Searching for a long tone bar

[Jacob Sudol]

Hi everybody!~ Long time member and reader, but this is probably first time post here. I'm composition professor with over 37 years experience playing instruments – piano first, then guitars, lap steel, banjo, etc – and I finally got my first dream instrument – a pedal steel, specifically a brand new Stage One.

I'm writing this post because I have rather huge hands (I can reach from a C to a F# an octave above on the piano) and think I really need a longer tone bar. For example, I have a 7/8" diameter 3.25" length bar and when I hold it in the standard position my pointer finger is about .75" longer than the bar. As such the bar feels tiny in my hands and I feel like I lack the agility and comfort that a longer bar would offer.

Considering what I've read and seen here and elsewhere, it seems like a 4" or 4.25" length bar might be ideal. (I'd like the keep the 7/8" diameter which feels nice.) I've seen disparate discussion here about this, but the search results here and elsewhere are not terrible helpful. This said, I'd love if anybody has any advice about where I could get a longer bar for my monster horse-strangler hands?

Countless thanks in advance!~

[John Laidler]

I also have big hands, and found moving to a 4 inch bar a big improvement.

I got a couple from a forum member, Wayne Johnson: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=13067

The bar I have is drilled out to reduce weight. Good idea!

Not sure if he's still making bars to order. Might be worth a PM?

Good luck.

[Jacob Sudol]

Thanks for the reply. Great to hear that a bigger bar has been helpful for someone else with big hands.

I'll reach out to Wayne Johnson to see if he might be able to lend me a hand making a longer tone bar. (Also the hollowing out sounds like a good idea, otherwise it might be quite a bit of weight.)

[Mike Auman]

Ben Burrow in the UK makes excellent custom bars any length, as long as you're not in a hurry (shipping from UK to US takes a while.) https://bensbarsandslides.weebly.com/about.html

[Gardner Goetze]

I've found a 4" 12 string bar made by Hillman Tone bars. Their web site is "tonebars.com". I hope those will do the trick for you! Gardner

[Jacob Sudol]

Thanks everybody for the advice! I've been in touch with Ben Burrow and he's going to make me a 4" length 7/8" diameter bar with a small hole burrowed out to reduce the weight. Excited to eventually have a bar that will be better fit my hands.