Which Bars Do You Frequent????

[Danny Mitchell]

Okay, so we've got Gay Bars, Karaoke Bars, Sports Bars and the Laurieston Bar, but these are not the kind of bar I would like to focus on here.
A recent post set me thinking about the merits of the different brands of bar. Over the years, in that elusive quest for 'tone' (apologies here for sounding like someone who knows what they're talking about) I've amassed a few bars and have found them all to have different qualities.

First was a Dunlop 3/4 steel that came with my Carter Starter, and at the time I thought it was the 'berries' (good), but after attending Gartcosh and hearing some fulsome (no relation) and sustaining tones. Time for a new bar!
Secondly, came 'The Thermo-Cryonic Big Daddy' by John Pearse, 3 and 5/16" by 1" and suitably heavy. There was an instant improvement in sustain, tone and drag, but with one drawback. It seems the good lord has seen fit to furnish me with a pair of wee (small), lady's hands, something like Trump's mitts, but less orange. It was all I could do to push and pull this bar, up and down the neck.
The third bar was the polymer 'Ezzee-Slide' from forum Grandee Basil Henriques, which I purchased after a demo at Gartcosh, thank you Donny. I couldn't believe the slickness and how easy it was to handle. There was a slight change in tone, softer, with a more pronounced mid. I opted for 3 and 5/16ths", 7/8ths". This bar is extremely easy to use.
Soon after purchasing Basil's bar I was made aware of Ben Burrows' bespoke bars (if that sounds a bit Boris Johnson, apologies, shame on me). Ben makes excellent bars at a price that can't be beat. I thought I'd go for a similar size to Basil's bar, as it felt very comfortable in said, lady hand. I was very happy with this, it was a halfway house between the Pearse and the Basil.
At this point, I imagined that I was sorted for all things bar, until I saw a post in the For Sale section from our forum's 'gun for hire', Matt Park, who was moving on a BJS bar. Now, for a long time I'd been hearing the praises of these bars being sung by Willie and John at Gartcosh. Also, engineering genius and polymath, Bob Adams has even pimped his, with finger grooves for total control! So, reaching for the wallet once more, I took delivery of a 3 and 5/16ths", 15/16ths" BJS steel bar. Instant joy! Great sustain and very smooth action and a size I could handle comfortably.

These days, as I only play with myself in the bedroom (no change there) making recordings, I find myself changing bars to suit whatever the piece requires.
For anything of a slow to medium tempo, that calls for a clean tone, it's the BJS.
For anything fast tempo but clean, I'll get the Ben out.
If it's a slow, lazy piece, I'll use the Pearse.
When things get fast, or anything that's using distortion (sorry for the D-word) out comes the Basil.

So to conclude, apologies for the novella, but I'm currently just killing time waiting for my booster jag (jab), but it would be good to hear some thoughts, preferences or opinions on the bars of your choice, or any purchases under consideration.

It's only 66 days to Xmas you know!!!

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Good topic Danny. Here is My story.
My first bar was a BJS 7/8" which I used for quite a long time. I regularly attended the Jamboree at Dallas which is a gear freak's dream. I had already tried a stainless bar and when used with stainless strings it dragged a lot so it moved on. My next try was a Tribotone 7/8" which I still have and it is very good indeed.I then tried a 15/16" and liked it so in order to sound like My hero(John Hughey) I purchased the Hughey bar from John on one of My visits to Dallas. I then got a bar from Basil 15/16" and same weight as the Hughey bar and it has been My "Go To " bar since I purchased it\I also have a couple of Bens bars which are excellent,one of which has a milled flat which I use after I have devoured a Tikka Masala. I also have a wooden bar which came with the Dobro effect I bought and it is pretty good for certain songs,giving a far replication of a Dobro along with the effect,it is also good for a banjo type sound when used without the dobro effect.
When I am at home I often use several bars but sometimes My cloth ears do not detect a huge difference in tone between a couple of bars.When I do eventually get a gig I take the Ezee bar and the Hughey bar with Me and generally use the Ezee bar for about 90% of the song set.

[hickenjr]

I really like my Ezzee-Slides that Basil generously sent me. Definitely a lot smoother and way less noise than the John Pearse bar I used to use in my teens.

That being said...I did see that comment questioning tone and sustain. I can't really comment as a comparison because I'm currently at the best of my abilities and comparing metal when I was to polymer in the present day is an unfair comparison.

