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Author
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Topic: Hollow bar
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Kevin Hatton
Member From: Amherst, N.Y.
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posted 15 February 2005 06:57 PM
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How many of you have used or have used a hollow bar? What were the advantages/disadvantegs? |
Bill Ford
Member From: Graniteville SC Aiken
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posted 15 February 2005 07:14 PM
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Lighter, no tone difference that I could tell/hear. I like a heaver bar.Bill |
Travis Bernhardt
Member From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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posted 15 February 2005 07:36 PM
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I think Ray Montee uses one.-Travis P.S. Similar to, but not quite the same as a hollow bar, I've used a glass "bottleneck" slide before. Obviously, the sustain is an apples and oranges thing, but I think it might be fair to compare the weight and feel. The glass slide felt really "fast," and was much easier to move around and lift off the strings (it's also wider than a pedal steel bar, making it easier to grip).[This message was edited by Travis Bernhardt on 15 February 2005 at 11:16 PM.] |
Jennings Ward
Member From: Edgewater, Florida, USA
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posted 15 February 2005 07:55 PM
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I WANT A LEFT HANDED ONE...........JENNINGS------------------
EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +
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Don Poland
Member From: Littlestown, PA.
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posted 15 February 2005 08:45 PM
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Jennings, Turn that thing around and git over on the other side of that geetar!!!!
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Farris Currie
Member From: Ona, Florida, USA
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posted 16 February 2005 03:35 AM
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I have used a wrist pen out of a piston,they are heat treated ect.worked and sounded great, just no rounded nose
farris |
Richard Nydegger
Member From: Monticello, Indiana, USA
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posted 16 February 2005 04:30 AM
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I started with a spark plug socket. |
David Mason
Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA
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posted 16 February 2005 04:31 AM
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I just can't get the speed and sting I want to with a bar over about 6 ounces. I've been fooling with this a while, and as far as I can tell there's a direct tradeoff between weight and speed and sustain (yes I KNOW the story about "Jerry Byrd and the Little Bar", if he had used a Dunlop log he'd still be sustaining). I'm more after classical violin and sitar licks than weepy slow stuff right now. I have enough knobs and boxes to deal with the tone and sustain issues, but if the bar won't get there, the lick can't be played.I would love to find a large diameter (1 1/4") hollow steel bar with a rounded nose and thin walls, so that the total weight was about 6 ounces. I am using a hollow 7/8" X 3" bar I got from Roy Ayres here (5.5 oz), and a 3/4" X 3 3/8" Burden Bullet bar (6.20 oz), but my main bars are ones I make myself out of either 1 1/4" or 1 3/8" acrylic rods from Industrial Plastic Supply, Inc. http://www.indplastic.com/
There's a company in England making nice solid glass bars that end up in the 6 ounce range: www.diamondbottlenecks.com
What hollow bars were you looking at? |
Bill Moore
Member From: Manchester, Michigan
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posted 16 February 2005 06:07 AM
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The thing most affected by drilling out a bar is the balance. I have 2 that that were drilled, then I added some lead into the holes. I just put in some small pieces and packed them down by hammering a bolt into the hole. The bars ended up being slightly heavy toward the front end. I think this front balance feels better to me. Solid bars just don't seem as comfortable to me, altough I do used some once in a while. |
Robert Thomas
Member From: Mehama, Oregon, USA
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posted 16 February 2005 07:37 AM
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I had Dan Borden make me a 7/8" bar and bore it out. He filled it with epoxy and the bar weighs in at about 6-1/2 ounces, just like I wanted. I can lift and place it anyplace very quickly and it does not cause strain on my wrist, which was starting to become a problem. I have been using it for several years now and I wouldn't consider any other bar.It still looks like the day I got it. Thanks Mr. Borden. |
Al Marcus
Member From: Cedar Springs,MI USA
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posted 16 February 2005 11:36 AM
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I got a thinwalled Hollow bar from Reece back about 30 years ago.It is lightweight, very fast, smooth and pretty good tone. I liked it. It is the only one I used for years. But I have a 12 string heavy bar and a BJS 10 string 15/16 and they are very smooth, and the tone and sustain is much better. Although I found for this old guy, more tiring to move around for 4 hours on the job than my Hollow one.
But they are hard to pick up if you want to do the Bar crashes, and slap the bar down etc, like we did in the old Speedy West Days....al  ------------------
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/ [This message was edited by Al Marcus on 16 February 2005 at 11:38 AM.] [This message was edited by Al Marcus on 16 February 2005 at 02:17 PM.]
