Rare German Lap Steel

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 10 Feb 2020 10:00 am

One of my customers in Germany sent me pictures of his Herrnsdorf Elektro Artist 8-string lap steel and matching amp. I think they were made in the 1960s. The lap steel looks somewhat like a Framus, but it's more ornate than a Framus IMO. A nice looking set.

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 10 Feb 2020 12:04 pm

Way cool! But those controls in the amp's rear, ugh.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 10 Feb 2020 12:23 pm

Yeah, it's like the amps of the 1930s... the head is on the bottom of the cabinet with the controls facing the rear. By the 1950s most amps had the controls either on top or in front. I think this amp is early 60's.

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 10 Feb 2020 3:11 pm

Nifty. They were coating with MOT too!

Steffen Gunter · Post by **Steffen Gunter** » 11 Feb 2020 1:45 am

I started with one of these these too. You find them quite often on German eBay for cheap and they play pretty well. The MOTS coating is just a foil. To change strings you have to slide away the cap. The huge PU sounds interesting. Spacing is similar to a Stringmaster's but the strings should be higher and not so close to the fretboard. But I also have an old German Instruction course and they played 7th chord by pressing down one string on the fretboard behind the bar. That's why the strings are so low. Did anyone in Hawaii or the US ever use this technique?

These guitars were build in Eastern Germany (GDR) and there existed some manufacturers of lapsteel guitars, so it must have been quite popular â€“ dreaming away with music because you know you will never travel in reality â€¦

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Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 11 Feb 2020 7:52 am

...they played 7th chord by pressing down one string on the fretboard behind the bar. That's why the strings are so low. Did anyone in Hawaii or the US ever use this technique?

Very interesting, Steffen. I've never heard of that technique, although I did have an old bar that had a small section attached that the player could press down onto a string behind the main bar to make a lower note... a similar idea.

These guitars were build in Eastern Germany (GDR) and there existed some manufacturers of lapsteel guitars, so it must have been quite popular â€“ dreaming away with music because you know you will never travel in reality â€¦

Wow, that's an interesting thought, and it makes perfect sense.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 11 Feb 2020 8:22 am

Looks like Herrnsdorf made volume pedals too.