It's great!

The Phoenix shares the same "philosophy" as the Red Rajah... it slides effortlessly on the strings while it stays put in your hand. It does not share the same red finish, the Phoenix is glossy BLACK. It also has a harder surface than the Red Rajah (I did A/B it with the Red Rajah and yes it is harder).

I played with it for a few hours last night and was very impressed. It is very smooth on the strings and quite slippery, more so than a metal bar (this may take some getting use to for some). Much of the high pitched squeaks and buzzes you sometimes get with a metal bar were eliminated too.

The black bar also looks very cool against the black fingerboard of my Rick.

Needless to say, I am not affiliated with the Red Rajah company in any way shape or form, I just like their products.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 07 June 2002 at 11:08 AM.]

One of those red ones would look sharp while playing my red Fessenden.

Regards,
HH

[This message was edited by Harry Hess on 12 June 2002 at 03:58 PM.]

I have a Red Rajah that is similar sized to my favorite 10 string PSG bar (I forget the exact dimensions of that one).
By coincidence, it is just about the same color red that my fret markers are on my Sierra.
Other musicians that see it have commented on the perceived "coolness!" of the color match.

I also have a huge 1"x3.5" 14 string PSG bar that I like sometimes...
I got the closest matching Rajah bar which is 15/16" x 3.75". I'm expecting it to arrive this week!

I've been working on alot of wound string stuff lately, and the Rajah bars make a huge difference in reducing string/bar noise compared to standard bars.

I'm a fan of that Tapered bar ... kinda light ... but I packed her with lead (got close to 10 grams extra in there .. then sealed her with silicon).

For those of you who may have experienced a slight "drag" with the Red Rajahs (on NEW wound strings)... You might want to try these ... I think you will be surprised.

I used to play the old Black Rajah's years ago; they were different I'm sure from the current generations - I used to have to keep them polished with very fine wet sanding paper; they were made only of hard plastic at that time and would get dull and abraded. They were still very good at keeping the wound string/bar noise down though.

The sustain doesn't seem as good to me as with either a stainless or chromed bar. To me a lot of sustain is a good thing. The tradeoff is maybe less string/bar noise but with a little less sustain?

Questions for anyone who has one - do you use them on stainless wound or nickel wound strings? Do you know if the stainless wounds are harder on the current Rajah's? How is the sustain of the present Rajah's compared to stainless or chromed bars? Are the Rajah's slippery to your hands, in other words are they hard or easy to hang onto?

I gather that the Phoenix may sustain better than the Reds?

Coefficient of Friction (lowest to highest):

Phoenix ...Red Rajah .... BJS ... Stainless

Tone (mellowest to brightest)

Red Rajah ... Phoenix .... Stainless* ... BJS

(* I had some of Jims bars hard chromed...they are brighter than the plain ones ...)

Sustain (longest to shortest)
*Note: I find that the weight is a greater factor here than the materials involved ... so if I had a hypothetical set of equivalent weighted bars:

Pearse...BJS....Stainless...Phoenix...RR

Ease of Manipulation (hand/string)

Red Rajah ... Phoenix ... chromed ... stainless

*Once again ... special notice must be given to the Burden bars ... The recessed end is far superior to any of the others for REVERSE slant use.

Longevity

The RR and Phoenix obviously are not going to last forever...but Chuck offers a lifetime warrent ... just send it back and he will send you a new one (I've wore one out ... but I play like a madman .... he sent me a fresh one right away ...and included a pair of RR fingerpicks to boot)

Now if I could get Jim Burden to fashion a bar ... get John Pearse to "cryo" it ... then send it to Chuck for a coating of black Phoenix ... I'd be set

I hope this helped .... I tried to answer your questions .... I use plain steel strings and Thomasik nickel FLATWOUNDS on all my Hawaiian Steels (electric and acoustic)

The only way to know if they are right for you is to just go ahead and pick one in your size.

Variety is the spice of life.

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 08 April 2003 at 08:22 PM.]

BAS - looks like I came up a poor 3rd on this list - I only have 7 at last count