bar modification

[ivansnow12]

Hi all, can anybody help please as i suffer from m/s i have problems holding the bar in my fingers is there anything i can do to make it easier to hold any ideas would be appreciated. thank you Ivan.

[Ken Byng]

Hi Ivan.

A Stevens bar might be a better bet for you than a round one. The Stevens bar has raised indented sides as per the attached pic. Good luck.
Ken

[Donny Johnston]

WHAT KEN SAID. GOOD LUCK.

[ivansnow12]

Thanks for your ideas but thats the shape of bar iv'e got i wondered if i could stick something on it to make it bigger or something my finger fitted in replies welcome thank you Ivan.

[Ken Byng]

Ivan
I have a friend who attached a large swivel ring on the end of his bar that he put his thumb through. It works fine for him, and it is a quick and easy mod that keeps the bar in place.

[ivansnow12]

thanks Ken for your help is it possible to send a picture please

[Ken Byng]

That could be quite difficult Ivan. My friend, Dave Nash, lives on the Isle Of Wight and is now retired from steel playing. He is not a computer man, and I don't have his contact details. Just to describe what he did - he drilled a hole dead centre in the flat end of a bullet bar, and attached a flat piece of metal with a 1" ring on the end of it. The flat piece of metal was able to swivel, thus allowing the player to roll the bar in the normal way.

Dave invented many quirky ideas over the years, including having a volume control on a knee lever which freed up a foot. He would often play his pedals with 2 feet!. He was a superb player in his day, and he and I used to talk steel guitar non stop when we met up, as he came from Southampton. We would often drive down to Eric Snowball's store together for the day, sometimes with another great steel player from Southampton, Tommy Bannister.

[SteelieAJK]

The Shubb SP1 bar is a little larger than the standard stevens style bar
see here

[Ken Byng]

While on the subject of Shubb, they make a very substantively sized steel bar with a large wooden handle. Might be worth further investigation.