Ezzee~slide tone bars..

[Basil Henriques]

Someone had to do it so I decided to ..



Just a quick clip of someone trying out an Ezzee~slide bar at our soirée yesterday..




click link for price and sizes info
http://www.waikiki-islanders.com/html/ezzee~slide%20bar.htm

[Ken Byng]

A description from me in two pithy sentences. These bars have a warm tone on unwound strings, minimal friction and drag plus excellent sustain qualities. Brilliant, and my #1 bar.

[Basil Henriques]

Thank you Ken for "Taking the Pith" . lol..
I'm so glad you like it. a bit of a labour of love for the steel guitar community, as I know the Tribotone was greatly missed when Eric ceased production. I can see why he did though.

EDIT: Images removed as they showed personal info (addresses) for numerous individuals. Hope you don't mind! Feel free to re-post with addresses blurred out!

[Ken Byng]

Well while on the subject of Tribo-Tone Basil, Maurice Anderson gave me a TT bar quite a few years ago as a gift. I wasn't enamoured by it too much at first, but it did improve after a bit of use. While the Ezzee Slide looks identical to the TT bar, there is a substantive difference on first use. Basil's bar is much slicker, so it is apparent that he has used a different type of polymer to Eric Ebner, manufacturer of the TT bar. My Tribo-Tone bar is on its way to one of my pupils as it is redundant.

I bought a 1" Ezzee bar after buying one of Ben Burrow's excellent 1" stainless bars recently. While the Ezzee is considerably lighter in use to Ben's bar, it still weighs in around 7.5 ounces. Also in use, the Ezzee bar is very slick on the strings and easy to manipulate on faster passages. The big difference between the Ezzee bar and my stainless and chromed steel bars is a slightly mellower tone on the unwound strings, which is a big plus for my personal taste. To'ing and fro'ing between polymer and steel bars highlighted the more metallic tone of the latter on the unwound strings, which is pretty logical. The tone of the Ezzee bar on the strings is more pleasing to my ears.

Overall, I am very impressed with Basil's bar and while it is priced at 2 or 3 times the cost of a traditional stainless or chromed bar, it must be remembered that the manufacturing process of his bars is way more complex. It comes in a nice presentation box complete with drawstring bag for both the bar plus a second one for storing picks. I will still continue to use my all metal bars, but having the Ezzee bar in my armoury means that it will be my primary 'go to' bar.

I will record an acapella piece tomorrow using Basil's bar and post it on here.

[Ken Byng]

By the way Basil - my snow leopard hasn't arrived yet.

[Donny Johnston]

Basil, your new bar was very well received at the SSGW meeting this month, all the guys attending tried it, there were no negative comments. I will most certainly be ordering the 15/16" Hughey bar. Can I hold on to the trial one for now, I have a few more people to show it to. Donny.

[Danny Mitchell]

Basil, could I jump in, on the back of Donny's post? I loved the feel of the particular bar Donny was demonstrating at the SSGW. Could you tell me what size/weight/type that model is? And does it come in black?
Great job, in coming up with these bars.

[Tony Russell Davis]

I'm also buying one But I'll want to keep the demo bar until the new arrives
Danny - Basil will get back to you on this but meanwhile, other colours (inc. black) are possible, but the polymer is different and not so hardeee-slideee as the white. You see, I asked the same question

[Basil Henriques]

Just taking a QUICK break from the workshop. Thanks for the Kudos lads, well appreciated. There has been such a demand that at the moment it's a 10-14 day delay on DISPATCH.
Regarding other colours, black AND blue is available and whilst it's copolymer as opposed to homopolymer, there's very little difference, they both are work hardening and have a VERY low friction coefficient. Given the fact that I guarantee the bars for life I think that the SLIGHT hardness differential is nullified.

My own recommendation is the white because of the visibility factor of the frets. The Black is great but unless you're quite a proficient player it is harder to see the frets with a black (or Blue) bar..That being said, seeing the frets is not tremendously important; Buddy Emmons used to practise with the light out in the cellar at home..
As for the demo bar that Donny has, I'm not sure of the size or weight. Maybe Donny can let me (us) know ?

I have now designed and constructed a graduated taper attachment for my lathe and can do bars to and from any diameter, the maximum being 1.5 inches..(by special order)
http://www.waikiki-islanders.com/assets ... chment.jpg

[Basil Henriques]

So far my UNSOLICITED testimonials go like this:--->
Ken Byng These bars are the single biggest factor that you can have to improve your playing and tone. =D

Ken Byng said
16 August at 11:40
Kudos to Basil Henriques's bar that I used over the weekend. The more I used it the more that I came to the conclusion that it has really improved my tone. I am not on commission (yet - ha) and can truthfully say that this item is one of the biggest game changers for steel players that they can get for the money. An absolutely brilliant product. Tone is so important to me, and the Ezee Slide tone bar is definitely the way to go.

Quote from a new user "Basil! Having just tried out the bar, I can state that it is everything I'd hoped - virtually noiseless, light, smooth, and even beautiful. It is a fine product, and will absolutely be my "go-to" bar, except for times where I need a little more weight.. At some point, I will purchase a heavier bar from you, for a complete set!
"I am very very impressed with the bar, and will absolutely recommend it to everyone - great price for what you receive, as well.

Thank you very much, Basil. I am most satisfied"

And Christopher. Other:->
I received my bar today - incredible packaging, pure beauty of a bar!
Oh my - now THIS is class! My new Ezzee-slide...
Thank you very very very much - absolutely stunning.

From Finland :->
Hi Basil..... At last my bar was in may post box! But there is something strange going on! The´first bar has copied it self??? The copy looks almost like the first one or the other way
I run down to my Music room and gut stuck there for an hour or more! Ezzee slide is very nice in my hand. I am amazed about the smoth friction against the strings!
This will be recommended by me to my steeling friends. I will for sure take a small video to put up on FB for all steelers to see and hear later!
Super nice!
Thank you very much Basil.
All the best to you and your wife.

