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Topic: Playing steel with a flat bar? |
Joshua Clements
From:
Tifton, Georgia.
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Posted 5 Sep 2020 10:51 am |
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I saw this video of Loretta Lynn recently. In the first few seconds of the song, it looks like the steel player is using a flat bar, but I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm the player and if he was using a flat bar?
Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_wwP8UZR1o&feature=youtu.be |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 5 Sep 2020 5:08 pm
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| I believe that's a young Don Helms on steel and he did use a Dobro style bar but he also used a regular bar. I spoke with him years ago at a show and bought his book. And i got to sit behind his famous Gibson steel he used with Hank Williams sr. What a great friendly man and willing to talk for as as long as you wanted. |
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Larry Baker
From:
Columbia, Mo. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Sep 2020 8:09 am
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It’s definitely Don Helms
_________________
Mullen G2 SD10 3 & 5 The Eagle
NV112 amp===Earnie Ball V.P. |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 6 Sep 2020 10:05 am
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Kayton Roberts also used a flat reso type bar
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6YkKJaCmQ-c
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 6 Sep 2020 10:51 am
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I don't think it's that unusual to see electric steel players, especially without pedals, use a reso-style bar sometimes. Some use them all the time - e.g., Robert Randolph, who has two of his own design built and marketed by Shubb. I've seen others use them, can't remember exactly who right at the moment.
When I play a style that calls for a lot of bar on-and-off the strings and/or bar slams, I sometimes use a Shubb SP-1, which is a reso-style bar with a cutaway but a semi-bullet-tip on one end. I suspect it was designed for electric players who wanted to be able to smoothly move the nose forward and backward, but also be able to flip it around for more reso-style fast hammer-ons and pull-offs. It's also 3.37" (almost 3-3/8") long, similar to most pedal steel bars. In the last several years, they moved from chrome-plated metal (not stainless apparently) to solid stainless steel. I think it works just fine, provided I don't use stainless strings - screech of stainless on stainless. I almost always use my BJS or Zirc bars on pedal steel though. |
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Posted 6 Sep 2020 12:27 pm
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The Revivalists steelist plays with a Stevens style bar and all kinds of nontraditional techniques beyond hammers and pulls, but i can't find those vids, in this one you can at least see he's pushing the bar down pretty hard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH4Jx8VVQfM&t=6m35s
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- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew |
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