Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 So I sometimes go and see bands, such as I See Hawks in LA, and someone will be playing a lap steel guitar. And it sounds so gorgeous. So it made me think that maybe I might want to try it. I play a some guitar already, and although I'm not super technical or know many songs other than my band's songs, I'm comfortable on one. How hard is a lap steel to play? What's a decent cheap beginner's model? http://search.ebay.com/lap-steel (eBay) Maybe I can get Jeff Leites really into playing lap steel by asking this question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 You might also search using the term Weissenborn for the acoustics. There is some history and some controversy about the use of the name. Lots of good stuff out there, though. They are breathtaking when played well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 28, 2007 Moderators Share Posted November 28, 2007 Lap steel is pretty easy if you have a good feel for dampening behind the barred note. If you've ever tried playing slide on your electric and learned to quelch the buzz... even a little bit, you'll be fine on a steel. It's much easier due to the fretboard not coming into play. You can buy even semivintage steels for reasonable prices. Under 200. David Lindley is a god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 And since there's not much to a lap steel besides good tuners and pickups, you can buy new ones for next to nothing. What you save on the laptop, though, you'll want to put into a good volume pedal. That is absolutely key to the sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GY Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 Cool, thanks everyone!! What are some good sub-$200 models to look out for? I have the volume pedal with the Vox ToneLab SE, so I can probably use that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 28, 2007 Moderators Share Posted November 28, 2007 The Oahu my neighbor owns is nice. here's one... http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Oahu-Lap-steel_W0QQitemZ320186274772QQihZ011QQcategoryZ2384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GY Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 Too bad the audio is rather poor on this one... if you ever get a chance to see/hear Jeremy Wakefield, you won't be disappointed. Truly inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fendercaster Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 David Gilmour does some nice stuff on lap steel, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtrbass Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 Even the cheap Rogue Lap steels aren't bad. You just slap in a better pickup at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members c10 Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 You'll want to look around on a couple of the non-pedal related sub-forums on http://steelguitarforum.com , tons of good information there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dylan Walters Posted November 28, 2007 Members Share Posted November 28, 2007 I believe you can also buy a bridge kit which raises the action on a standard electric guitar that will get you into lap steel terrority. It might be worth looking at vs. shelling out cash for a dedicated lap steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted November 29, 2007 Members Share Posted November 29, 2007 We're on the same wave length, I am asking for the Rogue lapsteel for X-mas. I tried using a pen to raise the action on one of my guitars to make a lap steel, which worked OK, but the strings are closer together than on most dedicated lap steels. I love steel guitar, with and without pedals, but the standard C&W sound of the sixties and after (ala Pete Drake, Sneaky Pete Kleinow) is my least favorite use of the instrument. I prefer older country music, country swing, country jazz, old Hawaiin music and Sacred steel. Players like Speedy West, Jerry Bird, Buddy Emmons, Jerry Douglas and Robert Randolph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2007 I don't know enough about the different styles, but I did see Sneaky Pete once, and was really moved by what he was playing. My favorite is probably Paul Lacques of I See Hawks in LA. I like the lap steel with some analog delay and the nuance that a volume pedal brings to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff Leites Posted November 29, 2007 Members Share Posted November 29, 2007 Funny you should mention that Ken. A few years ago I was thinking about making the simple steel lap guitar described here: http://buildyourguitar.com/books/elap/eBook_Sample_full.pdf Maybe someday I still will, but I think the only thing I'd ever play on it is Sleepwalk I want to follow through on the flute right now. I hope to pickup up a router bit that I need for it tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted November 29, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted November 29, 2007 NAMM is coming in a little more than a month. Unless you're looking for a Christmas present, see what the show brings. There's a company that I can't remember who, a couple of years ago, was showing a really nicely made lap steel for a target retail price of $100. It may be one of the brands you've turned up already but I just can't remember what it was. The company also makes pedal steel guitars, so it might have been Carter, who's always at the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2007 That's a good idea, Mike, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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