Ernie Ball P04232 Steel Bar Guitar Slide - Medium

very heavy indeed......just the thing for getting much better sustain, and way easier to maintain clean, ringing notes on my lap steel and pedal steel. Top bit of kit.

I have a great deal of experience playing lap steel guitar and have used most of the different styles, lengths and diameters of bars. This Ernie Ball medium bar is the right diameter at 7/8” (22mm) for good weight and tone. The length is a bit subjective based on hand size / finger length, but this’ll work for most average to large hands. They are good quality stainless steel, no doubt, but not a good design from the playing persoective.Where it fails badly is reverse slants… unlike the Dunlop bars, there is no recess on the flat end, so reverse bar slants are very tricky to master and make it unpleasant to use. Having a proper recess, the Dunlop bars makes reverse slants very straightforward, but with this Ernie Ball bar, they are high-risk manouvers and it’s too easy to lose control of the bar - so there is a tendency to grip the bar too firmly, leading to discomfort, hand cramp and poor thumb position.The photo on the listing is deceptive because the logo sticker creates the impression that there is a recess in the back of the bar - but dob’t be deceived… it is an optical illusion.If you are just starting out, get a Shubb SP2 bar - they are way easier to start out with, and super quality. As you get more skilled, and when you are ready to go to a ballnose round bar, the Jim Dunlop ones are the go-to choice, with several lengths and diameters to choose from.

Nice heavy feel to it. I'd like to rate it higher but it already has a notch in it after not long playing it, and not exactly heavy duty playing, making me think it's too soft an alloy.

Really nice bar for a great price. Buy one.

Nice heavy bar, not at all hard to hold, smooth, even sound, all in all a great bar especially for the price. I use this on my 10 string Sho Bud pedal steel, and I am a level one beginner so if its manageable for me, should be managable for anyone.

Ernie Ball Medium Steel Tone Bar EBMTone bars are used play lap steel guitars, pedal steel guitars, Dobroes and Hawaiian style guitars with a high action, often tuned to an open chord. They are designed for use on a guitar that is held horizontally, on your lap, on a table, or at your waist with a strap.To use a tone bar, hold it firmly and slide it up and down the strings while you pluck or pick the strings near the bridge with your other hand. With practice you can perform gliding glissando notes, notes between frets, slant chords with the tone bar at an angle, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.I compared Dunlop RR1, SP2, Long Dawg, and Ernie Ball M bullet tone bars for this review. Test guitars included a 2021 Martin 00-15M acoustic with a custom bone nut and bridge, a 1970 Lotus F215 acoustic, and a 2011 Gretsch G5715 Electromatic Lap Steel guitar. All guitars were strung with Dunlop extra-light strings.DESCRIPTION: The Ernie Ball Medium EBM is a bullet-shaped tone bar with a rounded ball tip and rounded edges on the other end. It weighs 6.3 oz, is 0.88 inch in diameter and it is 3.25 inches long, although the rounded ends allow only 2.88 inches in contact with the strings. It is highly polished stainless steel. The package said made in Taiwan.COMPARISON: The EBM string contact area is the same as the Dunlop SP2 and shorter than the Dunlop RR1 or the Dunlop Long Dawg bar. It is noticeably heavier than the other tone bars. Compared with other similar tone bars, the EBM is just plain cheap. However, because of its weight and shape, this tone bar is too heavy for me.SOUND: You could not ask for better sound. This bar lets the strings’ tone through, resulting in a clear, uncolored sound. Because there is no handle, you can easily mute the bar slightly with your fingers. I say it sounds great.HELPFUL HINTS:1. Measure the width of your strings before buying this tone bar. Only 2.88 of the bar is in contact with the strings because of the rounded ends, and if it is too short, you may not be able to cover all the strings for a chord or a slant.2. Hold on tight to this tone bar because its weight and size make it easy to slip out of your fingers, especially if they are sweaty. This could be a safety issue — this heavy bullet could damage the wood or finish of a guitar or dobro if dropped. If this bullet fell straight down on an unprotected foot it might even break some of the small foot bones.

IDEAL

Good quality bar at a good price.