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Author
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Topic: Tone Bar Questions
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Gary Jones
Member From: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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posted 11 November 2002 09:24 PM
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I am just coming back to playing steel guitar, after having quit in 1989. I see a lot of products out there for steel that I am unfamiliar with.Could anyone tell me about the relative merits of different tone bars,such as the Black Phoenix, the Red Rajah, and BJS.
I have read a lot on this forum about the Zirconia bars, but they do not seem to be available. What makes that bar so desirable ?
I used to work for the Ernie Ball company, so I used their bars (which were made by Jim Dunlop) for many years. I also used a Dunlop Sitar Bar, for a heavy bar.
I know better than to ask a highly opinionated group of people which product is the "best", but it would be helpful to know which products are good, and which ones to avoid.[This message was edited by Gary Jones on 11 November 2002 at 09:26 PM.] |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 12 November 2002 02:52 AM
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Get the BJS, it gives you the cleanest, loudest sound, with the best sustain. The others you mentioned are more "gimmick" than anything (IMHO)....buy them if you want a softer sound and less sustain (maybe for Hawaiian music). You'll find a very small percentage of players that swear by the Rajahs for general use. The zirconia bars are still impractical due to their cost and availablity, and probably not worth the time and money it would take to get one. [This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 12 November 2002 at 03:01 AM.] |
Ron Randall
Member From: Dallas, Texas, USA
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posted 12 November 2002 07:10 AM
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I have tried the Red Rajah bar. It has its merits. It is quiet on the strings. The 7/8 diameter bar I have is hollow, therefore lighter, which is nice for fast work on non pedal.Acoustic steel is a very good application for Red Rajah. Light, fast, quiet. For electric steel guitars, the polished stainless steel bars, have the sustain and tone that I like. Hope this helps the thread. ------------------
Fender Stringmaster T-8
Fender Custom D-8
8 string Benoit
Peavey Amps |
Mike Perlowin
Member From: Los Angeles CA
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posted 12 November 2002 02:48 PM
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I agree that you can't go wrong with a BJS bar. It is a great bar, but it is not the only high quality bar on the market. IMHO the John Pearse frozen bar is every bit as good. Possibly even better.Recently I took the BJS, Pearse, Zirconia and Red Rajah bars to a gig and alternated between them all and compared them. The zirconia bar produced a cleaner tone with each note being more clearly articulated. It also felt better than the other bars. But the tone when I used the Pearse bar was noticably lounder and brighter than that produced by either the zirconia bar of the BJS. The Red Rajah came in last. I felt it sounded muted when compared to the others.
This is of course purely my subjective opinion and is not meant to be taken as any sort of definitive answer. ------------------
Death to all guitar players who hog all the fills and rides.
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Bob Knight
Member From: Bowling Green KY
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posted 12 November 2002 02:55 PM
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Mike, I agree. The John Pearse Cryogenic bar is unequaled as far as I'm concerned. The service from JP is also great. www.jpstrings.com I have owned most brands of tone bars that are available, and I prefer JP. Bob [This message was edited by Bob Knight on 12 November 2002 at 02:58 PM.]
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Jerry Overstreet
Member From: Louisville Ky
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posted 12 November 2002 03:47 PM
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Hey Gary, don't overlook the George L's tone bar...You won't ding these up....
they are hard, slick,consistent, have good heavy weight and although not cheap, they are less expensive that some of the others mentioned... some of which I also own..... but prefer the Geo.L to all of them. JMHO
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Whip Lashaway
Member From: Sherwood, Ohio, USA
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posted 13 November 2002 07:59 AM
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I have a zirconia and it is great, but since you can't get one anymore!!!! I also have a BJS. I can tell you that this is a great bar and the company will stand behind it's product 110%. I actually had a problem with the bar begining to "flake". One, repeat one, call and a new one was in the mail to me that same day with a postage paid sticker to return the old one. Apparently they had gotten a bad shipment or something. That was about 10 years ago and it's still as good as the day I got it.
I trade off between the BJS and the Zirconia depending on what I'm playing. If I want a brighter sound or I'm using heavy effects, distortion, fuzz, overdrive, etc.., I use the BJS. I use the Zirconia for everything else.
Whip------------------
Whip Lashaway
Sierra E9/B6 12 string
Sierra E9/B6 14 string
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Rex Thomas
Member From: Thompson's Station, TN
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posted 13 November 2002 08:58 AM
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I too have a George L's bar & like it a lot. But here's my favorite: http://www.bulletbars.com/ [This message was edited by Rex Thomas on 17 November 2002 at 01:10 PM.] |
Jim Burden
Member From: Georgetown,Indiana,U.S.A.
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posted 14 November 2002 06:49 PM
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Rex;Thank you for the vote of confidence.I am trying to keep my bars a secret,cause I am covered up with orders most of the time.They are just micro grain stainless but I think they are worth every penny.Jim Burden Bullet Bars |
Karlis Abolins
Member From: Burien, WA, USA
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posted 16 November 2002 11:19 AM
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Has anyone ever tried lignum vitae? There are times when I want an "acoustic" sound and have experimented with wood. Wood is soft and wears easilly. Years ago, a buddy brought a block of lignum vitae home from the shipyard. They use it for bearings on large shafts. The wood is extremely hard and is self lubricating.Karlis |
Joey Ace
Sysop From: Southern Ontario, Canada
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posted 16 November 2002 11:30 AM
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lignum vitae?
easy for you to say 
http://www.bargizmos.co.uk/bargizmos/item.php/ID-141 It's the National Flower of Jamaica, mon! Who's gonna try one? |
Mike Perlowin
Member From: Los Angeles CA
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posted 16 November 2002 03:30 PM
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quote:
Has anyone ever tried lignum vitae?
Watch it Karlis. This is a family oreinted forum and that kind of talk is not allowed.------------------
Some of the confusion over our instrument is due to the fact that the name has three words. I propose we simplify it down to one word. I suggest TIFKATPSG (The Instrument Formerly Known As The Pedal Steel Guitar.) |
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