Lap Steel Slide Recommendation

Corbin Pratt · From: KY

Hey Everyone,

I've been playing pedal steel for 7 years or so now and recently just purchased an Asher lap steel. Do you just use your tone bar for the lap steel or do you use a lap steel specific slide? If you do use a specific slide, any recommendations?

Thanks!
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I prefer a smaller bar for lap steel, both length and diameter.
I have a smaller BJS bar that I really like. Very Happy

Erv

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

Everybody's got their favorites. I used a Shubb SP-1 bar for years, lap steel and resonator, grooved on the sides with one end cut off like a traditional stevens dobro bar (hammer-ons and pull-offs) and the other end rounded like a bullet bar. Swap ends as needed. More recently I'm using a really heavy RR-2 (Robert Randolph) bar that weighs 7 oz. and sometimes I'll use it for pedal steel, too.

Miles Lang · From: Venturaloha

Iâ€™m very fond of my Ezzee Slide bars
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Fred · From: Amesbury, MA

The Jerry Byrd recommend bar is 3/4 x 2 3/4" with an indentation in the back. The smaller and lighter bar is easier to pick up and use just the tip as well as just move around more. Things that are all important to non-pedal playing.

The indentation in the back is for your thumb to push out the bar for reverse slants. The shorter length helps here too. If you have bigger hands or more than eight strings a longer bar may be more comfortable but try the 3/4" diameter.

I just got a couple of Michael Hilmanâ€™s powder coated bars. 3/4 x 2 7/8" for lap and 7/8 x 3" for pedal. The 7/8" x 3" is a little shorter than Iâ€™ve used in the past but it fits my hand better. These bars stick to your hand but not to the strings. I wish I had tried powder coated bars for lap steel a long time ago.

Fred

Michael Stephens · From: South Hadley, MA

I love Todd Clinesmith's bars.

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

Iike Ezzee Slide, Beard Wave or the Dunlop Lap Dog.
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Gene Tani · From: Pac NW

I have a couple smaller than 3 3/8 bullet bars i like for lap steel, a Latch Lake and a Clinesmith, 3" and a tad unde 7/8 diameter (I can't find the Latch lake right now but I think it's shorter than 3"), they definitely make left pointing slants easier, I've been shooting for this maneuver as demo'd by Raphael McGregor (tho i think it's actually harder to pick up a smaller diameter bar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxrrAy1vbYQ&t=95s

Best is to search for somebody local to you that would let you try smaller bars for 20 minutes to see how it fits, buying to try gets expensive fast
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Brooks Montgomery · From: Idaho, USA

I've got an Asher too (really fun guitar). I prefer to use my dobro bar which is a Scheerhorn chrome model. I use bullet-type bars on my 8 and 10 string steels.
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

On lap steel, I really prefer a tapered bar.
More comfortable for the wrist. Very Happy

Erv

Nic Neufeld · From: Kansas City, Missouri

Ask 10 steelers get 10 answers...but I would say a bullet bar is best (depending on genre), and if you're going from 10 string pedal to either 6 string or 8 string, you probably want a smaller, bullet-nosed bar (like said above, with an indent in the back to allow for ease of reverse slant). I really love the EzzeeSlide polymer bar, too. Got two of them, in different sizes.

I feel like the common two camps divide a bit though...people in the Hawaiian/country/jazz camps (I know, fairly disparate genres) often use bullet bars because of the chordal options...split bar slants, etc. People in the bluegrass, rock, and blues genres often use other types of bars, less standardized. Just my very broad, possibly wrong observation...
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John Viterito · From: New Jersey, USA

I, also, use an RR2 steel. Heavy and long like a bullet pedal steel bar, with the finger groove comfort of a Stevens bar. I do a lot of bar blocking on lap steel, and the ability to pick up the bar quickly to block is absolutely essential. Also, I find the tuning you play can dictate the bar used. I (try to) play in open D, so the floppiness of the 6 string requires a heavy bar.
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier · From: Quebec, Canada

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