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Topic: Updating Rogue Lap Steel |
Scott Duckworth
From: Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 14 May 2016 3:03 am
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Thinking about some upgrades to my RLS-1 type lap steel.
I've already gotten rid of the vol and tone controls, as I use a volume pedal.
Pickup... I've seen what Jason Lolar did, but that a little extreme for me. What type of Strat pickup would you suggest?
Tuners... I hate the open gear tuners that jump 2 notes when you turn them. Your suggestions as replacements? _________________ Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Michael Maddex
From: Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 14 May 2016 6:57 am
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Scott, on the Rogue pictured below, I used a rail-style strat-size humbucker with a coil tap. A mini-toggle switch chooses between single coil and dual-coil humbucker.
The output jack was moved to the front of the guitar in the photo and the pickup switch is in its place. That pickup is a Seymour-Duncan, I think around $30 from MF. GFI also has some similar pickups at good prices which I've used in other projects. FYI: The pickup cut-out in the Rogue control plate is smaller than a standard strat-style opening and I had to enlarge this one to accommodate the new pickup. OTOH, a tele-size neck pickup might be a bit small. As usual, YMMV.
The drawer pull hand rest was an ill-advised experiment and has been removed. I haven't had any problems with the tuning machines, so my only comment there is that Elderly has some nice, cheap tuners and would probably be the first place that I would look if I were looking.
Have Fun! Good Luck with your project! _________________ "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Scott Duckworth
From: Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 14 May 2016 7:11 am
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Thanks Michael!
One thing I did to mine was replace the plastic nut with aluminum angle. Sounds much better, and I adjusted the string spacing at the nut so the strings are the same nut and bridge.
_________________ Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Michael Maddex
From: Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 14 May 2016 9:30 am
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I replaced the nut on another, earlier one:
The original nut on that one was actually made out of a scrap of wood and soon cracked. Here's an old thread on the subject:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=126830&highlight=
Here's a shot of the moved output jack on the one pictured above:
Good Luck with Your Project! Enjoy! _________________ "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Larry Carlson
From: My Computer
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Posted 14 May 2016 9:40 am
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Hi Scott,
Great minds think alike.........or maybe we are just two old farts with the same little ol' lap steel.
I did the same thing with the nut as you except I used angle iron and I replaced the bridge with
another piece and just radiused the top instead of filing slots. Works well for me.
I added an Epiphone humbucker to mine. It was just laying around in my parts drawer.
Didn't have to remove much wood and filing/cutting the pickguard to make it fit was fairly easy as it is rather thin.
It was my first lap steel. I bought it to see if I liked playing lap and I kind of got hooked on it.
To my novice ears it sounds worlds better and I really like the tone now. I am always grabbing it to play instead of something else.
Only paid $75 new for it so that and a little bit of work has made it rather enjoyable to play for me.
_________________ I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying. |
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George Piburn
From: The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 14 May 2016 11:23 am GeorgeBoard Replacement FretBoards for 21
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Here are are a pair of Peel N Stick FretBoards We Made at GeorgeBoards Manufacturing for a fellow who didn't like his Vacuform Plastic ones.
I went ahead and made ones for sale in Black with white lines and White with black lines in styles of several Markers choices too.
21" scale
_________________ GeorgeBoards S8 Non Pedal Steel Guitar Instruments
Maker of One of a Kind Works of Art that play music too.
Instructional DVDs
YouTube Channel |
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David M Brown
From: California, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2016 9:47 am
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Thanks for all the tips on how to upgrade these little cheapies. |
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Scott Duckworth
From: Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 15 Nov 2016 9:58 am
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Well, my latest plan is to buy another one and make a base to match the outer profile and create a D6! _________________ Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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David M Brown
From: California, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2017 3:06 pm Re: GeorgeBoard Replacement FretBoards for 21
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George Piburn wrote: |
Here are are a pair of Peel N Stick FretBoards We Made at GeorgeBoards Manufacturing for a fellow who didn't like his Vacuform Plastic ones.
I went ahead and made ones for sale in Black with white lines and White with black lines in styles of several Markers choices too.
21" scale
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These are great!
The original fingerboards are really ugly and hard to see. George's stickers look way better.
Unfortunately the fingerboard was not easy to remove - the Chinese doubleneck version does NOT have the easily removeable fingerboard, it was somehow routed in, I had to remove the frets. I'll touch it up some more soon.
The pickups are some Lollar Strat pickups I had from guitar modifications on another project.
I would recommend a better steel if anyone has the budget. But thanks to the Georgeboards stickers and parts from my collection, I was able to get this sounding OK for very cheap.
I also figured out how to use an old timbale stand as a sitting or standing steel stand.
Thanks for the tips, I still may do more work like make it string-through. |
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James Phillips
From: Michigan, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2017 8:22 pm
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I put a Bill Lawrence Mini humbucker in mine & it sounds great! _________________ Visit my Studio: LimeStoneLabs at.. http://Facebook.com/LSlabs
"Let the Bridges We Burn Light the Way" |
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David M Brown
From: California, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2017 8:31 pm
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James Phillips wrote: |
I put a Bill Lawrence Mini humbucker in mine & it sounds great! |
That would work quite well.
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