What slide bar do you use & why?

Mike Davidson · Post by **Mike Davidson** » 23 Oct 2010 7:04 pm

I got a Dunlop 11 oz. bar as my first bar because it said ' for 12 string' which I have. Seems pretty heavy. Just wondering what bar other people use. Weight, brand and why.

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 23 Oct 2010 8:04 pm

I now use a Sacred Steel bar with grooves on it, which I got at the ISGC in St. Louis back in 2003. You could find these bars a few years ago with Carter Steel Guitars. Before the grooved bar, I used a Dunlop bar, I think it was around an inch, but I'm not sure. The reason why I use a grooved bar is mainly because I've got cerebral palsy in my left hand and the Dunlop bar always slid around or fell out of my left hand. The grooved bar slides around a little, but it's a lot easier for me to handle.

Brett

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 23 Oct 2010 8:24 pm

Chuck Back gave me a bar a few years ago that's heavy'r'n hell but I love it...haven't a clue who made it. It's 7/8" X 3 1/2"
Seems like a good fit...for me anyway! $:\$

Not that I'm a creature of habit but Jeff Newman shaped these picks I use in '82 and I still use those...cuz they seem like a "Good Fit"!!

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 23 Oct 2010 11:18 pm

I've got two Dunlops - one big one and one little one. I find the little one easier to handle.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 23 Oct 2010 11:36 pm

I collect bars and have about 50 of them, but the one I use is the Zirconia bar. I like it because it glides so smoothly across the strings. You don't realize how much fiction even the finest stainless steel or chrome plated bars have till you try one of these and suddenly that friction isn't there.

Among the other bars, my favorites are the BJS and Pearse "frozen" bars. I also have and occasionally use a Dunlop sitar bar, the plastic bar that came with the Goodrich Match-bro, and a wooden bar I made from a broom handle, which give a banjo like sound. (Sorry b0b.)

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 24 Oct 2010 3:20 am

I've got 2 Dunlops.
My main one about 8 oz., the other is 5 oz.
Both are stainless steel.
I also use a "Stevens" bar on occasion.
I'm thinking lately of getting a few more bars.
A heavier one, 11-12 oz., and the other a "ceramic".
Always trying new things, glass,wood,plastic, but so far metal is my main preference.
On a 6 string, I use brass, or steel, my preference over glass.
Rick

Ray McCarthy · Post by **Ray McCarthy** » 24 Oct 2010 3:54 am

I'm with Mike P on this one. The zirc bar is incomparable. It's weight (a little lighter than the typical steel bar), and the smooth friction-free action has actually made me a better player. High cost, but it's a one-time buy.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 24 Oct 2010 5:36 am

If you start with a BJS bar it is genrally agreed you have invested wisely. I have two Dunlops, a Carter and a BJS and the BJS is my "go-to" bar whenever I play. I'll get another couple one day. Love 'em!

Mike Davidson · Post by **Mike Davidson** » 24 Oct 2010 6:49 am

Considering I have the heavy Dunlop bar if I wanted to buy a BJS bar what would be a recommendation for size & weight. I realize to each his own but I'm looking for a generically safe recommendation.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 24 Oct 2010 7:12 am

My favorite metal bar is Jim Burden's "Bullet Bar" followed by a John Pierce,lately all I've been using is The Zirconia bar 15"/16" and nothing else feels right to me after that.

Rick Barnhart · Post by **Rick Barnhart** » 24 Oct 2010 7:32 am

Mike, I don't think you can go wrong with a BJS 7/8" bar. Bill Stroud is a fine man to deal with and he stands behind his product.
http://www.bjsbars.com/

Allan Thompson · Post by **Allan Thompson** » 24 Oct 2010 8:50 am

I have two BJS bars, a 7/8 and a 15/16 plus a Tribotone 1inch bar. Lately the only bar I,ve been using is the Tribotone. It is the quietest bar I've ever had and has a slightly more mellow tone.