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George Rozak
Member From: Braidwood, Illinois USA
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posted 16 February 2005 03:00 PM
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I still use an old ZB hollowed out bar that I bought about 35 years ago. Do to some nerve damage, I no longer have complete use of my left hand, so the lighter weight works for me.George ------------------
Sho-Bud: Professional & Fingertip |
Dave Grafe
Member From: Portland, Oregon, USA
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posted 17 February 2005 08:30 AM
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I still have a pair of early Ernie Ball bars, both drilled out, each a different weight, but as the logos fell off years ago I have no idea what the weights are. I have used the heavier one since, well, a long time ago....I have used several solid bars as well and while I like the slightly lighter weight of the hollow ones, what seems to really matter is the polish on 'em. Anyway, it's mostly always the fingers of my RIGHT hand that are responsible for all those clunkers gettin' away from me and nothing to do with whatever bar I'm using. [This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 17 February 2005 at 08:33 AM.] |
Jennings Ward
Member From: Edgewater, Florida, USA
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posted 17 February 2005 12:19 PM
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FERRIS, GO OUT IN YOUR SHOP AND MAKE ME A BAR 15/16 X 3 3/4 " ..... BUT THE BULL NOSE ON THE OUTHER END SO I CAN PLAY LEFT HANDED..... TURNING A STANDARD BAR ARROUND AND SITTING ON THE OUTHER SIDE DONT WORK,. THAT IS WHERE MY JACK RUSSELL SITS AND OLAY THE BANGER AND SINGS A BOY NAMED SUE....FERRIS PLEASE HELP ME......AM GETTING A 4 X 8 FENDER PRETTY SOON I THINK.. MORE LATER.......EAT MORE POSSUM......JENNINGS------------------
EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +
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db
Member From: Bethlehem, PA 18015 USA
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posted 20 February 2005 03:22 AM
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I go to the tool section a Sears and find a whole rack of them, in many different sizes.
I like the one that is labeled: 3/4" Deep-Well 3/8" Drive.
Sometimes I "go metric": 19mm Deep-Well 3/8" Drive.
If you want a "step-up", you can go with: 1/2" Drive.
And if you're adventurous, you can go: "12-point" !------------------
Dan Balde
U-12/8&5, S-7/D 3&1, S-6/E,A & G3
[This message was edited by db on 20 February 2005 at 03:39 AM.] |
John Daugherty
Member From: Rolla, Missouri, USA
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posted 20 February 2005 06:36 AM
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Jennings, if you had specified that the 4x8 fender be the LEFT front fender from the same car where Ferris got his wristpin, you would be in business. Assuming that the wristpin is from the #1 cylinder of a V8 (left side). |
Roger Edgington
Member From: San Antonio, Texas USA
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posted 20 February 2005 07:20 AM
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Jennings, Maybe you need a twister bar. It's pointed on both ends. |
Carlos Polidura
Member From: Brooklyn, New York, USA
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posted 20 February 2005 07:42 AM
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try a spoon. i've done it before.
very neat. |
Jennings Ward
Member From: Edgewater, Florida, USA
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posted 20 February 2005 09:03 AM
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DONT KNOW WHICH FENDER IT IS,,,SAY IT IS HEAVY, MAYBE FROM A 37 FORD COUPE.ANY ONE REMEMBER THOSE???? CANT USE THE SPOON,, WIFE STIRS MY POSSUM DUMPLINS WITH IT... FERRIS, DO U STILL HAVE THAT 38 LA SALLE HUBCAP? NEED TO MAKE A DO B JO. I'LL PLAY IT WITH A LEFT HANDED LONG NECKER.....TOOL DEPT AT SEARS DONT LIKE ME,, I BREAK TOO MANY,,,,WELL GOTTA GO,,,MAMA SAYS CORNBREAD AND PINTO;S AND POSSUM IS DONE...READY TO EAT.... LATER FELLOWS,,,,,JENNINGS....OR SHOULD I SAY A WHILE AGO,????? JW------------------
EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +
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Lyle Clary
Member From: Decatur, Illinois, USA
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posted 20 February 2005 11:42 AM
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I broke my wrist about 15 years ago and had a cast up to my fingers up past the palm of my left hand. I stuck a pencil between the hand and cast and slipped a hollow bar onto it and played a gig. Needless to say I could not hold a solid bar.------------------
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Bud Harger
Member From: Temple / Belton, Texas
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posted 21 February 2005 07:53 AM
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To David Mason:David, you're on the right track. I play (not all the time) a 1-3/8" bar made for me by an engineer friend. It is hollowed out to thin walls all the way to, but not through, the nose end. The back side is plugged (for balance). It has 7/8" radius front edges and a flat nose to minimize front-end weight. That's the key to perfect balance and avoid the bar being nose-heavy. It weighs exactly the same as a 7/8" standard bar. It is a tone-maker deluxe! Sustain is awesome! The cost of this bar would be prohibitive to reproduce. So, if you have a friend that can make you one, I'll send you a picture of it. bUd |
David Mason
Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA
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posted 21 February 2005 10:15 AM
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I made a lot of acrylic bars to try different contours, and ended up with a semi-flat nose as you describe - about a 3/8" contour all around. After all, a 3/8" contour on a 3/4" bar would be a hemisphere, no? I tried making full hemispheres on the fat bars, and the nose got too long - the soloing playing surface wasn't right under your fingertip, and it didn't cut notes off cleanly when you pulled back. They were good for the Dave Easley "pencil-hold" technique, but that's almost too wierd for even me. I've contacted Ian at Diamond Bottlenecks to see about a new improved glass bar, it looks like they have some new shapes. I lust for your bar. |
db
Member From: Bethlehem, PA 18015 USA
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posted 21 February 2005 07:08 PM
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Excuse me for getting "off-topic". . .
(I know this is not related)
But, has anyone found something "off-the-shelf" that works as a "Sitar-Bar"?
Maybe I should open this question as another thread.
Thanks,
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Dan Balde
U-12/8&5, S-7/D 3&1, S-6/E,A & G3
[This message was edited by db on 21 February 2005 at 07:10 PM.] |
Bill Ford
Member From: Graniteville SC Aiken
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posted 22 February 2005 05:02 PM
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db,
If you have a bar that you never, or seldom use, you could take it to a machine shop, and have them grind a flat on it. Worked for me. If memory serves correctlt, it were about 1/4" flat.BF |
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