Hound Dawg bar on the C6 neck?

Jeffrey Beers · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hi - Another beginner question: I’m just starting to mess around with the C6 neck. So, I was stinking my way along behind a “slow country” playlist and noticed that I have an intuitiveness (if that’s a word) to want to hammer on and pull off the C6 neck like playing a squareneck reso.

And, that had me reaching into the reso case for a Hound Dawg tone bar.

BTW - I play a squareneck and regular guitars. The way I ended up getting a pedal steel is that I was looking at lap steels…then 8 string laps and then benders for that ….and so on. So, I thought I would just skip years of upgrading I bought a used D10. I bought this thing to enjoy it.

So, to the point.. Do any of you guys who can actually play mess around fusing swamp sounds with C6 chords and phrases. Do any of you use a resonator bar, if only occasionally.

Just a sanity check…….
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2004 D10 GFI Ultra

Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

Short answer is no. After a lot of years on Dobro and a few on pedal steel, I started using bullet bars on everything.

Jeffrey Beers · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hi Ken. Thanks for the reply.

I don’t know what I’ll end up doing.
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2004 D10 GFI Ultra

Scott Denniston · From: Hahns Peak, Colorado, USA

Actually I think it might be illegal in some states. You can probably get away with it though if you like it. I've seen guys do a pretty good job with lots of stuff. Ebows, beer bottles, a glass etc.. With lots of practice you'll probably get good at lifting a bullet bar for hammer-ons though.

Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

Obviously, aside from offending the thought police, you can do whatever the heck you like. My experience was that once I got used to the round bar, there really wasn’t a significant advantage to the contoured ones. I use a 7/8” bar or bigger on pedal steel and a 3/4” bar for 6 string resonator. I ain’t no Jerry D, but I can bounce that sucker relatively quickly.

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

I know you're not supposed to do it, but sometimes that big, heavy Robert Randolph RR-2 tone bar sneaks into my left hand instead of the round bar.
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GFI Expo S-10PE, Sho-Bud 6139, Fender 2x8 Stringmaster, Supro consoles, Dobro. And more.

Jeffrey Beers · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Alright, I’m on board with exclusive use of the bullet on the C6 neck. I worked out alternating between both this morning for a hour so:

It’s the tone, huh. There’s no comparison.

Plus, mentioning it ……. What? Just a daggon minute there Newbie…..
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2004 D10 GFI Ultra

Jeffrey Beers · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Alright, I’m on board with exclusive use of the bullet on the C6 neck. I worked out alternating between both this morning for a hour so:

It’s the tone, huh. There’s no comparison.

Plus, mentioning it ……. What? Just a daggon minute there Newbie…..
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2004 D10 GFI Ultra

Scott Denniston · From: Hahns Peak, Colorado, USA

Also I've always used a hallowed out bullet bar on C6. I guess I started that because all the real steel players I knew used that. Light & easy to tip up and move around swiftly for single note scaleular stuff. The tone is a bit different but not in a bad way. Disclaimer: I'm still finding my way around the C6 neck.

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

The meeting of the Ex Dobro Players Now Playing Pedal Steel support group is now in session, the honorable Ken Pippus is presiding.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

I'm hardly qualified for this responsibility. Where's Howard when you need him?

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

Dear Jeffery - Before I could play a pedal steel, I used to play a dobro. My name is Stephen Richard Alderson. This is my story.

Yes, as you have discovered the heavier bar makes a richer and more pleasing tone than the light weight dobro steel. I think all of us who have made the switch figured this out just by listening exactly as you have. The lighter bar gives a less pleasurable listening experience and soon gets discarded. Not because its in the rule books or anything, but because our ears all seem to tell us the same thing: the bigger bar sounds better. I still keep the old dobro bar in my strings compartment, it could be used in an emergency and it would cover 8 out of the 10 strings, although the edges at the end of the bar tend to get in the way, or get caught with the strings being so close together compared to the six string resonator.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

Jeffrey Beers · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Thanks all. My whole notion of the tapered bar came from one of the 6000 instructional videos I’ve been digesting ove4 the last few months.

I think it was Paul Franklin (or maybe Joe Wright) who mentioned that his first teacher had him use a tapered bar so that he would get into the habit of lifting up on the bar when he was moving it.

I’m pretty sure it was Paul Franklin because the Joe Wright seminar I watched focused on the right hand. Mr. Wrights seminar was one of the most fundamentally educational two hours I’ve spent relative the the pedal steel.

Thanks for chiming in. I’ll try to do a better job of researching stuff before asking dumb questions.
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2004 D10 GFI Ultra

Bob Watson · From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S.

I once asked the one and only Jimmie Crawford what kind of bar he used when he played Dobro and he picked up the bullet bar that he used on pedal steel and twirled it in his hand and smiled. He said he used a bullet bar on everything, and he was the King of hammer ons and pull offs on the C6 neck.

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