Yeah, I know what you mean Rick. It's too bad the zirconium bars are extinct from manufacture. I keep trying to steal LT Zinn's, but he watches me close when I handle it
Bill, There's a fellow named Leo that's supposed to be getting set up to do a run of Zirc bars. There' was a thread here in Pedal Steels http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... light=zirc
I got on the list to get one, last I heard Leo was recovering from a stay in the hospital. It's about time to give it a bump and see if anyone has heard anything.
Just a short note to say thank you to everyone for your trust; and your orders. I’m glad people are enjoying the design and how they perform on various instruments. I’ve played the same Tribo-Tone bar daily for 8 years and it’s nowhere near wearing out. If you take care of them they should last as long as you.
NEWS: I’ve injured my back and must keep this short (I’ll recover). 7/8 is coming along well. My goal is to have a 7/8 “D” and “E” weight bar available in both black and white by late October.
Stevens style bars… I’d love to build one and hope to do so sometime in the future.
Thanks for all the feedback and e-mails. Back (pun intended) when I'm feeling a bit better.
Dan: I'm not sure about string the noise. I saw LT Zinn use his (Zirc) at a steel show and didn't notice any string noise. That may not be a fair observation though, Mr. Zinn is in a class all his own. I'm definitely trying the Tribo-Tone when the 7\8 comes out. It was noticable on Fred's YouTube demo that the Tribo-Tone's had much less string noise.
Didn't you say your bar weighs about 3.2oz or so... something like that?
Just a reminder- I build a "M" style Manoloff bar (95 grams/3.4oz $39.95) and the several folks who've bought one really like it. Same Tribo design. There's a picture of one on the website.
OK... but I certainly am a music consumer. There are no Eric Ebner CD's or videos to speak of I'm also an acoustic steel player and enjoy performers like Bob Brozman, Fred Kinbom's stuff, Tom Doughty, Sol & Sam, and the acoustic set Basil posted of JB and Marty Robbins. Let's say most anything Hawaiian.
Simply stated you play stuff I really enjoy and just started listening after I got high speed about 2 months ago. A whole new world of music has opened up since then. Bandwidth HULAS! Take care.
New images have been posted. The last images were really kind of crappy;-) There's also a new GALLERY link in the right column. 7/8 just around the corner
Mark White wrote:Alan: What about it don't\do you like? I have one on the way.
It's the smallest tone bar I've ever used, and it keeps slipping out of my hands. On pedal steel or lap steel it shows no advantage over a regular steel bar. I have noticed that on Dobro it does quieten down some of the string noise, but I find the Shubb-Pearse bar a much better shape to hold.
It's the smallest tone bar I've ever used, and it keeps slipping out of my hands.
By all accounts it should be the easiest tone bar to hold... If you would like to exchange it for a larger bar 7/8 is coming soon. Money back if not happy with your current purchase. You would be the first to ever take me up on this.
Equipment is a very personal choice and I would never want you to think you are "stuck" with something that does not bring you any joy
I have played pedal steel for more than 30 yrs and never gave a moments notice to bar noise until I started playing dobro 2 yrs ago. The dobro is so much noisier, and I would love to try a delrin dobro bar if you made one. You've said you want to try to make a dobro style bar that can do pulloffs. Bring it on!
Eric Ebner wrote:... If you would like to exchange it for a larger bar 7/8 is coming soon. Money back if not happy with your current purchase. You would be the first to ever take me up on this.
Thanks Eb. I like the material. Let me know when the 7/8" becomes available and I'll buy one of those too. Returning the original is a good offer but that just makes the Post Office happy ! I have a large number of instruments and I haven't tried it on all of them yet.
One thing that I find curious... in the instructions it says that the bar wears in with age, and I don't understand how that could happen with a synthetic, solid material.
Do you have any plans to introduce a bar shaped like a regular Dobro bar at some stage in the future ?
There is an FAQ on my website that answers the "break in" period question http://www.tribotone.com/faq.html I've played these bars for 8 years and found this to be true. Other players have verified this as well including the manufacturer of the plastics we use. Tribology is a very interesting branch of science. www.stle.org
A Tribo style Dobro bar has been designed but the 7/8" diameter tone bars are next, followed by bottlenecks, then by the Stevens style bar. It will be similar in size and shape to the Lap Dawg type steel.
Let me know how it goes with your new bar. E-mail me at anytime.
I'm also an acoustic steel player and enjoy performers like Bob Brozman, Fred Kinbom's stuff, Tom Doughty, Sol & Sam, and the acoustic set Basil posted of JB and Marty Robbins. Let's say most anything Hawaiian. 
Thanks for the update.