Lap King "Bel Aire" soundclips

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 5:47 am

Got my Lap King "Bel Aire" lap steel a few days ago, and figured I should post some soundfiles since this was requested in another thread.

No spectacular playing here, just me noodling around at home, in D13 (CDF#ABD).....

Bel Aire clean.
Recorded through my POD, set at "Fender Black Panel", gain and all tone controls at "12 o'clock", with just a little touch of the POD's reverb. No compression or any post-EQ'ing.

Bel Aire overdriven.
Same settings as above, but with a Visual Sound "Jekyll & Hyde" overdrive/distortion pedal in front. I am using the "Jekyll" overdrive, set to medium gain.

Volume and tone controls on the Bel Aire are wide open on both tracks. I have not included any examples featuring the lipstick pickup, since the difference in volume between that and the bridge pickup (a Duncan "Phat Cat" on my model) is too much for it to really be useful.

No photos either, but that's because I am experimenting on the pickguard design and will probably have a smaller metal one made, that covers the hole from the lipstick. So it basically looks like s**t now (I do stuff like this to guitars now and then....

),- if you want to see it you can go to Lap King's website and check the guitar Jason is posing with there, that's mine.

I have made some suggestions for improvements in future models, and Jason is a really positive guy who doesn't quit until you're happy,- a quality that place him right 'up there' with Bill Asher, George Piburn, and other master luthiers in my book.

All in all,- I'm happy and this is a great partner for my Asher Electro Hawaiian,- the difference in sound and looks between the two makes them complement each other nicely, exactly as I hoped.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com
[This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 22 October 2005 at 07:18 AM.]

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Oct 2005 7:21 am

SG,,,,It, and you, sound great buddy! Glad to see you got it, and what a looker! I've had to postpone my purchase of one of these due to my going "all-out" with my new Davis/Coop Shobud. But one o these days, I'm gonna get a Lapking.
Best, JB

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 22 Oct 2005 7:36 am

Steinar-- That Phat Cat sounds real good: full with a nice upper-midrange bite. And overdriven--phew! That's some sweet talk... (I'd be curious to hear some wah-wah testimony through that pup!)

Are you going with a single-pickup setup? --Steve

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Oct 2005 7:45 am

Steinar, I was just thinkin' maybe you should check with Jason Lollar about replacing that lipsticker. You might be able to get a Stringmaster pup in there. JB

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 7:48 am

Stephan,- yep, I'll just keep the Duncan "Phat Cat". The output is so radically different, and I don't know how 'hot' one can make a "lipstick" without loosing the special character it has.
The Phat Cat is so responsive to my picking that I can manipulate the tone pretty much as I please simply by changing the picking position and attack.
Ideally I think it would have sounded even better just a 2-3mm's further away from the bridge, but that's for another model.......

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

[This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 22 October 2005 at 08:51 AM.]

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 7:52 am

John,- thanks for the idea, replacing it with a stringmaster pup never crossed my mind. Yes, that may be doable....

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

[This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 22 October 2005 at 09:10 AM.]

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Oct 2005 8:52 am

SG, I was gonna put Stringmaster pups in my Dano B/G bender guitar. I got the dimensions from Jason, and they sure looked, to me, like they'd fit
.JB

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 8:58 am

Does he make them for 6-strings? I can only find 8-string models on his site...

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Oct 2005 9:07 am

He told me he did make 6 stringers. Email him, he's usually pretty prompt answering. And, you know, he can probably match it up pretty well to your other pickup, so, if you do contact him, let him know about the Phat Cat.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 9:34 am

Thanks John, I'll do that!

I'd be curious to hear some wah-wah testimony through that pup!

Stephan, wait no longer - Bel Aire wah - same setup as the overdriven track, but with a Fulltone Clyde wah added in front of the overdrive.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 22 Oct 2005 9:54 am

YEAH BABY!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!

[This message was edited by Stephan Miller on 22 October 2005 at 10:55 AM.]

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 22 Oct 2005 10:18 am

What i really like is at the end of your clip, you play the same chord a few times in different positions up the neck. This really helps us hear the tone quality of your guitar. Thanks!

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Oct 2005 10:33 am

Steinar, Re: D13, CDF#ABD. I gotta try this tuning. What are the string guages you're using?
JB

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 22 Oct 2005 10:35 am

I use the Jagwire C6/A6 set that b0b sells here,- the long scale of the Bel Aire (25") makes up for the lower tensioned tuning.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 22 Oct 2005 4:28 pm

Pretty Damn sweet there Steinar. All three tones sounded great.

Joy Wofford · Post by **Joy Wofford** » 23 Oct 2005 8:11 pm

WHOOOOO!!!! What a sweet sound. I've got a picture from Jason of the pink one I wanted to see. Might not tickle most of you guy's fancies....but wow, I sure like it, and now that I've heard this one of Steinars, I'm really thinking about going into hock and getting one.......thanks for letting us hear it Steinar.

Joy

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 24 Oct 2005 5:06 am

SG very nice tones and playing. you have a nice handle on the blues.
congrads.