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Topic: Little Gibson |
Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 7 Jul 2020 10:20 pm |
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A new addition to my lap steel family arrived today. Her name is Skylark, and I love her. She had a difficult birth, having arrived with her tone pot frozen and her volume pot barely functioning. However, after a bit of minor surgery to replace the pots and deal with some wonky wiring, she’s a happy little camper now.
These have become hard to find at reasonable prices lately because Gibson collectors are snapping them up for their similarities to the famed 1950s Flying V, with the same korina wood body and the same chromed plastic Gibson headstock nameplate.
I wasn’t expecting much since these were made as entry level lap steels with a Melody Maker pickup instead of a P90 like on the BR9 and pro quality lap steels. Nonetheless, it plays really nicely and actually sounds great through a tube amp.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | D – D A D F# A D
7 String | D9 – D A D F♯ A C E
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2020 5:31 am
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| How would you compare the sound of the Skylark to your BR-9? Your Champ? |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 8 Jul 2020 8:10 am
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| Jack Hanson wrote: |
| How would you compare the sound of the Skylark to your BR-9? Your Champ? |
That is going to be today’s project. Stay tuned. |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 8 Jul 2020 11:16 pm
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Thanks Ian, I used to live in Toronto until last year, when we moved out here to Victoria, BC.
BTW, my Skylark s now tuned to my favourite 6-string tuning for blues, gGDFAD. It needed new strings anyway.
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | D – D A D F# A D
7 String | D9 – D A D F♯ A C E
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 10 Jul 2020 3:49 pm
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| Jack Hanson wrote: |
| How would you compare the sound of the Skylark to your BR-9? Your Champ? |
https://youtu.be/l38OkIPdjAk
Video comparison. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2020 7:59 am
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I have both a BR-9 and a pseudo-Champ (Studio Deluxe), but both were purchased as carcasses and were refurbished with new pickups and electronics, so any comparison to a stock Skylark would be unfair.
I had a Skylark at one time, but sold it. I found its tone far inferior to my other Gibsons. In fact, the Skylark is far more Fender-like than any other Gibson lap steel. Like a Champ, all its electronic components are mounted on the plate, as are the bridge and strings. My Skylark did not sustain nearly as well as my other Gibsons with separate bridges securely affixed to the body.
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=329859&highlight=skylark |
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