I sent him a choice, the bar he ordered and one that had the most unusual "Tiger Stripe" markings..Strange things can happen in the polymer cooling process.
HI Basil. Hahaha,,,, I just found your letter in the box that the bars came in! No way that I send one bar back. I gonna keep them both. How much do I owe you for the second bar? Can I send to you over PayPal? or just a normal bank transaction?
Just let me know. The bars is very nice!
Regards
Uffe

And wouldn't you know that a Pirate would appreciate the "Pirate's Chest" box the bar comes in..

Quote "Well, well... My friendly postal representative brought a package from overseas today. I'm loving the tone and feel of both bars. Great work done by you and your thousands of employees!
Thanks,
Jim
Arrrrr... T'was sent from me EyePad

David Hartley said; "I used one of these bars at the weekend for the whole time I was playing some steel. It really is smooth, the weight was good for me and Basil made it with the same dimensions as my BJS John Hughey bar. It is one I will use a lot of the time. It does have no noise I could hear on the slides I used, and sustain was as good as a steel bar. The tone was a bit more mellow than the BJS. You would be pleasantly surprised with the Ezzee-slide bar. David Hartley..

Ken Byng said "Here is a piece that I wrote this morning on the British Steelies web site. "Well while on the subject of Tribo-Tone Basil, Maurice Anderson gave me a TT bar quite a few years ago as a gift. I wasn't enamoured by it too much at first, but it did improve after a bit of use. While the Ezzee Slide looks identical to the TT bar, there is a substantive difference on first use. Basil's bar is much slicker, so it is apparent that he has used a different type of polymer to Eric Ebner, manufacturer of the TT bar. My Tribo-Tone bar is on its way to one of my pupils as it is redundant.

I bought a 1" Ezzee bar after buying one of Ben Burrow's excellent 1" stainless bars recently. While the Ezzee is considerably lighter in use to Ben's bar, it still weighs in around 7.5 ounces. Also in use, the Ezzee bar is very slick on the strings and easy to manipulate on faster passages. The big difference between the Ezzee bar and my stainless and chromed steel bars is a slightly mellower tone on the unwound strings, which is a big plus for my personal taste. To'ing and fro'ing between polymer and steel bars highlighted the more metallic tone of the latter on the unwound strings, which is pretty logical. The tone of the Ezzee bar on the strings is more pleasing to my ears.

Overall, I am very impressed with Basil's bar and while it is priced at 2 or 3 times the cost of a traditional stainless or chromed bar, it must be remembered that the manufacturing process of his bars is way more complex. It comes in a nice presentation box complete with drawstring bag for both the bar plus a second one for storing picks. I will still continue to use my all metal bars, but having the Ezzee bar in my armoury means that it will be my primary 'go to' bar"."


Jim Newbury said Well, well... My friendly postal representative brought a package from overseas today. I'm loving the tone and feel of both bars. Great work done by you and your thousands of employees! 

Thanks,
Jim

A.N. Other said
Hi Basil,
The new bar arrived today.
It seems quite wonderful, thanks!
(I compare against my old Dunlop bars)
It'll be interesting to see how it ages.
Hi Basil,
The bar seems quite wonderful.
I'm not that experienced a player,
But I sure like the slick and quiet compared to my old Dunlop.
Best,
Preston

Further comments
Basil,
I just finished my first show minutes ago with the 7/8 bar and it was great. Hot day, outside in the sun and I had no problem hanging on to it. I'm an intermediate player at best, so take this with that in mind, but it seems the best of steel and Tribotone. Super low string noise, no string resistance, and a brighter tone than Tribotone. I wouldn't change a thing. The 3/4 bar was a gift for a friend. the tone and feel are great. I have Burden, Tribotone, and BJS in that size and I like the Ezzee-slide better than all of those. Great job engineering these beasts. 


Hi Basil
The bar is great, no need to worry about any modifications. As some of your other users have already commented there is a noticeable warmness to the tone on the unwound strings which I really like and prefer. It will definitely be first choice from now on. Plus being white it looks cool with the white guitar
Regards
Les

Hello Basil
the sound is perfect: quiet and warm.
Many congratulations
Giovanni

JSG Damn,
I received my Ezzee-slide from Basil Henriques and can't tell how much I love it!!!! It's a huge upgrade from my BJS bar!!! Wow good job mr Henriques!

Jim Newberry.
I'll chime in from the upper left coast of Amerikay to say that I got two bars delivered last week. I'm no great shakes of a player, but I am truly impressed. I play non-pedal early country, some Hawaiian, and Cajun music. I bought a 7/8" bar for use with my 8-strings and a 3/4" bar as a gift for a pal who's lusted after my other "polymer" bars which are not currently available. The Ezzee-slide seems the best of all worlds; it is easy to grip, has very low string noise or friction, but is nearly as bright as the top-shelf metal bars I have. It's heavier than my other polymer 7/8" bar and I perceived significant improvement in sustain.
Great job, Basil!

Will Cowell said
Bar arrived this morning, Basil, I'm just trying it right now. Feels great, a good fit in my hand, you have the dimensions spot-on. The reduced weight is not a problem, and the tone is - well, difficult to describe. On the one hand, mellower, but on the other, there is a very nice "definition" to it - a sort of "bite" without harshness. That sounds contradictory, but there it is.
Anyway, it's a hit, I really like it, and thank you for doing it so quickly.

I know what he means, it's like there is individuality to all the strings and they don't "muddle" together, separation of the individual notes with their own individual identity. I've never experienced that before. BUT it is remarkable..