New tapered tonebar available

[Andy Volk]

This was shared on FB. No idea of cost. Can anyone tell me what the advantage of a tapered bar might be?

[Jerry Overstreet]

Looks like a copy of the old Chase bars. I have a couple of them. I think those are 3/4 to 5/8 but not sure. I'd have to measure one of them.

I like it a lot for lap steel. It reduces the angle of the wrist and it's just easier to handle.

[Erv Niehaus]

Like Jerry stated.
When you're playing lap steel, it gives a more natural angle to your wrist.
Erv

[Doug Beaumier]

I too had a couple of old Chase bars. They were comfortable for playing, but the front of the bar seemed too lightweight IMO. The tone and sustain produced by the bar was not as rich as a standard bar, in my opinion. I found myself pressing down on the front of the bar to get a better tone (not enough weight there).

That ad has a very "old school" look. The graphic of the music store and the bar itself. Very retro looking.

[Andy Volk]

Definitely retro! But this is a new ad and they are currently being sold.

[Doug Beaumier]

Yes, I understand that this is a new product. I'm just saying, the ad has a retro look, like the old Oahu Co. ads. Kind of cool.

[Kirk Francis]

most of the old "black rajahs" were similarly tapered, though not quite as acutely.

[Andy Volk]

I got that you got it, Doug, just didn't want anyone else to think this was a vintage ad because, as you said, it looks right out of the 30s or 40s .... like this one from 1939 ...

[Doug Beaumier]

Yes, or like this style:

[David M Brown]

Yes, or like this style:

Thanks for posting the ad - those are my favorite tone bars even now.

[Bill Groner]

most of the old "black rajahs" were similarly tapered, though not quite as acutely.

I made a few tapered bars for some guys on the forum. Mine were 3" long .800 butt end and .700 tip. I think they were a little over 4 ounces. They are not easy to make and I won't be making anymore. Mine were Delrin, with brass for the core. I hope Rick doesn't mind posting his great version of Home in San Antone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi50g_pIbT4

[Bill Sinclair]

I made a few tapered bars for some guys on the forum. Mine were 3" long .800 butt end and .700 tip. I think they were a little over 4 ounces. They are not easy to make and I won't be making anymore.

Bill, I should have snagged one of your bars when you were having that momentary lapse of reason.

At the behest of David Wright, Michael Hillman has been making tapered steel bars with his powder coating for a couple of years now. 3 1/4" long with a 7/8" to 3/4" taper. I asked Michael to make me a couple 3" bars with about the same taper which he did. Great bar, easy to grip. At about 6 oz., there's some inertia to overcome for fast slants and string jumps. I plan to have one of them recoated by Michael and remove about an oz of steel at the same time. I think that he also makes a 2 3/4" long tapered bar for six string lap players.

I also have a Chase bar and a couple of long and short black rajas which I like a lot but as Doug says, may be a bit too light. The titanium "Amos" bar in Andy's first post sells for $62 + shipping on Reverb and is also a bit light at 3.1 oz. I enjoyed reading about the store's history on their website.

[rodger_mcbride]

Gryphon Strings still makes and sells a SS tapered bar. They are easier to hold than the round bars IMHO. Basil of Ezzee Slide in the UK made a tapered 8 string Delrin bar for a few people a few years ago. Supposedly, the tapered bar was the favorite of Joaquin Murphy.

[Brad Bechtel]

Frank Ford at Gryphon Stringed Instruments sells a tapered steel bar and has done so since at least the year 2006.

I use one regularly and like it a lot. Single note passages are very easy to play.

[David Ball]

I've made some tapered bars, and they are a bit more of a pain than regular bars to turn. But not that bad. I've used these on my tricone and like the way they play.

I have some Chase bars. I have one of Frank Ford's bars--it feels good, but the finish on the surface is too rough for my liking. Scratchy sounding but otherwise a nice bar.

I got a tapered delrin bar from Basil, and it's my favorite for lap steel. I don't think he's too keen on making them, but it is sure a good bar. I use it on the C6 neck for pedal steel too. Nice tone with somewhat decreased sustain (which is fine on C6 for me), and I like the way the tapered bar plays.

Dave

[Gene Tani]

Michael Hillman makes/has made these, he talka about it

viewtopic.php?t=270422&postdays=0&posto ... &start=575

[Jim Fogarty]

Available again:

https://reverb.com/item/38479989-arthur ... r-tone-bar

[Sebastian Müller]

Bobby Ingano posted on Facebook that David Feet Rogers used a tapered bar as well. Makes me thinking! Both Joaquin and Feet are high on my favourite players list. I might order one when I am in the US.

[Steve Waltz]

I have a tapered bar from Basil. My hand just feels less strained using a tapered bar. I didn't expect that. I assume there is something about how you hold it that is just easier on the hand.

[Larry Dering]

Andy, I was given that Amos bar for my birthday. It's far too light and small for me. I have to hang on to it for a while but it's definitely not enough ofca tone bar. 3.1 ounce is a toy. Also the diameter at the large end is tiny. I can't see how anyone could use this.

