Bar Slide History

Steven Cummings · From: Texas

I know there are many types of slide apparently beginning with an old railroad spike according to 1 story I've read. Now here's a bar I just picked up from Ebay (see pic). Don't know why exactly but I felt that I needed to try it on for size. Seems I remember my dad telling of dobro fellas using these a lot. I had a bar once that was a bullet nose but the bar was actually tapered and I liked it. Should not have loaned it out, now it's gone. Sad

Can you please shed some light on how this bar was used and on slide history in general. I know a lot of the old timers here will be quite knowledgable and us newbies could stand a history lesson )at least I can. Thanks ya'll and Happy New Year.

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

There are all kinds of early bars. I think the many variations on the one you have (notably "Elton" models) are improvements on even earlier flat bar styles that are derivative of early players who used the spline of a pocket knife. Here's a bunch of those older flat bars.

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

These bars don't provide much sustain do they? And the tone is very shallow as well compared with the modern rounded bars?
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Amor vincit omnia

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

On acoustic slide guitars the tone and sustain is very different. Personally, I found it difficult to play with a lot of bar movement using these flat bars compared to a Sheerhorn or other Stevens derivative bar. I think using one regularly would help develop a different technique for sustain and tone...

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