Let's have a lap steel thread!

[Zork]

I recently played my lap steel a lot and thought there must be a few of us who enjoy lap steels as much as I do. So, let's have a lap steel thread. Discuss tunings, mods, slide bars and what not and - of course - show off some guitars.

Here's mine, a Silvertone 1319 from the late '40s to early '50s. It's a super funky cute little thing:



I especially like the little decorative elements on the headstock and the back:





I kept it in open D for a while, but recently discovered G6 (DGDGBE) as my new favourite tuning as you can play major as well as minor chords. The Certano Bender rises G to an A and B to C and that's pretty cool for all kinds of stuff.

Now show yours!

[Zork]

...oh, and did you notice how insanely cool these knobs are:

[marqueemoon]

Sweet! I have a vintage Oahu 6 string in mother-of-toilet-seat. I have it in C6 tuning right now. My pandemic project was going to be learning to play it properly, but I haven’t gotten very far with that.

I have used it on a few recordings that will be coming out soon.

On one the engineer/producer wanted me to double a part using a slide. I suggested trying the steel, and when I sat down to do it it turned out it lined up perfectly. Apparently I had the intervals of the C6 tuning on the brain when I came up with the original part.

I would love to see what other folks here are using for steels and strings. I think I’d like to try a less heavy steel and flats for the wound strings.

[mackerelmint]

I have a dirt-cheap morrell lap steel in C6. Can't say I'm much good at playing it, unfortunately. It sure is fun, though.

I have a (totally doable) pipedream of making a new lap steel, and adding some Certano levers to it. Which, if I'm being honest, would kind of be a shortcut on my part. Being able to do bends like that really adds a lot, but a good player can do just about as much without them... I dunno if y'all know Junior Brown or not, but that man can play the everlovin' hell out of an 8 string steel... with a tele attached to it.

[marqueemoon]

The Certano benders definitely look cool. If I get better I’d want those for sure. My bar slants aren’t as awful as they used to be, and maybe with more practice and a different steel bending behind it will get easier, but it doesn’t have the same sound as raising pitch with a lever.

[sookwinder]

Can't play it very well, but it is fun trying ...

[Zork]

I would love to see what other folks here are using for steels and strings. I think I’d like to try a less heavy steel and flats for the wound strings.

Well, I use the Duesenberg strings, but being 16 to 56 they would not be a good choice for C6, right? They are great for open D, open E, open G or G6, though. Flatwounds on a steel is a very interesting idea! I've never thought of this but now I totally want to try it out, too.

As for the steels, I've got a round Harley Benton tone bar which I tend to use for more experimental things with more single notes and droning open strings and a Shubb SP2 which I prefer in every other situation and find much better to handle. Both weigh roughly the same, about 200g. Can't tell if that's on the light or the heavy side for a steel... what's the benefits of a light steel?

[marqueemoon]

what's the benefits of a light steel?

I’m thinking it might be easier to get around with and lift off of strings I don’t want to sound.

The one lighter steel I tried definitely had a different sound too.

[Lost In Autumn]

I dunno if y'all know Junior Brown or not, but that man can play the everlovin' hell out of an 8 string steel... with a tele attached to it.

most great players inspire me to go back into the woodshed to improve my playing; Junior Brown nearly inspired me to give up the guitar completely. Damn he's good.

[mackerelmint]

Seriously. He deserves to be a thousand times better known than he is; I guess he's a little too country for Nashville. He puts on a hell of a good show, too. A real class act.

[mackerelmint]

Sook, I have a question about the Duesenberg. Those benders, I've read, can be set up to bend up or down.

Could you put up a shot of the benders, or explain how they're set up to do that? I understand how the Certanos work, and I'm horribly curious to know what kind of mechanism Duesenberg uses to do that. I have ideas, but you know.

[fuzzjunkie]

I dunno if y'all know Junior Brown or not, but that man can play the everlovin' hell out of an 8 string steel... with a tele attached to it.

most great players inspire me to go back into the woodshed to improve my playing; Junior Brown nearly inspired me to give up the guitar completely. Damn he's good.

I’ve mentioned this story before. Years ago there was a vintage guitar shop above the Continental Club in Austin. Junior played there regularly and had a Friday happy hour gig too.

I was trying out a ‘63 Jaguar one Friday afternoon and Junior strolls in all suited up in his embroidered jacket, cowboy hat and boots for his happy hour show. He must have had some time to kill as he’s just casually looking at old amps and guitars.

There is a sitar sitting in the corner. I had plucked it for a minute because I had never seen or played one before and wanted to see how it sounded. No idea how to actually play it.

Junior sees it and walks over and grabs it. He plucked a few notes like I did. No idea if he’s ever played one before at this point, but I stopped what I was doing and watched. Then he rips off Norwegian Wood like it was nothing. Everyone in the shop (it was just me and the shop owner and the guitar/amp tech besides Junior) is watching now.

Junior stopped and looked around. He said “Does anyone want some Tandoori with that?”

Then he checked his watch, puts the sitar down, and heads downstairs to the Continental Club.

I ended up buying the Jaguar, but sold it on long ago.

[mackerelmint]

Ahahaha!!

What an amazing story!

[Zork]

Gretsch G5700 seems to be availlable in new pretty cool colors:

Gretsch Guitars G5700 Lap Steel BDWY JDE

Gretsch Guitars G5700 Lap Steel VWT

Gretsch Guitars G5700 Lap Steel THTI RD

...the green one speaks to me...

[Shadoweclipse13]

Anyone have any homemade lap steel guitars? I'm gonna try to get around to mine this summer and am really curious what else is out there in the DIY realm.