New Clinesmith bar. How to keep it new?

[Gerald Ross]

I just received my new Clinesmith bar. Todd made a custom sized bar for me - 2.75” x .75”. The bar flies across the strings, I love it. How do I maintain the finish that is currently on the bar? I want to keep flying.

[Rick Aiello]

I remember Eric Ebner (Tribotone) recommended “Armor All” … but he also said the natural aging process would enhance its performance .

[Tim Whitlock]

I remember Eric Ebner (Tribotone) recommended “Armor All” … but he also said the natural aging process would enhance its performance .

I've had my Clinesmith bar for 5 years or so and it does seems to get better over time. The very mild surface wear makes it easier to grip. I found the same to be true for my 10 year old Eezee Slide bar. I suppose that given enough time they might need maintenance due to wear. Both are wonderful! I occasionally pick up a steel bar but always go right back to my polymers.

[Chase Brady]

Some recommend Autosol Aluminum polish (NOT the metal polish). I don't polish mine. I've made direct comparisons between a brand new bar and a well worn bar. Any difference is too subtle for me to detect. I figure my time is better spent practicing than polishing.

[Michael Kiese]

Todd’s polymer bars are great. Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

They feel great, play well, and produce pleasing tone. They are also well balanced.

That said, I don’t personally have the confidence to gig with one.

I don’t want to put myself into a live performance situation and drop it on stage, then have to fight through a performance with a couple of flat spots, burrs, divets, dings, etc.

So the best way to take care of the polymer bars is to never drop them, and to store them in some kind of protective hard case when not in use.

Enjoy!

[Bill Leff]

Congrats on the new bar!

I just received one of Basil's Eezze Slide coated bars in the same exact size. It slippier than my Tribotone, but that may be because the Tribotone has seen a lot of use.

[Chase Brady]

Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

Has this actually happened? Perhaps I've been lucky, but I've dropped mine several times with no noticeable marks. Whatever plastic Todd is using may feel soft to the touch, but it's actually pretty tough.
I recently bought a used EZslide bar. When it arrived, I noticed there were several small dings in the prime playing surface. Surprisingly, they don't affect the sound at all. Even when I made a point of putting those dings in contact with the strings, there seems to be no impact on the sound. So I just ignore them.

[Rick Aiello]

Bill & Gerald … remember Dave Giegerich’s Delrin bar that he got from some dobro player in Arkansas … years before the Tribotones came out .

[Michael Kiese]

Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

Has this actually happened? Perhaps I've been lucky, but I've dropped mine several times with no noticeable marks. Whatever plastic Todd is using may feel soft to the touch, but it's actually pretty tough.
I recently bought a used EZslide bar. When it arrived, I noticed there were several small dings in the prime playing surface. Surprisingly, they don't affect the sound at all. Even when I made a point of putting those dings in contact with the strings, there seems to be no impact on the sound. So I just ignore them.

Aloha Chase,

It was a warning I received from Todd himself when I bought it.

I like the bar, but I just didn't want to practice with something I'm not going to perform with.

Definitely would be a good studio recording bar though!

Enjoy!

[Tim Whitlock]

Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

Has this actually happened?

I dropped my Eazee Slide on a cement floor and it suffered a small chip/nick, rendering it unusable on that side of the bar. I marked the chip with red electrical tape. As long as I keep the tape side up I can use it for a backup. So yes, don't drop them. That said, I use my polymer bars exclusively when playing out. Can't live without them!

[Todd Clinesmith]

Todd’s polymer bars are great. Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

They feel great, play well, and produce pleasing tone. They are also well balanced.

That said, I don’t personally have the confidence to gig with one.

I don’t want to put myself into a live performance situation and drop it on stage, then have to fight through a performance with a couple of flat spots, burrs, divets, dings, etc.

So the best way to take care of the polymer bars is to never drop them, and to store them in some kind of protective hard case when not in use.

Enjoy!

