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Author Topic:  What makes a great lap steel?
Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 12:37 pm    
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Lap steels come in all sorts, and great ones seem to run the gamut from wood to composite to metal bodies. If pickups, tuners, hardware were equalized, what would make a great guitar for you?
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Jeff Highland

 

From:
New South Wales, Australia
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 1:54 pm    
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To me, it very much depends on the tuning you are going to use, and that is dependent on the type of music you are going to play.
For me I want to be able to play solo and have a solid bottom end so a Long scale length is important.
If you are playing in a band situation and using a higher tuning like a C6,a shorter scale may suit you better.

I'd like to try an Aluminum steel, but being a woodworker I am not really set up for a lot of metal fabrication.
Next build I will probably splurge on some Indian Rosewood. Can't really see the point of Carbon Fibre in a solid body except for decoration
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Bill Groner


From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 2:24 pm    
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I made 3 aluminum ones and 3 maple ones. The wood is much more mellow than the aluminum ones I have. They are all have their own voice. I like them all.
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Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40
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Larry Carlson


From:
My Computer
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 2:56 pm    
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1. A nice full mellow tone but that is just personal preference. My Duesenberg gives this to me.
2. Sustain. I have an Alumilap by Wayne Johnson that I can strum just before going to bed and it will still be singing when I get up.
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David Knutson


From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 3:31 pm    
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I love maple. That eastern rock maple. To my ear it has a nice full tone and gives a long, even sustain that doesn't "thin out" as it decays. I don't use a volume pedal, so that makes a difference to my playing. And heck, maple's just pretty.

But how much of that is the wood?? I'm trying to leave pick-ups out of my answer, but I can't. I never really bonded (tone wise) with the Fender steels I've had with the Stringmaster PU configuration. But my current main 8-string with the Gibson Console Grande style pup checks all my boxes. It's all taste, I guess.

One more thing - through body string attachment.
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Bill Groner


From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 4:13 pm    
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Totally agree with you David. My last 3 were string through the body..........it does make a difference.
All my maple ones are Curly maple out of Western PA, Eastern Ohio, or NY State. I have Aluma Lace P 90 Riffians on them........great tone. Kevin Glandon told me about them. Forum member, talented player and a great wood worker.

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Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40
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Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 29 Oct 2019 9:40 pm    
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I like a short scale and a hot pickup. And some sweet vintage mojo.
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Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 7:52 am    
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Allan Revich wrote:
I like a short scale and a hot pickup. And some sweet vintage mojo.


Never would have guessed. Winking
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Bill Groner


From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 8:36 am    
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Allan Revich wrote:
I like a short scale and a hot pickup. And some sweet vintage mojo.


You also have a thing for blonde guitars! I looked at your collection and made my last one Almond Pearl
(off white) I got it wired up on Sunday and all went well. When I get time I hope to post some pictures of the finished steel. It's maple and has a nice mellow tone.

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Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40
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Brad Bechtel


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 11:06 am    
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What makes a great lap steel? The person playing it.

"If you can play, it doesn't matter what guitar you use. If you can't play, it doesn't matter what guitar you use." -- Jerry Byrd
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C. E. Jackson


Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 12:12 pm    
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Brad Bechtel wrote:
What makes a great lap steel? The person playing it.

"If you can play, it doesn't matter what guitar you use. If you can't play, it doesn't matter what guitar you use." -- Jerry Byrd


Great thoughts to remember, Brad. I agree with you and Jerry.

C. E. Jackson Smile
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David Knutson


From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 1:02 pm    
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I agree with the first half of J.B.'s famous statement . . . but . . . for beginners, who have not yet developed skills, I think finding an instrument that sounds and feels good to them all by itself will motivate and gratify them to learn and practice more, and eventually perhaps be able to make any guitar sound good - like Jerry. MHO

Thanks for this thread, Brian.
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Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 3:27 pm    
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I like the combo platter of a 22.5" scale and a wide string spacing at both the nut and bridge ala Gibson. Strings through the body is a definite plus -- seems somehow to help make the harmonics fly out of an instrument. In a pickup, I favor an even response from string to string over the pickup's strength, so adjustable polepieces are a plus. And I have a soft spot for 7-string instruments (which this one is gonna be when I've finished with it):

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Jerry Wagner


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 4:35 pm    
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Pickup (3 choices equally good, but different):
1. Rickenbacker, Lollar or Clinesmith Horseshoe
2. Clinesmith (Bigsby) Blade
3. EMG 707-TW Active PU.
Body Material (3 choices, equally good but different tone):
1. Aluminum, Rickenbacker or Clinesmith
2. Bakelite, Rickenbacker
3. Hardwood with cavities, Asher or ?
Preferred Hardwood: IMHO, the denser the better.
One advantage of hardwood (with cavities) is the guitar stays in tune better than aluminum or Bakelite, when played on your lap.
24" Scale Length
String-thru the body
7-String; Range Hi-G (.013) to Low-Bb (.042)
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Jerry Wagner


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 5:06 pm    
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Hey Brian,
This is off-topic, but I just noticed that you're in Nova Scotia. We were recently there for 2 weeks. Great foot-stompin' fiddle music all around Cape Breton! We were intrigued by a primitive acoustic steel guitar in the Celtic Music Center in Judique, and the back-story about the MacLellan Trio. Evidently Marie MacLelland played lap steel with her brother & sister before playing piano & organ. Donald MacLelland played with Hank Snow, and Hank's mother played a lap steel. Kind'a explains all those Hapa Haole Hank Snow cowboy songs. I discovered there's a Chataqua in Halifax, so maybe that's how Hawaiian music got to Nova Scotia in the early 1900's.
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Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2019 6:08 pm    
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I think what makes a great lap steel is one that produces that tone that you have in your head. It’s kinda like the Goldilocks bed.
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G Strout


From:
Carabelle, Florida
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2019 9:14 pm    
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I have to go with Brad. Joe Pass could pick up a Teisco guitar and kick your a$$. The PLAYER is the major component. Watched Joe play one night and his amp went out, just died.. He plugged into the house system ...... took 45 seconds and he was Joe again. We worry about this equipment way too much.
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Melbert 8, Remington S8, Silk 6 string, Rick B6, Tremblay 6 lap steel, Marlen S-10 4&4, Prestige Guild M75 and Artist Award, Benedetto Bravo, Epiphone Century Electar (the real one) and a bunch of old lap steels.... mostly Ricks and Magnatones'
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b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2019 10:42 pm    
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The best sounding lap steels I've owned have strings through the body. My 8-string Sierra is large and heavy. My 6-string Rickenbacker Electro is small and light. That feature is the only thing they have in common, and they both sound great. Very different from each other, but great in their own way. Strings that terminate at the bridge or at a part screwed to the top don't resonate as well, in my experience.
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Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2019 3:36 am    
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Johnie King's thread about modern build vs vintage tone speaks directly to answer my question - so many ways to get a great instrument, and beautiful looking and sounding.
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