For many years I have been using a Bradley Capo. I remember Mr. Bradly saying it is “hardened stainless steel.” It is a wonderful capo and I’ve used it frequently over the years and it is still good—no significant scratches.
However, a friend of mine just gave me a Dunlop bullet bar. Not sure if that is the official name or not. But the thing is quite heavy, about the length of the neck of my Beard R Body. I have to say it has a surprisingly good sound. Seems to sound more full than the Bradly..maybe. The only issue is that I find it is hard to hold onto. Though with practice I am getting better. And doing one note runs requires a different technique to mute other strings.
But over all I am very pleased and getting a kick out of using it. Although it is old its. shiny and it excellent condition, My friend plays mainly guitar.
I haven’t had the chance to look on line lately to see what a bar like that would cost. Or…if there are bigger ones , if some have an easier way to hold them, etc.
I will never give up the Bradly capo, but I and my bandmates seem to enjoy the tone of this bar. So…just some thoughts on a pleasant surprise and learning something new.
So you had been using the Bradley capo as a tone bar?? Maybe I mis-read.
There are various Dunlop stainless steel tone bar models, running $40 or so (new) depending on the size. Getting a good tone would be no surprise, they're beefy and they are designed to pull good tone for lap style playing.
If you find holding a bullet bar difficult for Dobro-style playing, you're not alone. Of course it gets better with practice. But for playing square neck resonator, many opt for a Stevens-style bar, with the grooves on either side for better gripping. Shubb carries a model called the SP2, with a bullet nose on one end and a sharp edge on the other. Best of both worlds, so to speak.
Sorry if this is all basic info you already know. Happy sliding regardless!
I'm confused as well.
First, Paul is posting about a capo, then compares it to a bullet bar?
As far as Elmer Bradley, I own one of his capos as well as his dobro bar, which is very close to the shape of a Tipton.
I have a couple of Dunlop pedal steel bars that I might use occasionally for 8 string lap/non-pedal. Not the "beefiest" model they make one a little longer and quite a bit heavier, around 11 ounces compared to the one in the photo @ 7.5 ounces.
I never use these for dobro. I recall Jerry Douglas saying years ago that he can tell when a guy is primarily a pedal steel player who also plays some dobro from the tone of a bullet bar coupled with the technique. I sure don't have Jerry's ears, but I usually can tell as well. It's difficult to describe, but whenI hear a bullet bar on dobro from some players it can sound kind of "muffled" - there's something there lacking to my ears.
The steel players who use the extra heavy 11 ounce bullet bars rarely lift those off the strings - they use them more like a capo placed across the strings above each fret marker that move up and down across the neck.
Unless one is really good with hanging onto and manipulating a bullet bar, to me it can lack dynamics and for lack of a better term, "punctuation" while playing dobro.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 10/09/2025 14:21:15
Is this an example of an A.I. post?
Well…sorry folks. I was talking strictly about my Bradly stainless bar but I screwed up and said “capo”. Sorry for the confusion. I’m sure an AI post would have done a better job of editing. Like i said i really like the Bradly bar, but that Dunlop bullet bar sounded surprisingly good, though harder to hold onto. But with some practice I am getting better at with it. Since I have two nice Bradly bars I was not in the market for another bar. The bullet bar was a gift from a friend and I am getting a kick out of using it on my Beard R Body. (P.S. I also have two Bradly capos. But that’s for another story.)
