, Texas, USA
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 6:39 pm
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I use the 'Keb Mo' slide from Dunlop. Edges are rounded and hold it like regular bar. Use to use the old Chase tapered steel, lightweight and low sustain plus cuts the bass frequency. Both are good
but different in sound.
Thanx,
Jim |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 4 Jul 2009 5:44 am
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Good stuff. Some good suggestions here. I also saw some interesting ceramic slides from Rocky Mountain Slides---
 
I'm deliberating and investigating further. |
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