best lap steel slide

what is considered the best style of lap steel slide ( 6 string)?

Traditional would be steel, possibly not round, a slab of material 1/4" thick and 1/2" tall x length and rounded off. Beyond that some steel guys use porcelin, others like glass. Guess you have to just sit down and try some till one of them sounds right to you.

Dunno about 'The Best'..........

but I'd suggest a newcomer to lap steel playing started his or her search by trying a Shubb SP1...........

I like the Shubb GS 1. I have issues with my hands,and the GS 1 is much more comfortable than the SP1 or Stevens type steels for me.

http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/images/product/3676/P_3676_S00.jpg

Earl, the best for YOU is something only YOU can determine. If you'll let us know what tuning(s) and type(s) of music you want to play, we can help you narrow your search. But here are some broad parameters to help you get started.

Players of Hawai'ian, western swing, and classic country music frequently use 6th tunings, rarely lift the bar from the strings, and often slant the bar. For this type of playing, the bar most frequently used is a round (cylindrical) bar with a hemispherical "bullet" nose. Preferred dimensions vary from player to player, but the 2 3/4" x 3/4" Dunlop 919 recommended by the late Jerry Byrd is widely used, and is my choice for this type of playing.

Blues, rock, and bluegrass players, as well as Weissenborn-style acoustic steel guitars, often play in G and D tunings; many of them make extensive use of open strings, frequently lift the bar, and often sound single notes by hammering on and pulling off single strings. Probably the majority of such players prefer "rail"-type bars. There are many, many options available; the Shubb SP2 works very, very well for me for this type of playing.

I have to emphasize that finding the right bar(s) for you can be a very time-consuming process, because few music stores offer much of a choice. I've been playing steel for nearly 40 years, but only acquired the Dunlop 919 and Shubb SP2 about two years ago. If you can find one or more players who'll let you try the bars he, she, or they have already collected, you may be able to find yours quicker than I did.

Be picky! I recently wanted to try a lap steel at a big box music store, but didn't have my own bar with me. The sales associate cheerfully unpacked a brand-new Stevens bar for me, but the bar's sliding surface was so dented and pitted that it was absolutely useless.

Good luck with your search, and don't hesitate to post again about your musical objectives.

Dunno about 'The Best'..........

but I'd suggest a newcomer to lap steel playing started his or her search by trying a Shubb SP1...........
+ 1

That's what I use.

/ Tony

As has been posted before, this is all down to personal preference.

There is always a trade-off - I think the best sounding bars are the heaviest ones and these are usually the steel cylinder type with rounded end. These are also the hardest to use (not only because they are more ungainly but the bar itself obscures the fret markers more so it's harder to position accurately).

The Stevens bar (rail type) is easier to get a grip on but these also tend to be quite light so thinner tone.

I usually keep both types handy and if I'm going to be using string hammering I swap over to the Stevens bar and wack up the volume a bit.

My favourite is a "sitar bar" which is a really heavy cylindrical one but a small area all the way down it has been ground to a flat surface and if you rotate it so the flat surface is against the strings you get a buzzing sitar sound (don't use this effect more than once a gig but I love the bar itself and it's the heaviest I own).

I like this one, it's easy to hold on to: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/golden-gate-stevens-steel-bar-for-resonator

I have a custom bluegrass type bar designed by Jimmy Heffernan. He used to sell em at his workshops. Dont see it currently on his website tho. Its my favorite bar for the dobro, I'm used to it, so its my go to bar on lap as well. I keep a Stevens around as a backup.

The Steven is traditional, but agree not very consistant QC these days, and the design has been improved on. The Shubb posed above is an example of that and is a decent bar. I think Dunlop makes one too. Theres a Jerry Douglas designed one out there, but pricey. Go to Elderly, Janet Davis, or First Quality Music and check out their stock.

Ive got a bullet steel as well, when I got my lap, but I dont play it as well. I can do slants pretty well with the dobro bar anyway.

I like the Shubb GS 1. I have issues with my hands,and the GS 1 is much more comfortable than the SP1 or Stevens type steels for me.

http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/images/product/3676/P_3676_S00.jpg

I'm with this guy. I have and have used other slides with my Lap Steels, but the Shubb is by far the best.

A nice advantage to this slide is how easy it is to use for a technique Jerry Douglas calls the "Cheese Slicer", where you bend the string behind the slide. The Shubb also works well jumps and other tricks because of how easy it stays in your hand.

I've been using the Paloma Stone Slide: http://www.stoneslides.com/ .
I use a big bullet bar on my D-8 Fender, and I love it. It has a great tone, is nice and smooth, and it is really light.

I use the shubb also, for lap abd pedal steel, because I find it easiest to lift. You might take a look at the ceramic tone bars from Rocky Mountain Slides. Ceramic produces a slightly different tone to my ears.

They produce an odd shaped one too that I've not yet tried, called the Poncha Bullet.

http://www.rockymountainslides.com/poncha-bullet.html

If you want to tune it to open blues tunings (G,A,D, or E) use anything that you like, but if you want the country sounds with C6th tuning (only way to go) get the "bullet type.

Reason I blatted out my opinion on C6th and the "bullet" is because if you are playing blues tunings, you don't need a lapsteel. Just play any guitar. There are slants in the country sounds that are impossible to do without a "bullet" slide.

I'm so glad I started out with the cylindrical bullet bar. I use a 3/4 size like Cindy Cashdollar, for both 8 string in C6 and 6 string in open D. I also have a Shubb Pearse SP1; I initially liked the additional expression for vibrato that it offered, as well as ease of use as to pulloffs to open strings for D/more bluesy playing. The tradeoff as to tone and sustain vs. the bullet is too severe for my tastes though. Eventually everything I did with the SP1 became easy enough with the bullet, just needed to gig it a bunch.

