Lap Steel vs. Electric slide

Nothing's inherently tonally different between the two styles of guitar, but individual ones will have different pickups, etc. My Artisan lap steel has a generic Strat-style bridge pickup and will sound pretty much like any Strat sliding using that pickup.

I'm going to build a lap steel using a DiMarzio Soapbar P-90, mounted close to the bridge. Won't use a tone pot. It'll sound a bit dirtier than the Artisan, I'll bet.

Well, while it's possible to make a bottleneck slide sound pretty close to a lap steel, and vice versa, there are some major differences.

* you can not fret on a lap steel, so the fret/slide option is gone
* heavier strings (usually) and higher action, combined with the weight of the steelbar and hand pressure, makes for a fatter tone and better sustain.
* playing techniques,- for example, on lap steel you can/will use 'slants' and other techniques to get chords or slide in and out of different chords. Some of this can also be achieved by fretting behind the slide of course, but it will never sound the same.

In addition there is one thing that surprised me a bit when I started playing lap steel after sliding for some 25 years,- the different angle I see the fretboard from really made me approach my sliding in a different way. My phrasing is definitely different, more melodic perhaps, plus the weight of the steelbar have probably also contributed to changes in my phrasing. Or it could be just me...

Anyway, after I got really serious about lap steel some years ago, I've kinda lost interest in bottleneck sliding. Still do it now and then, but I usually reach for one of my lap steels..

Steinar

Thanks, Steinar!

Hey, on that topic, is there any way on lap slide to play in a minor key while in a major open tuning? I do that in bottleneck by fretting behind the slide for the minor chords. On the lap steel, I've fudged it by playing the minor melody and using "power chords" to substitute for the minor chords.

I'm going to build a lap steel using a DiMarzio Soapbar P-90, mounted close to the bridge. Won't use a tone pot. It'll sound a bit dirtier than the Artisan, I'll bet.

Ricochet, there's a website that shows you how to build your own lapsteel guitar... it's http://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lapsteel/ ... it's not the most glamourous looking lap steel but it's definitely a start and gives you a basic idea of what you'll be in for if you've never done it before.

Yeah, I plan to basically use that plan, but with a slot-head instead.

Hey, on that topic, is there any way on lap slide to play in a minor key while in a major open tuning?

Yes, but not with full chords. Since I usually play in a band setting I can get by with playing two and three note harmonies. So this is how I do it,- if I want an A minor in E major tuning, I slant the bar and play the first string, fifth fret, and third string, fourth fret. If I want a full minor triad I add the second string, fifth fret. This is called a "split slant" and takes a bit of practice to get right, but after a while it'll start to sound right..

If you want full minor triads without slanting you need to tune to one of the "6th" tunings. Take C6 for example - CEGACE - strings 6, 5 and 4, or 4, 2 and 1 form a C major triad, while strings 3, 2 and 1 forms the paralell A minor triad.

I have started exploring the D13 tuning, lots of harmonies available. It is CDF#ABD, and besides the advantages of a regular 6th tuning it also adds the 7th on the bottom, so I can get lots of diminished and other voicings.
But I still prefer the simplicity of a straight major tuning though (usually D in my case),- the challenges seem to make me put more effort into my playing, and I end up sounding more like "me" (don't know of that's always such a great idea though... :D ).

Steinar

Thanks!

Welcom to GN Steiner, I just got a 6 string lap steel and started working with C6 tuning( trying to sort it out) so the part about the tiads helped alot!thanks :D --the dog

Ricochet, I forgot to mention that if you move three frets up from the major chord position, and play strings 2, 3, 4 (in open E) you'll have a nice minor seventh (no slanting required). Strings 2 and 3 will give you a seventh (with no root note).

Smokingdog, there are some very nice triads hidden in that C6 tuning, depending on the root played by the bass. Besides the obvious C major, C6, A minor, A minor 7, there's also Fmaj7 (A, C, E) and D11 for example, plus lots of two-note harmonies, like Esus4 (the E and A), - just use your imagination and you'll find many interesting harmonic possibilities.
Many of the players from the 'Jerry Bird school' tunes the 6th string up to a C#,- at that point things really gets creepy....

Steinar

I'm going to build a lap steel using a DiMarzio Soapbar P-90, mounted close to the bridge. Won't use a tone pot. It'll sound a bit dirtier than the Artisan, I'll bet.

What kind of bridge are you using, and what do you plan to use for the nut? I'm building one next month or so, this will be a cool project :D -the dog

Can you document it for us Ric? It would make a neat article. :)

I expect it'll be very similar to this one: http://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lapsteel/

It'll have a P-90 and a slotted headstock. Probably using a piece of right angled aluminum molding for the nut. Maybe brass. I've got a nice plank of California avocado wood that a friend sawed from a blown down tree in a nearby orchard a couple of years back. He "kiln dried" it in cars parked in the Southern California sun, and it was still in there when the big fires raged through and burned up 6 of his 7 outbuildings and the west end of his house. I've had it sitting in my house for a year or so, so it's well seasoned.

Yeah, I ought to get some pics.

I'm going to build a lap steel using a DiMarzio Soapbar P-90, mounted close to the bridge. Won't use a tone pot. It'll sound a bit dirtier than the Artisan, I'll bet.

What kind of bridge are you using, and what do you plan to use for the nut? I'm building one next month or so, this will be a cool project :D -the dog

You didn't ask me, but I've been (in the process of) building a lap steel from scratch for some time now. So far, I've routed two maple planks into shape, shielded the inside cavities and then glued the halves together. I've been thinking about the nut and bridge for some time. I bought a Dobro nut blank, but am wondering if brass might be better. For the bridge I'm 90% set on using a Les Paul Junior style combo tailpiece/bridge. It's pretty easy to install and should provide good coupling to the body.

I wish I were using a P90, but have already routed for a G&L single coil MFD bridge pup I had lying around. It's really too bad, as someone gave me a P90 after I already did the routing. Maybe on the next one ....

Ricochet, I forgot to mention that if you move three frets up from the major chord position, and play strings 2, 3, 4 (in open E) you'll have a nice minor seventh (no slanting required). Strings 2 and 3 will give you a seventh (with no root note).Thanks, Steinar, that's cool!