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Topic: Struggling with using a Bullet tone bar |
David DeLoach
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 3:51 am |
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I've played square neck resonator for a long time and have always used the grooved tone bars. With my recent purchase of a Stingmaster, I'm determined to master the bullet tone bar, but man I'm struggling. I can work it fine - until I have to pick it up so that the nose is on a single string and the end closest to me is up in the air. Seems I have no grip on it and I have to make a significant change in how I hold it for single note runs vs. full bar. My transitions between single notes and full bar is anything but fast, smooth, & elegant. I know I could get a grooved tone bar with a rounded tip (like the Shubb SP1) but I'm determined to figure this bullet out as I eventually want to get & learn pedal steel.
I've tried 3 different sized bars, but none of them have been the magic bullet (pun intended). So far I prefer the 3/4 x 3-1/4"
7/8" x 3-1/4"
3/4" x 2-15/16"
3/4" x 3-1/4"
Any advice or recommended videos to watch would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Dave |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 4:57 am
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And when you go to Pedal steel, the bar technique changes. You don't lift the bar and move to a different fret position. You mute with the right hand and slide the bar to the new fret position.
I always used a round bar when I started on lap steel so that part of the transition to pedal was not a problem. Little Roy Wiggins (my inspiration to play steel) used a round bar.
The only thing I can tell you is practice, practice, practice. |
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Peter den Hartogh
From:
Cape Town, South Africa
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 5:21 am
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I use a standard bullet nose PSG bar.
Between your thumb and index finger, where they meet your hand, there is a kind of "web" skin. I tuck the back of my bar into that space to hold it firmly. It allows me to lift the back of the bar without effort, so I can play with the tip of the bar on the strings for single notes. My thumb and my middle finger hold the tip of the bar while the index finger rests on top. If your hands are big, you need a longer bar. |
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Jouni Karvonen
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 6:54 am
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Pressing down on the tip of the bar pops the back end up off the strings... you can help this by pushing the tip over the top string.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Nathan Laudenbach
From:
Montana
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 7:15 am Holding the bullet bar
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| Jerry Byrd's instruction course provides a great description on how to hold the bullet bar. Basically you have to keep your thumb BACK. If it creeps up more than an inch up the bar, it's too far. Use your middle finger and thumb to move the bar forward and back, your index finger is a pivot point. Most importantly, keep your thumb back. The best way to master this is to practice reverse slants until you are blue in the face. Practicing Hawaiian tunes is a great way to develop really great bullet bar technique. |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Don Sulesky
From:
Citrus County, FL, Orig. from MA & NH
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 9:52 am
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I have a new student that just started this week.
he went right to his dobro bar.
I let him use it only that I was giving mainly the basics of the difference between his lap steel and the pedal.
This will change on his next lesson if he wants to play it right.
_________________
Private one on one lessons available
Member: FSGC, PSGA, TSGA
Co-founder: Florida Steel Guitar Club
"Steel guitar is like playing chess in the dark with three players". Jeff Newman quote from 1997 seminar |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 11:26 am
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The main thing about learning to use a bullet bar is to hang in there and not give up on it. It's a specific skill that you just need to build through repetition and muscle memory. Don't worry about dropping the bar. Steel guitar master Herb Remington dropped his bar on his first gig with Bob Wills band and watched it roll off stage into a crowd of a few thousand dancers. It happens to everyone.
There are some good videos on YouTube. The key thing is to use your ears to make sure you're in tune and take things slowly. Play right over the fret. Here's some additional info on bar control from my book Exploring C6th Lap Steel .....
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..... for most people, what works best is arching your first finger on top of the bar, about 1/2†back from the nose of the bar. Your first finger keeps the bar on pitch and acts as a pivot point for slants. The bar is supported by the joint of the second finger. The thumb is placed well back along the side of the bar and does the lion’s share of the work. To execute a reverse slant, the thumb slides back to the recessed end of the bar and pushes forward and to the right. Forward pressure with the thumb keeps then bar tight against the second finger.
The forward slant begins with the thumb pushing the bar to the left so that the thumb is almost at the end of the bar. The bar is pushed away from your body so your fingers go over the top string being slanted.
The tip of the arched finger helps keep the bar in position. By pulling the arm back toward your body, the bar will straighten out perpendicular to the strings.
For split-string slants, the bar is placed between two strings so the nose of the bar touches the upper and lower of the two strings at the same time while a third string is played one fret lower. Jerry Byrd’s intonation on slants was impossibly perfect. Byrd advocated arching the top finger as essential to proper slant control however, this feels uncomfortable for some players. For those who prefer a rail-type bar or hybrid-type rail-bullet, bar, much of the technique outlined above remains the same but may need to be altered slightly based on the size, curvature and type of nose of those bars. |
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Don Sulesky
From:
Citrus County, FL, Orig. from MA & NH
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 11:34 am
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Andy
So he told you that story as well.
I had lunch with him and Hal Rugg back in the 90's.
I love his A6th playing.
_________________
Private one on one lessons available
Member: FSGC, PSGA, TSGA
Co-founder: Florida Steel Guitar Club
"Steel guitar is like playing chess in the dark with three players". Jeff Newman quote from 1997 seminar |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 12:34 pm
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Its worth considering the amount of grip the thumb has. For most playing, you work on the top strings. So the thumb can be well landed on the lower strings. This gives you the ability to get a little grip on the bar below its centre line as you lift.
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 4:25 pm
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Practice with a bakelite bar for a while. They are easy to grip. Or, try a Tribotone, if you can find one. I really like bakelite, but they are easy to damage. The Tribotone is Delrin, and is so much like bakelite it's a direct replacement in my opinion. Both are easy to grip. They sound truly vintage, also.
I can use a 3/4 chrome bar, in part, because of the practice with the others. But, like was said above, time with the bar will make the most difference.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer |
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David DeLoach
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 4:59 pm
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Wow - thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the good feedback.
What a great forum! |
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John Dahms
From:
Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2016 5:02 pm
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Andy made mention of dropping the bar. Have you ever taken notice that the face of almost every old squareneck National tricone has at least a few small round dents (battle scars) from the steel bar slipping put of the player's hand and pinging off the guitar? The more I thought about it the more I noticed it. It's like a right of passage. It's bound to happen and everybody has done it.
I like Black Raja bars best on electric steel because they are less likely to slip out of my hand but on acoustic styles I think they dampen the highs a little and use a steel or stainless or cryogenicly treated or some other flavor to retain the best range of tone.
_________________
Time flies like an eagle
Fruit flies like a banana. |
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