Tonebars

[WineRider]

Good morning all,

I have just modified the length of my Dunlop 920 tonebar by machining 7mm off it. Now it fits me. I have yet to see any mention of this even by the great Joe Wright. Now don't get me wrong Joe Wright is a fantastic teacher and showman and in his lessons tells' you all there is about the tonebar and how to hold it, but nothing about the length or weight. There can be no one size fits all, and to prove it? I will begin...that is if you are sitting comfortably.
Finger length: measure the length of your middle finger. Mine is 80mm from where it joins the palm of the hand to the tip.
Tonebar length: The Dunlop 920 is 82mm so I machined 7mm from the end to get it fitting into my hand and my middle finger is now just a tad longer than the bar and I can dampen strings easier than before, plus it is more controllable for slants.

Slimbo you were right when you said about using a lighter Tonebar until you had gained some control and looking at the length of your fingers you might even manage a longer bar...but not all of us are pushing 2metres in height some of legless pilots are only just managing 1.5metres and even then thanking the heels on a pair of western boots.

The Dunlop 926 fits my hand, but with it's sharp edges just work right for me and on top of that it is so light and does not help in the sustain market. The 920 being heavier has better sustain capabilities without having to use too much pressure.

Now for the downside of Dunlop Tonebar...the machine shop where the 7mm was removed was far from impressed with the quality of the Stainless Steel the bar was made from it had small but noticeable pits in the casting and the steel was of a poor hardness, which resulted in "chuck marks" on the surface. I had to use jewelers rouge and about two hours of hard graft to get rid of the surface marks and to create a good smooth mirror finish. Now at 25 Euros, I know its not expensive, but the hype about these bars is something I have a beef with. The machinist is awaiting a delivery of some high class steel and he has promised that when it arrives he will make me a new tonebar and then I can see if there is any difference between cheap and nasty or good quality. Only time will tell. The only thing I can say with absolute certainty is that although the quality of the bar might be there it will not improve my playing. He He He.

[SteelieAJK]

Maurice that's drastic action on a bar. If that works for you that's great, but I can't help thinking you may want to review how your holding the bar. My fingers are much shorter than yours my middle finger only 72mm but I can hold my bar, which is 85mm, fine. I think the choice of length of the bar is more to do with the number of strings you need to cover than a player 'fit'.

[WineRider]

Hello Allan,
I am looking at the way I hold the bar and to me it is the same as others do i.e: middle finger at the rear of the tonebar ring finger and little finger slightly spread to help balance, control and dampen strings at the rear of the bar. index finger on top of the bar and thumb free of the strings or used for dampening strings at the front of the bar. Using thumb pressure to hold bar in place and using a light pressure with the index finger. Is that right?
But the bar feels right for me now. I have spoken with a mate this morning who is a blues slide player...admittedly on an guitar and resonator and he also modifies his slides, but he has been playing for centuries...he's that old.

Thanks for the input

Winerider (Maurice)

[WineRider]

Allan I forgot to mention I play 6 string home made lap.

WineRider (Maurice)

[SteelieAJK]

Your description of how you hold bar seems right to me, but I can't figure why the bar seemed too long to 'fit' you. It is longer than you need for a 6 string lap for sure.
In addition to your description I would add that I like to position the pad of my index finger over the highest string I'm playing as a physical guide and as a pivot point for slants. Also It helps blocking if middle finger protrudes enough to block the string higher than the highest one your playing.
Have fun with your 75mm bar.

[WineRider]

Hi Peter,

I saw these advertised a while back...I think at Resonophonic Outfitters or possibly Beard Guitars, I looked at the price and length $19.95 3" X 3/4"
It is the same dimension as my modified one so I feel vindicated. Have had to do any polishing to it and what quality is the steel?

Maurice

[Tony Russell Davis]

Remembering we're talking 6 string lap steel here, years ago I also took a few mms off the length of an old bar to use on 6 (and later 7) string reso. I put the butt end in the chuck to avoid marring the playing surface and first turned a small "V" groove around it (to avoid a sharp edge on the back end) before cutting it off. The bullet end was held in a non-scratchy steady.
It was never a great bar, but now works fine for the reso. I found a "too-long" bar was more difficult to control, particularly hammers and slants and cut it down to match the number of strings rather than hand size, although it's turned out about what Maurice suggests. First time I heard anybody else did the same thing.
Incidentally, I find the wrong diameter gives me more grief than the wrong length in a bar.

[WineRider]

I know I arrived at the dimensions of the bar by trial and error, luckily for me this time very little error...Phew!
I have by nature an analytical mind, but don't always get it right...nothing wrong in that, I hope.
What you say Tony about diameter is something I tried yesterday with a piece of silver steel, which comes in at just under 19mm and it felt even better, not from the point of view of tone but certainly in the comfort zone. I am still ham-fisted with slants, but slightly better with pull-offs and what you state as to diameter being more directly involved with the playability use of a bar has made me feel I do have something to offer, somewhere.
Just wish I could get it right with those "pesky' picks, but I'm still trying.

WineRider

[WineRider]

Hi Peter,

There is a moral there...too many bits and pieces and the choice is difficult. Some one some where said "too many necks to play spoils your ability and too many strings spoils the end result". I wish I could remember where I heard it or read it, but I can't. The same I suppose could be said of many guitarists, they have guitars tuned to many different tunings and change instruments like changing shirts.
Ah! for the simple life...1 lap steel, 1 tuning, one thumb pick (no finger picks)just for you Tony and 1 amp. No gizzmos pure sound. But then life would be boring, with no variation of sound or styles...and let's face it we play steel guitar to be different, so I suppose anything goes...now is that a title for a song or what?

Maurice

[lernerlap]

Had a really good home made bar,made by me in a workshop and polished by an expert but stopped playing the laptop and gave it away ,this is about ten years ago.About three years ago I started playing again and ended up using some copper tubing,I have two pieces,one fifteen milly and one twenty milly and don't have any problems with them so if all else fails try some copper tube