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The resonator guitar reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
265 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: From Charlie's site
I came to Charlie's bar because I lost my Beard Shorty during a move. I had been aware of the talk about Charlie's capo but when I examined the stats for his bar I was afraid it would be too high and big for my less than Douglas/Ickes hand size. I contacted him and he was willing to make some adjustments to it but in the end we agreed I should just try the bar as he makes it and then decide.
When the bar arrived, I picked it up and felt the obvious weight. I put it in my left hand and played my Beard Auldridge. Voila! My new favorite bar. The tone is great and despite the height and size, it just feels right. One cool thing is that he has overlapped the top of the bar so that your thumb snags it and lifts it without having to grip. Just a great bar and if I found out he was going to stop making them I'd buy one as a backup. Love it!
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Resohangout
I recently bought a new Beard bar (reviewed on this forum) and it is fantastic! However, having previously owned an EG Smith bar, the one thing I did miss was the sandpaper finish on the sides of the bar. That's sort of a finish to me just gives a nice grip.
Then, reading through some threads here, I discovered that Square Neck offered this service. I have used him previously with my Smith and was thoroughly impressed with the work he did smoothing and shining it at that time. But because the Smith already had the finish on the sides I didn't need to add the sandpapered finish.
I sent him the bar over the weekend and it was back to me by Wednesday. In a word, beautiful. He polished the sliding edge and it is sleek and smooth. But the biggest improvement for me was the reason I sent it to him in the first place; the fine sandpapery finish blasting to the sides and top is feathery soft yet has the nice grip that allows my fingers to stay in place. I have no technical expertise in these matters so I don't know how he does it but as a user let me tell you, it is great!
He has taken my new favorite bar and made it even better which I didn't think was possible! Great work and great service as well!
I do realize that not everybody can afford to shell out $45 for this type of work. Having spent $80 for the bar and $45 for this it would seem that I'm deeply invested. And I am. I own a Beard MA6 reso. Since I can afford to do this it makes sense for me to do it. I want to have the best guitar and the best accessories for the guitar that I can afford to buy.
I can tell you with absolute certainty, if you can afford to do this to your favorite bar you should do it!
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Beard Guitars
Like many who have come before me and have yet to arrive, I've been through many bars. And this ain't the beginning of a Merle Haggard song!
Prior to buying this bar, I've been using the EG Smith Bluegrass Bar, a short and low bar that I really like a lot. I've also used Stevens, Shubb, Scheerhorn and a Lap Dawg (best cheap bar around imo).
I hesitated before plopping the 85 bucks down for this. The EG Smith has worked out really well. But then I noticed that this bar was the one Jerry Douglas uses and I realized that I too could sound like him if I bought it!
OK, not true. But I did make a video (posted here on the forum under Maya's Expectations) and I noticed a little more bar rattle than I would have liked. The one weakness of the EG Smith is it's finish, which I had redone by a member here, Square Neck (great workmanship!). That helped but there are already nicks and grooves wearing in.
When I realized that I could get the Beard bar, which has two different ends: one at 10 degrees and one at 20, in a 'Shorty' version, I bit.
It came today. As expected, outstanding quality. It is about the same length of the EG Smith but slightly taller. I put the 10 degree part to my palm and use the 20 for picking. It fits fantastically! You know how it is; get a new piece of gear and you need to give yourself a break-in period in order to adjust. With this bar, it was about 1-2 minutes. It sounds incredible, plays great and is the best fit I've ever had in a bar. Can we rate it higher than a ten?
Here's the data from Paul Beard's site:
Beard Bar - 2010 Stainless Steel
Paul Beard says . . . The 2010 (played by Jerry Douglas) has a 10 degree angle on one end and a 20 degree angle on the other. The benefit of this is that the player can achieve some fatigue relief by switching ends. It's like having two bars in one. This is my personal favorite.
Dimensions: 2 15/16" L x 3/4" W x 15/16" H
Weight: 4.9oz
The Shorty bar is approx. 2 11/16" Long.
Overall Rating: 10
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