Page 1 of 2

Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 1:11 pm
by loverickbass
What kind of bars were used back in the old days with RIC lap steels?

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:43 pm
by jps
Probably Jack Daniels.......

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:07 pm
by johnhall
loverickbass wrote:What kind of bars were used back in the old days with RIC lap steels?
You wouldn't believe how many "steels", as they were called, were available. Some were just cylindrical polished and chromed bars, while others were flatted bars that sort of went between your fingers. But the king of steels was the "Black Raja". This was a tapered bullet-like bar covered with black plastic, maybe Bakelite, filled with lead and later, just steel.

Image

Steels came in different lengths, depending on how many strings were on your guitar.

Image

Image

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:13 pm
by loverickbass
John did Rickenbacker make any of these?

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:00 pm
by johnhall
We didn't make any but we were a distributor for Black Rajah.

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:01 pm
by sloop_john_b
Good stuff! I am definitely ready for a new one.

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:03 pm
by admin
Thanks to John Hall for this great bit of tone bar history. :)

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:05 pm
by cjj
sloop_john_b wrote:Good stuff! I am definitely ready for a new one.
If you want one shaped like the Black Raja, but in stainless, check out these guys:
http://www.bulletbars.com/
They will make 'em any way you want...

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 3:18 pm
by loverickbass
Thank you John.

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:19 am
by rshatz
Image

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:52 pm
by cjj
:shock: 8) 8) 8)

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:34 pm
by johnhall
Would you mind comparing the tone of the red ones versus the green? I've heard so many people say the red ones have a hotter sound.

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:49 pm
by jps
I bet the girls really like that collection of yours!

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:25 pm
by rshatz
johnhall wrote:Would you mind comparing the tone of the red ones versus the green? I've heard so many people say the red ones have a hotter sound.
My collection is currently in storage while I move into a new house. As I remember it, the red bars are coated metal and the green bars are Bakelite with lead centers.The green bars are definitely more mellow sounding.

Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:26 pm
by rshatz
jps wrote:I bet the girls really like that collection of yours!
I call it my adolescent d**do collection.