John Groover McDuffie · Post by **John Groover McDuffie** » 24 Oct 2010 10:24 am

BJS 10-string 1 inch and BJS 12-string 15/16"

Ruth Iseli-Dahler · Post by **Ruth Iseli-Dahler** » 28 Oct 2010 9:29 pm

Mike, I was told to get the heaviest bar I could find when I started, so it was that Dunlop.
Bought a BJS 15/16 and never used the old one since the day I got it. Hard to say why, it just feels better, follows more smoothly the strings, sounds great....

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 29 Oct 2010 2:48 am

Dunlop

919 for Beard 6 string resonator
920 for S10 and D10
921 for Uni 12 E9/B6 Ext 12 E9

Lately 921 for S10 as well. I like the extra weight and size.
One of these days I'll get a BJS!

Clete

Alfred Ewell · Post by **Alfred Ewell** » 29 Oct 2010 5:22 am

I got a Dunlop 3/4 right away, not knowing any better, and have replaced it with a 1-inch Bullet bar. My hands are big and if feels so much better, but fit your own grip. I got the longest I could. I'm thinking of a BJS also, but I'm out of buy mode for a while since my tranny went up.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 29 Oct 2010 6:55 am

I was a big fan of the BJS, John Hughey model 15/16ths bar until I purchased a zirconia bar.
I have one in each flavor, vanilla and licorice.
I had the licorice bar with me to the Iowa show and I almost had to wrestle a steeler to the ground to get it back from him after he tried it.
If you are a "serious" steeler, you really need to try a zirc bar!

Michael Robertson · Post by **Michael Robertson** » 29 Oct 2010 7:02 am

I made my own back in 1982.
A buddy of mine had a lathe and some stainless steel stock and off we went.
I made two of them and machined a ¼” flat side for engraving.
I gave one to a very good friend of mine and he uses it to this day.
As it turns out I unknowingly made my own Zitar Bar or whatever their called.

Allen Kentfield · Post by **Allen Kentfield** » 29 Oct 2010 9:05 am

I use a Sho-Bud bullet bar made out of solid US stainless steel. I've tried others, but there's no comparison. I bought it in 1971. Of course, there's no such thing as US steel anymore.

Les Green · Post by **Les Green** » 29 Oct 2010 9:39 am

I use an Emmons bar, 3 1/4 by 7/8ths. Probably nearing 40 years old.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 29 Oct 2010 9:58 am

Erv Niehaus wrote: I purchased a zirconia bar.
I have one in each flavor, vanilla and licorice.

Licorice? Does that mean they make black ones now?
(And if so, do the black ones sound better?

)

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 29 Oct 2010 10:02 am

Mike,
Yes! They make a black zirc bar and I just had to have one.
Besides sounding better, they taste better too!

If you play a black guitar, you can get arrested playing it with a white bar.

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 29 Oct 2010 10:33 am

I have BJS.. good bar.
I now use a Tri-Bo tone all the time.
Less string noise, sounds different in a way that I really like. mellower and evener tone.
Comes in different weights sizes and colors.
Slippery and slick but easier to pick up and handle.
Doesn't feel cold and just feels more natural than steel.
Of course... Black sounds the best.. Ha!
Satisfaction guaranteed.. or refund.
Made in Austin Texas USA

http://tribotone.com/

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 29 Oct 2010 1:42 pm

Erv Niehaus wrote:Mike,
If you play a black guitar, you can get arrested playing it with a white bar.

But Erv, I have a white guitar.

Will I get arrested if I play it with a black bar?

What should I do?

Teddy Ray Bullard II · Post by **Teddy Ray Bullard II** » 29 Oct 2010 1:55 pm

I just started but everyone told me that the Zirconia bars are better(playing/sounding) so I ordered one.

it is a lot lighter than the dunlop, abd glides across the strings a lot easier. mine is black.

now I just hope im not shooting myself in the foot learning with these if they ever stop making em.

Vingh is super nice .