Just to set the record straight . The bars are not "so soft" that you cannot drop them . The material is very hard . Dropping on a rough cement floor could result in a possible ding... maybe, but other hard surfaces will be fine if the rare bar drop happens. The Cordura case I provide with the bars is plenty sufficient to store the bars in.

[Pat Briggs]

I dropped mine today on a hard floor, nothing happened to the bar.

[Michael Kiese]

Todd’s polymer bars are great. Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

They feel great, play well, and produce pleasing tone. They are also well balanced.

That said, I don’t personally have the confidence to gig with one.

I don’t want to put myself into a live performance situation and drop it on stage, then have to fight through a performance with a couple of flat spots, burrs, divets, dings, etc.

So the best way to take care of the polymer bars is to never drop them, and to store them in some kind of protective hard case when not in use.

Enjoy!

Just to set the record straight . The bars are not "so soft" that you cannot drop them . The material is very hard . Dropping on a rough cement floor could result in a possible ding... maybe, but other hard surfaces will be fine if the rare bar drop happens. The Cordura case I provide with the bars is plenty sufficient to store the bars in.

Aloha Todd,

Fair enough. I think it's a great sounding bar. I just personally don't have the confidence to take it on a live performance.

Hardness is relative. If you have Rockwell values of that polymer you use, then we could compare material hardness in apples to apples. I'm sure it's far softer than concrete, Stainless Steel, and most metals.

When I hold your polymer bar in my hands, it feels like soft plastic that would lose in a battle if dropped on a hard surface or along a sharp edge.

Again, I think it's a great recording bar to keep at home. I just personally would never gig with it.

I'm sure there are those who disagree and would advocate for performing live with it, and that's totally fine. Their prerogative.

Everybody has their own risk/reward tolerance.

I have nothing against you or your products, just my honest feedback from a paying customer.

Thank you for adding to the conversation, it’s always great when an SME chimes in.

[Rick Aiello]

With a Rockwell hardness of around R120 … acetals are one of the harder plastics …

[Michael Kiese]

With a Rockwell hardness of around R120 … acetals are one of the harder plastics …

Aloha Rick,

A bit of research, and Stainless Steel is around C60 Rockwell.

I looked up Vickers hardness data in an attempt to better compare apples to apples across different materials...

Acetal Plastic is 14-25 HV, Stainless Steel is around 450-800 HV, and Zirconia Ceramic is 1200-1400 HV.

I like Zirconia bars a lot. I have discovered along my journey that the harder the material, the smoother it is.

Acetal plastics are even smoother, but the tradeoff is that they achieve that by being very soft by comparison.

I love the tapered Chase bars, so I have quite a collection of them by now. Plenty backups. I have to take what I can get.

Getting geeky in materials science. Love it! lol.

[Rick Aiello]

I do love the Zirconia bars … I have three … an original Stafford 15/16” , a 7/8” Zirctone & a Jerry Byrd sized (2 3/4” x 3/4”) Zirctone …

IMG_0378.jpeg

[Rick Aiello]

Speaking of tapered bars … if you haven’t tried a “Hillman Powder Coated” bar … he makes a couple different tapered bars …

https://tonebars.com/product-category/tapered-bars/

I really like his bars …. The powder coat is much harder than stuff used on the old “Red Rajah” bars … if it wears off , he recoats it for a nominal price … very good guy to deal with …

[Michael Kiese]

Speaking of tapered bars … if you haven’t tried a “Hillman Powder Coated” bar … he makes a couple different tapered bars …

https://tonebars.com/product-category/tapered-bars/

I really like his bars …. The powder coat is much harder than stuff used on the old “Red Rajah” bars … if it wears off , he recoats it for a nominal price … very good guy to deal with …

Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about those Hillman bars. They're fairly priced if I recall.

I do have a set of Zirctone bars too. I love them. I really like the Jerry Byrd sized bar. I got one for Uncle Bobby, and he went "Brah, I can really fly with dis buggah!" lol.