Obviously you want smooth travel and glide across the strings. Cylindrical bullets do collect some minor dings over the years. On showdays I take some steel wool to my bar. Also, I absolutely detest new strings on slide-oriented instruments... so my strings have some time on 'em. Before heading off to the gig, I lightly wipe down the strings with a cloth and some rubbing alcohol to remove any gunk that has coagulated since the last sweaty show. This ensures nice glide, and it absolutely makes a difference when I skip or forget these little rituals.

Whether it's bluesy playing or not, a guitar and a lap steel in the same tuning are different beasts, at least for me. Sure there's some overlap in patterns and licks and such as the configuration is the same. That's where it ends for me though. If I stand up and play my bandmate's resonator guitar in open D with a bottleneck, vs. sitting down with a bullet bar on my old Supro lap in open D, my phrasing is COMPLETELY different. The physicality is different, my approach to blocking and damping extraneous string noise is different, so my playing is different.

I can't use the bullet...can't pick it up.
If I hold it under the center enough to get a grip on it, I interfere with the strings.
Stevens works fine for me...but I'm not a real steel player...just a dabbler.

I play Dobro, bottleneck and lap steel and use different steel for each.

For lap steel, I use a piston wrist pin from a 350 V8 Chevrolet.

Its what connects the piston to the rod that goes between it and the crankshaft.

For me, its the perfect weight, length and diameter.

They only cost about $4.00 new, but If you go to an automotive machine shop or engine rebuilding shop, they will probably give you a used one.

The Shubb SP2 and the Dunlop Lap Dawg are my favorites. The Shubb is a little longer and heavier, and has a rounded end so gliding from string to string is a tiny bit easier, but now that I'm used to the Lap Dawg, it's no problem. Which one I use depends on how I feel that day -- both give good tone and are easy to grip. The Dunlop feels like it has smoother chrome plating, though.

I play Dobro, bottleneck and lap steel and use different steel for each.

For lap steel, I use a piston wrist pin from a 350 V8 Chevrolet.

Its what connects the piston to the rod that goes between it and the crankshaft.

For me, its the perfect weight, length and diameter.

They only cost about $4.00 new, but If you go to an automotive machine shop or engine rebuilding shop, they will probably give you a used one.
Brilliant!!

Stevens bar works best for me.

As noted, depends on what you are playing. A Dunlop bullet and a good Shubb style will take care of just about anything.

This one is a work of art:
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/names/scheerhorn-chrome-plated-slide--S10.htm
Expensive but worth it. Great for pull offs.
The stainless steel version is more expensive but I like the chromed one better.

finally got a stevens bar

I play Dobro, bottleneck and lap steel and use different steel for each.

For lap steel, I use a piston wrist pin from a 350 V8 Chevrolet.

Its what connects the piston to the rod that goes between it and the crankshaft.

For me, its the perfect weight, length and diameter.

They only cost about $4.00 new, but If you go to an automotive machine shop or engine rebuilding shop, they will probably give you a used one.

My racecar driving mate is checking under his workbench, as I write...:grin:

finally got a stevens bar

Good luck with it. I hope you got a good (smooth) one!

The best slides I've ever found are made by a guy in Owensboro Kentucky named Ron Tipton. They feel and sound great.
Many pro's use them. He makes them for steel guitar and dobro. I think the website is www.tiptonslides.com

I use a Stevens bar and occasionally a 3/4'' x 3" socket - it has an outside diameter just over an inch - heavy but easy to hold on to...also cheap...

For some folks, none of the available bars is quite right. Check this Steel Guitar Forum thread (http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=179531) to see modified versions of several of the slides mentioned/pictured here.

Aw jeeze! You've gotten some great suggestions here,,,, but,,,,, It's a personal thing! It all depends on what you want to hear. It depends on your guitar, your strings, your left hand, your right hand, and most of all, your own ears. Guys who say they use a Stevens-type bar for pedal steel, are 1%ers. Virtually none do! But then there's Randolf, and me. But only on one steel. I have five pedal steels, 4 are tuned normally, and I use a BJS bullet bar for those. But one, a 1967 Shobud S-10, 6 and 2, is tuned to a variation of Low G bottleneck tuning. I use a Stevens bar on that, because I'm jumping around like crazy, and need the flat end for pulloffs, etc.

Slants? You can do them with any bar. I use a lot of slants when playing Blues-style bottleneck. I use the bottleneck on my ring finger. This allows me to play above the bar with my pinky, and behind the bar with my index or middle, plus pull strings behind the bar. You're only limited by your own imagination.

This thread is like the "What's the best compressor?" or "What's the best Distortion?" threads. You're getting good suggestions, but they're by guys who ain't you, who don't have your ears, you equipment. etc.. Finding the right equipment is a search that only you can do.

I've been playing bottleneck since''60, lap since '68, and pedal steel since '70. I've made my choices. Now you have to search, and make your own choices!

Right now my favorite bar is a shubb Robert Randolph rr2. I have a Paloma on the way, can't wait to try it!! It's the one in the middle of this pic.

not sure what is best, but i like either a broz-o-phonic bullet, or a piston wrist pin.
im a non pedal lap steel player- mostly acoustic.
usually tuned to D or DM- sometimes G or E etc.

i once took one of those glass dunlop slides, put a piece of chrome moly hydraulic cylinder shaft inside and epoxied it in.
that was the best sounding/feeling ive tried.
had the weight and heft of metal, but sounded more like glass.
i dropped it lol.
one day ill make another.