dave
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by dave on Jun 21, 2006 16:25:59 GMT -7
I quite fancy getting a lap steel guitar to noodle some blues on - there are plenty of ebay cheapies out there but do any of you play lap steel? Any things to look out for? I guess most of the usual guitar worries are irrelevant (action, fretwork, straight neck etc!!!). Is it all about weight, pickups, tuners? Any advice welcome here!
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 21, 2006 17:12:15 GMT -7
I've played lap steel for quite a while, although not much anymore. If I was you I'd try to buy an old one. 9 out of 10 of the old ones are good. I've never tried out any of the new ones. A new expensive one would be good but for the same money you can get an old one. Some of the less expensive old ones would be Supro, Kay, Silvertone, Harmony, Oahu. Better yet would be Nationals, Rickenbackers, Gibson, Fender. They came in 6,7,8, and 10 string models and double necks. Finding a tuning you can use and get along with is what will make or break how interested you are in learning. A standard E chord for instance gets boring pretty quick because it's only good for blues. A Dobro tuning is also rather limiting. There are some pretty good websites that can give you some other tunings. It's also to have the proper gauges to prevent wear to your bar and to limit string rattling. The guages need to increase rather evenly or the bar will rattle. I use an E-6 tuning. This tuning will also give me a good Major 7th and Minor 7th which a lot of tunings won't give you. At the bottom of my posting box click on my band name, click on Tunes and then click on and play 24 Hours. I used an 8 string Supro on that solo tuned to the E6. If you want to know anymore about that tuning I can give you more info later.
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 22, 2006 14:02:07 GMT -7
I noticed you're in the UK. Maybe American old lap steels are harder to get there. I'm sure there were some made in Europe, Framus, Hofner, Eko? they might be cheaper where you are. If not, a new one would suffice. I really like them to have legs, myself.
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dave
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by dave on Jun 22, 2006 15:42:02 GMT -7
Thanks for all the info. I enjoyed listening to 24hrs and other luckysoandso's tracks! By coincedence I have started rehearsing with a guy from Austin Texas who has just moved over here and have been doing a few swing numbers as well as a load of stuff thats new to me, Tinsley Ellis, Tommy Castro, Jonny lang - a lot of fun.
I've not looked in music stores yet, but there are always a few lap steels for sale on ebay. Jagard is a make that comes up commonly. Legs? Another dimension I had not thought of!
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 22, 2006 15:47:00 GMT -7
Don't know Jagard? Legs are nice. When I did a blues band I could have a lap steel set up and then with an a/b switch I could switch to steel for a solo.
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