[Michael Kiese]

Hello everyone! I just wanted to add to the conversation for posterity. I really went down the rabbit hole in my search for the best tone bar for me, and it ended up being the Chase Bar.

I personally love tapered bars. I have a Chase bar that is my primary bar. It's 3.33oz, 3.075" in length, 0.8" at the heel, and 0.627" at the tip.

It's very light, and very comfortable in my hand. The tapered profile fits into my hand like a glove, perfectly nestled between my index and middle finger. The thicker end allows me to lift the bar more easily when playing with the tip.

Tone is in the hands, your touch, and your ear. I get a very pleasing tone with the Chase, and it makes playing easier and more comfortable for me. So to me, it’s a win-win.

Bobby Ingano told me that Feet’s favorite bar was the Chase. That’s what started my search. I had never heard of the "Chase" Bar prior to that. Once I found one, I fell in love with it.

I had purchased an Amos tapered bar. It is solid unfinished Titanium with no coating. It’s not polished enough, so even though it LOOKS smooth to your eye, it feels like extremely fine grain sandpaper on the strings. It produces a noisy, scratchy sound (especially on the wound strings), and there is an ever-so-slight yet noticeable drag while playing. That was a bummer, because the Amos tapered bar is quite perfect in every other regard. It is light, tapered very nicely, and a beautiful piece of machined metal. But the most important aspect of any tone bar is that it has to be SMOOTH, which the Amos Bar unfortunately is not. Perhaps the Amos Bar would be a good "effects" bar...the drag and rough surface might produce a nice sound for dobro or blues playing.

I gave the Amos bar to my High School Buddy who took it to a machine shop in Pearl Harbor where they polished it further, which did make it more smooth, but they warned me it wouldn't last. It did play better after the high polishing, but knowing it would require constant high friction polishing made me look for another bar. I gave this feedback to the seller of the Amos bar, and he said that the rough surface is a very common feedback amongst people who purchase it.

Bobby gave me a tapered bar that is still being made in Japan, it’s chromed and smooth, but the tip end is blunted instead of rounded. Again, perfect in every other regard, but you can't play with the tip.

I started my steel journey being fixated on using big heavy bars, I even have a few Zirconia bars (which I like a lot). One of the first bars I ever purchased was at Bobbe Seymour's shop and it is 15/16"D, 10.9oz, and 3.5" long. A true 10 string Country Pedal Steeler's bar!

Eventually I gave small bars like the Jerry Byrd sized bar (3/4" D, 2 7/8" L), an honest chance. It's really easy to discount small, light bars as "no good" simply because of their small stature and mass. However, I found that small bars can produce pleasing tone, and because they're lighter, they're much more nimble. The small size and lightness makes slanting, tipping, and left hand muting much easier. I also found that I had much less finger fatigue.

Once I got my first Chase bar (found it on Reverb), I never looked back. It's just so comfortable in my hand. Ever since then, I have made a small collection of Chase bars (need backups).

I personally think small bars are where it's at. A 3.33oz bar is fast and nimble. A 10oz bar is heavy and induces finger fatigue.

From a materials engineering/manufacturing perspective: given the same metal and same manufacturing treatment, hardness is not affected by mass. Which means pragmatically speaking, a metal's hardness is independent of its mass.

In my personal journey and experimentation, tone is so much more than just a high mass bar. It's where you strike the strings, how you strike the strings, knowing what string tension and gauge is best for your tuning, what type of metal the strings are, your type of strings (flats, semiflats, roundwound), the saddle/nut material, etc.

My hypothesis is that the bar material's hardness and smoothness, rather than its mass, is more important for a tonebar's tone and playability. If I could get an ultra hard, ultra smooth metal that's light in weight, that'd be the bar for me.

I know that a lot of players like the feel of a big, heavy bar in their hand. I used to be one. A big, heavy bar just FEELS GOOD in your hand. I get it. It's kind of a size/weight bias. More big/heavy = more better, seems to be the mantra. That's totally fine and I respect that. People like what they like, and that's how it should be.

But for me, I prefer the light nimble bars all day long. I will unapologetically say that Chase Bars are AWESOME!

If anybody reading this has a Chase bar lying around unused and unloved, please contact me! I'll buy it. It will be cherished by me. I need back up replacements if mine get lost, and I like to leave bars in my instrument cases.

[David Rattray]

One of Nick Manoloff"s old bars it is small came in the case of an old lap steel I once owned steel went and the bar stayed...

[Michael Kiese]

Hi David,

Nice! I have a few Nick Manoloff bars as well.

It sure is fun finding these old bars, trying them out, and adding them to your collection.

Nobody makes tone bars like the Chases and the Manoloffs anymore, so you're forced to go hunting for them. haha.

It's kind of like being an amateur treasure hunter, archaeologist, and materials engineer all at the same time. lol.

[David Rattray]

Yes Micheal these are cool this bar produces a very warm sound ( think old Hawaiian tunes )..man it is small...wish I could play Hawaiian music it is beautiful...D...

[David M Brown]

Hi David,

Nice! I have a few Nick Manoloff bars as well.

Yes, I got them off Ebay some years ago when the prices were still low. I still like them the best.