All I'll say is that I've been involved in some top British country productions this year and no producer has complained about my tone. In fact, most love it. Some experienced players who use both say the Ezzee-Slide is slightly mellower than metal. Maybe that's a good tendency for country pop.

My JP Bar has decided to do a runner so unless someone wants to endorse me with metal bars I won't be able to see the difference in tone and sustain...I am from Yorkshire.

[Donny Johnston]

I have been playing lap/ pedal steel for over 50yrs I have used all types of steel bars over the years and finally settled on a BJS bar which I had great use of for many years, I didn't envisage ever changing it. At the NESGF about 5/6yrs ago Basil introduced me to his Eezi Slide Bar, he let me use it for the weekend, I was hooked right away, Smooth tone, easy to hold, I have since lost my BJS bar and don't miss it. Donny.

[Ken Byng]

My favourite bar is a Mars Bar, and it certainly shows on my profile. We're pretty spoilt for choice these days for tone bars. Basil certainly has the alternative to the stainless steel market sewn up. Now that many of us are using Neodymium speakers for their light weight, and the piercing top end that comes with most of them, Basil's polymer bars definitely smooth out that cutting top end.

Ben Burrows' bars have great weight to them, and are polished to a wonderful mirror finish. They are also very good value for money. I have his 1" bar in my arsenal, and it certainly suits most of my guitars.

I have a couple of BJS 7/8" bars, and they are probably the industry standard when it comes to tone bars.

[Haddock]

INteresting topic, particularly as I was just thinking recently about trying something different. I wonder if anyone has done any actual ‘science’ on the topic. Musicians are notoriously unreliable when asked to give up the subjective. I used to get singers in the studio who insisted that they only sounded ‘right’ when singing through a particular mic like an SM58. So, give them what they want, and never let on that it was actually the innocent looking large diaphragm condenser mic sitting nearby that was doing the work while they sucked on their dummy! And a plectrum is just a piece of plastic. It really doesn’t matter to your tone if its yellow or not!
Cheers
Calum

[Uncle Roy]

Ezzee bar for me, very smooth, great product.

[Danny Mitchell]

I've enjoyed reading these response, gents, thank you.

Billy- two very interesting, leftfield items in there; the post curry bar, and a wooden (whit, wooden!) bar, inconceivable! And, those trips to Dallas must've been great experiences.

Donny- I'd bet one of they big dugs have planked your BJS under the sofa.

Ken- the next time you're up here you can pick up a deep fried one, the batter adds extra 'phatness'.

Calum- the application of 'science', now there's a concept. Measuring the frequencies (with a spectograph?) of different string/bar combinations possibly?

Keep them coming!

[simon_f3]

I wonder if anyone has done any actual ‘science’ on the topic. Musicians are notoriously unreliable when asked to give up the subjective.
Cheers
Calum

I find this a very interesting topic - I have a couple of JD bars of different sizes, and a 'Basil' bar which is my favourite at the moment, but I'm afraid as a relatively unskilled player I can't discern a real difference between them in terms of tone. The science of vibrations and waves is, however, a subject very close to my heart, though mostly in the ultrasonic range https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/004460cf-8d08-bec5-6583-ddb6b81f3db9/1/ I spent quite a large portion of my life researching waves travelling through metal bars...

I would think there are really only two considerations for most players when choosing a bar: feel and tone.
Feel will be a personal preference, although I think the general consensus is that lighter bars are better for faster playing e.g. C6 Western swing.
Tone will depend almost entirely on the surface finish and damping properties of the bar - or at least as far as comparing one bar to another; not considering any [much more noticeable] effects of a skilled player's technique! So I would expect a polymer bar to be more effective at damping higher frequencies (more compliant support of the system, if you want to be geeky!), and to offer a bit less sustain than a steel bar - but again, both of these characteristics can be compensated using EQ and volume pedal.

My personal feeling (self-identifying as a rank amateur) is that if you have a bar that feels good and gives a decent tone, then it is good! Or certainly good enough for my current purposes - I may change my mind in a couple of decades

[Haddock]

My goodness Sid that’s a document and a half! That on top of the resident Doctor of Irony makes this a very talented forum indeed! I did a quick google and found an interesting paper on friction between two different metals that had been prepared for NASA and quickly realised I was out of my depth. I do wonder if the extra sustain from the metal bar could be enhanced by the tendency of folk to give it a wee wiggle and perhaps excite the strings. And then I started thinking about a titanium bar. Well, if it was good enough for the Star Ship Enterprise…….
Cheers
Calum