need advice on playing acoustic lap steel

[les_rokr]

after watching ben harper a few nights ago, i felt very inspired to start playing some lap steel. problems: dont have money for another guitar, never played lap steel before.

 

after watching this video i figured i could accomplish something similar. i noticed that the action on the guitar was extremely high. i would like to dedicate an old (but decent) dreadnought acoustic to playing lap steel for now.

 

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

 

my main concern is adding a pickup to the guitar i want to play lap steel with. i have never used a soundhole pickup but i imagine that using one is the best way to play this guitar live which i plan to do in some small venues once i can get this guitar set up.

 

i want to start with a basic soundhole pickup to try this out. i was thinking about something like this

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Duncan-Performer-Maverick-Soundhole-Pickup?sku=300132#new

 

or this

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-Woody-SC-SingleCoil-Soundhole-Pickup?sku=300956

 

would any of these low priced pickups provide decent sound?

 

also, what strings would be best for playing this style?

 

thanks.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Any guitar that sounds good to you will be fine...and those with uncomfortably high actions are a good choice.

 

Either p/u you mentioned will work ok.

 

Generally, a medium guage set is good, unless you want to tune higher (my Oahu is tuned in "Modern G" - G D G B D G - so I've set it up w/ extra-lights)

 

[Jon Chappell]

As long as you can dedicate a guitar to the purpose, check out the extension nut from Stewart-MacDonald. It just pops in, under your strings and is held on by the tension of the strings. No permanent modification necessary.

 

 

I wrote an article about setting up your acoustic for slide here.

 

Like TAH said, medium-gauge strings are best, and the choice of sound-hole pickup is a personal preference.

 

Of course a true lap steel is something else, and generally tuned differently than an acoustic or Dobro guitar (you want to get that major-6th interval in there for steel-like harmonies). Used ones are fairly cheap and it's fun to prowl the pawn shops and used-instrument emporiums for them because there are so many funky varieties to choose from. I like the ones with playing cards or dice on them.

[les_rokr]

thanks.

 

I read your article am I'm interested in doing the saddle change, but its a bit unclear to me.

 

What do you mean by straight saddle? and how is it done?

[Mike_E_McGee]

The nut extender just slips under the strings. You slack them, slide it under, and tune it back to pitch. Another more permanent option would be to have a very tall nut installed like that on a dobro or weissenborn. Since it's a round neck, I'd go the nut extender route. Then if you decide to really make a go of it, try to find yourself a cheap squareneck. You can still pick up Oahus pretty cheap.

 

I'd highly recommend Bob Brozman's Lapstyle instructional DVD's. They're blues based, but have a lot of great roadmap information and give you ideas for several tunings.

 

I can't use a steel to save my life. I don't like the shubb style, and the standard bullet bar is too heavy and too small for my stubby fingers. Diamond Bottlenecks make some really nice tone bars and bottlenecks out of lead crystal glass. Tribotone bars are gaining a heck of a following, but I haven't been able to pick one up yet.

[boxorox]

Yah, go with the nut extender to see if you like it. There's the standard "Dobro" tuning, what TAH calls "Modern G", as well as another G tuning, and an A9th and C6th that you might like if you want the old Country/Western Swing/Hawaiian sounds. Stackabones will be able to tell you about this stuff. As far as bars, the "Stevens" bar is pretty standard, but some of the newer ones look like hey might be easier to handle. Do not get a pedal steel "Bullet". Very hard to handle if you intend to stand, though they can be pretty handy in a bar fight. Or so I'm told. So I'm told.

[Jon Chappell]

 

thanks. I read your article am I'm interested in doing the saddle change, but its a bit unclear to me. What do you mean by straight saddle? and how is it done?

 

 

If you use your guitar's existing saddle, your strings will have a slight radius to them--higher in the middle, lower at the 1st and 6th strings. (Look down your neck from the 1st fret and underneath the strings to better see the curve at the top of the saddle.) If you craft a saddle blank such that the top goes straight across, all the strings will be level. Since the strings are raised up high off of the fretboard anyway (from the extender nut), there's no need for the strings to follow the contour of your radiused fingerboard. Flatter strings will yield better bar results, especially for full chords.

 

Dobro tuning is G-B-D-G-B-D, low to high (so you'd tune the 6th and 5th strings up and the 1st string down). Open G is D-G-D-G-B-D (6th and 5th strings tuned down, 1st string down). That's the same relative tuning as Open A, the one Bonnie Raitt and Robert Johnson use. Open D or Open E (same relative tuning) is (in E) E-B-E-G#-B-E and was used by Elmore James and Duane Allman.

 

Warren Haynes told me in an interview that he had to learn Duane's solos when he played in the Allman Bros. Band, but that he re-learned some of the Open E solos in standard, so he wouldn't have to retune, which was problematic onstage.

 

I cover some of these issues in my book Blues Guitar for Dummies.