Vintage tone bar slides?

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loverickbass
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Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by loverickbass »

What kind of bars were used back in the old days with RIC lap steels?
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jps
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by jps »

Probably Jack Daniels.......
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johnhall
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post 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.

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

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Last edited by johnhall on Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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loverickbass
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by loverickbass »

John did Rickenbacker make any of these?
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johnhall
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by johnhall »

We didn't make any but we were a distributor for Black Rajah.
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sloop_john_b
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by sloop_john_b »

Good stuff! I am definitely ready for a new one.
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by admin »

Thanks to John Hall for this great bit of tone bar history. :)
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm

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cjj
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post 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...
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
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loverickbass
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by loverickbass »

Thank you John.
rshatz
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by rshatz »

Image
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by cjj »

:shock: 8) 8) 8)
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
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johnhall
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post 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.
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jps
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by jps »

I bet the girls really like that collection of yours!
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post 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.
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Re: Vintage tone bar slides?

Post by rshatz »

jps wrote:I bet the girls really like that collection of yours!
I call it my adolescent d**do collection.
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