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Topic: Where did "TONE BAR" come from ??? |
Eddie Cunningham
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 20 Aug 2014 5:31 pm |
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| I always just called it a "bar" and everyone knew what I meant !! The bar has nothing to do with the "tone" of a steel !! Why not a "slide note adjustment device" ?? Or a "pitch modulator" Or maybe "large heavy movable fret" !!?? I guess I'm just an olde fool who liked things simple like they used to be in 1940 !! olde geeze AKA olde fool AKA Eddie "C" |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 20 Aug 2014 6:58 pm
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Can't say I agree about the bar having nothing to do with the tone. Try taking a good BJS bullet bar and compare it to a Stevens bar.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 20 Aug 2014 9:21 pm From way back when...............
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During the days prior to 'lead drummers' and pants down about half way to the knee's............
we ALWAYS referred to them as 'THE STEEL'; "STEEL" guitar, eh?
Hang in there olde Geezer....... there are more of us out here that believe as you do than you might imagine.
Lot's of us can recall Speedy West's "Steel Strike",
"Stainless Steel", Juaquin Murphy's "Steel Guitar Jubulilee", by someone (?)...."Draggin' the Steel", and no mention of tone bar. |
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Rick Schacter
From:
Portland, Or.
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Posted 20 Aug 2014 9:38 pm
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| Richard Sinkler wrote: |
Try taking a good BJS bullet bar and compare it to a Stevens bar. |
Or a zirc bar for that matter.
The zirc bar has a darker tone than a BJS bar.
Both are great bars though. |
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Daniel McKee
From:
Corinth Mississippi
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Posted 20 Aug 2014 11:48 pm
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| Interesting topic Eddie. I have heard it called the steel as Ray said and I have heard many people call it a bar and of course most seem to refer to it as tone bar. I refer to them as tone bar but only because that's what I heard a lot of people call it when I first started getting into playing. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 21 Aug 2014 4:41 am
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"Tone - a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch..."
The bar is used to change the pitch of strings, hence the name "tone bar". |
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Rick Schacter
From:
Portland, Or.
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Posted 21 Aug 2014 10:15 am
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When it's all said and done, who gives a damn what it's called.
Just make sure to guide it into pitch. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 21 Aug 2014 11:09 am
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I agree with Ray. When I'm talking I always just refer to it as a "steel". I think that, this being the Steel Guitar Forum, people specify "tone bar" because "steel" can mean the instrument, the way of playing, and many more things. For instance, we say "who's playing steel?" which has nothing to do with the bar. Also, the average non-musician thinks of a steel guitar as being either a regular guitar with steel strings (as opposed to nylon-strung) or a guitar played bottleneck style. Bottleneck players don't usually use a bar, so we use that word. But we're often playing in bars, and the audience often thinks of a bar as being a division in music between phrases, so we specify "tone bar", which can only have one meaning. (I think).  |
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Rick Schacter
From:
Portland, Or.
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Posted 21 Aug 2014 11:45 am
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| Alan Brookes wrote: |
Bottleneck players don't usually use a bar, so we use that word. ). |
What is it called if the player uses a socket wrench attachment like Lowell George use to do? Or a ham bone? Or a Coricidin bottle which isn't a bottle neck, but worked great for Duane Allman? |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 21 Aug 2014 12:11 pm
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Slide guitar.
(I wish I had a dollar for every time someone referred to my PSG as "that slide guitar".)
I agree with Lee's theory about the meaning of "tone bar". |
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Jamie Mitchell
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 31 Aug 2014 8:11 pm Re: Where did
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| Eddie Cunningham wrote: |
| I always just called it a "bar" and everyone knew what I meant !! The bar has nothing to do with the "tone" of a steel !! Why not a "slide note adjustment device" ?? Or a "pitch modulator" Or maybe "large heavy movable fret" !!?? I guess I'm just an olde fool who liked things simple like they used to be in 1940 !! olde geeze AKA olde fool AKA Eddie "C" |
yes, why not just call it a "slide note adjustment device" or a "large heavy movable (sp) fret". That seems much simpler. |
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Curtis G. Greene
From:
Eure, North Carolina
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 4:04 pm
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| The tone is in how the hand is used more than the kind of bar you are using, |
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