[Michael Kiese]

I dropped mine today on a hard floor, nothing happened to the bar.

Is the floor alright? lolz.

[Pat Briggs]

Floor is ok , only my ego is bruised. At least there were no witnesses.

[Greg Forsyth]

Todd’s polymer bars are great. Just don’t ever drop them. They’re so soft, that you’ll get a flat spot.

They feel great, play well, and produce pleasing tone. They are also well balanced.

That said, I don’t personally have the confidence to gig with one.

I don’t want to put myself into a live performance situation and drop it on stage, then have to fight through a performance with a couple of flat spots, burrs, divets, dings, etc.

So the best way to take care of the polymer bars is to never drop them, and to store them in some kind of protective hard case when not in use.

Enjoy!

Just to set the record straight . The bars are not "so soft" that you cannot drop them . The material is very hard . Dropping on a rough cement floor could result in a possible ding... maybe, but other hard surfaces will be fine if the rare bar drop happens. The Cordura case I provide with the bars is plenty sufficient to store the bars in.

Aloha Todd,

Fair enough. I think it's a great sounding bar. I just personally don't have the confidence to take it on a live performance.

Hardness is relative. If you have Rockwell values of that polymer you use, then we could compare material hardness in apples to apples. I'm sure it's far softer than concrete, Stainless Steel, and most metals.

When I hold your polymer bar in my hands, it feels like soft plastic that would lose in a battle if dropped on a hard surface or along a sharp edge.

Again, I think it's a great recording bar to keep at home. I just personally would never gig with it.

I'm sure there are those who disagree and would advocate for performing live with it, and that's totally fine. Their prerogative.

Everybody has their own risk/reward tolerance.

I have nothing against you or your products, just my honest feedback from a paying customer.

Thank you for adding to the conversation, it’s always great when an SME chimes in.

Mike,
I'm wondering how this posting turned from the topic of keeping your Clinesmith bar clean into a critical review of Todd's product? I have one of Todd's tone bars and don't think they need to be babied to the point of not even taking it out of the pouch Todd provided with it. Also, when I bought it Todd didn't warn me that the bar was soft, I think you made that up! Not cool in my opinion to name drop like you did!

[Frank James Pracher]

I gigged with my Tribotone for years... it hit the floor a few times during instrument changes.... definitely no flat spots... I have a Clinesmith, a couple Hillman bars, and a few Ezzee slide bars... I'd gig with all of them.

As far as keeping it new... the polymer bars seem to get better the more you play them! I find after they get "broke in" they slide as smooth as ever but they get a bit easier to grip... my two cents.

[Michael Kiese]

Mike,
I'm wondering how this posting turned from the topic of keeping your Clinesmith bar clean into a critical review of Todd's product? I have one of Todd's tone bars and don't think they need to be babied to the point of not even taking it out of the pouch Todd provided with it. Also, when I bought it Todd didn't warn me that the bar was soft, I think you made that up! Not cool in my opinion to name drop like you did!

Aloha Greg,

Wow, you got me. I'm clearly out here running a secret smear campaign against Todd's tone bars, one pouch at a time.

Next thing you know, I'll be warning folks that they're so soft, they melt in your mouth like chocolate (not that I've tried... okay, maybe once).

But hey, if your bar's tough enough to survive without bubble wrap and bedtime stories, more power to you, mine's probably just jealous.

I clearly made everything up, and you saw straight through me.

I bet I'm every bit the liar as you are willing to make comments like that to people face to face.

Enjoy!

[Glenn Wilde]

I think that, unless you actually chip the bar, you'll be fine. I have ancient Nick Manoloff plastic bars that have noticeable scratches and little dents and can't hear or feel them when playing. I actually used a file to smooth one out and sanded it shiny, to great success.

[Glenn Wilde]

I've taken a liking to Silica Sound glass bars lately, not at all forgiving to a bar drop