It may be just my own mental associations, but I always thought most of the difference between lap steel and bottleneck sound was in the style of music being played on the various instruments.
Obviously, they overlap in terms of potential, but each opens potentials the other doesn't have, or at least can't easily achieve.
When I think of the two instruments the image that comes to mind is Pink Floyd vs. Duane Allman. That says more about my listening habits than about the instruments!
(I have been satisfied with my instrument collection for some time now; then Ricochet posted about a great deal on lap steels on another forum and the GAS is working on me. I'm fighting it, but the itch is there. Darn you, Ricochet!)
If it ain't true, it ain't blues.
You didn't ask me, but I've been (in the process of) building a lap steel from scratch for some time now.
Sounds pretty cool. I think my first one will be out of spare parts of an old cheap strat copy a buddy gave me, kind of a practice run, then i want to build a double 6 string lap steel with p-90's and better parts. But then cheap IS good :lol: I think the LP style bridge is good also, I think the plan ricochet is going by uses a LP style bridge. maybe we all can have a home made lap steel battle when we are all done building our steels :D THANKS--the dog
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
It may be just my own mental associations, but I always thought most of the difference between lap steel and bottleneck sound was in the style of music being played on the various instruments.
Yeah, that is partly true, at least this is how many people sees this.
However, for me the biggest difference is in the sustain and tone,- it's best heard when you play with a relatively clean sound. A good lap steel will act almost as if it has a built-in compressor and out-sustain a bottleneck slide completely, and also have a fatter tone (of course, choice of pickups plays a role here, but with the exact same pickups, this is the case). My Asher lap steel sustains for days, never heard anything like it in a bottleneck slide...
The weight of the steelbar and the pressure you can apply to the strings on a lap steel also plays a role, there's a noticable difference in tone and sustain if you play a lap steel with a regular bottleneck or a massive steelbar.
Another important issue,- in my experience it seems like many female members of the audience kinda enjoy the sight of a (slightly) overweight middle-aged man sitting on stage fiddling with something in his lap...
:mrgreen:
Steinar
I just found this site. very cool.
I am really enjoying lap steel . these last three years have been great. Ive been playing guitar for close to forty years. lap steel has really opened up the way I see the guitar neck and my approach to playing.
I have built two laps. the first I ave no pics. number 2 is a work in progress.
both use pickups I got from Seymour Duncan. they ae the tele pups/Antiquity series. he remakes the pups that were ripped out of lap steels to fatten the tone on the early teles and Broadcasters.
the nuts was made from square stock stainless steel. the bridge is a Hipshot from Stewmac. I like it and dislike it. the likes I can palm mute and it was ready made and looks cool. I dislike the string spacing...too narrow.
the body of the first lap was rock maple. it produces very clear jangly tones.
the second lap has a mahogany body. very mellow tones.
both sustain forever and have lots of dirt for the blues.
the fret boards I made. too time consuming and I worry the accuracy. I plan on switching out the fret board on l;ap number two. I plan on using plexi and a printed fret layout sandwich.
here are my main laps:
Hey David, $60:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/518800/
John, you have a distinct mean streak.
If it ain't true, it ain't blues.
Hey guest, nice lap steel. :D I like the idea for the plexi/printed fret board. Could get a retro 50's look that way. How can i get a print out for a fret board?-the dog
I bought a large piece of white pearloid pickguard laminate from Stew Mac to use for the fret markers. Top to bottom it is pearl-black-white-black. I'm going to use a Dremel router to cut the "frets" and markers down through the pearl to the black layer.
What scales lengths are people using?
-=tension & release=-
What scales lengths are people using?
22,5" and 25" seems to be the most used (and anything in between). The shorter 22,5" is probably the most common, many players prefer this since it is easier to slant precisely on a short scale. Others, including me, is willing to sacrifice the easy slanting for the fuller tone and better sustain of a 25" scale.
Steinar
Yeah, that's a cool looking homebuilt lap steel!
Oh, David: $60. :lol:
(Hard to build one for that, if you've got to buy the hardware.)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Yeah, $60--No Sales tax :lol: :lol: :twisted:
Ha!! My ineptitude saved me again.
I followed the link, again (#@%!*) and found I was weaker tonight than I had anticipated. I was in the process of filling out the order form when I realized I couldn't figure out how to pay for it with a money order.
Faced with regaining my resolve vs. figuring out how to work that automated order form, I got out unscathed.
But it was close...
If it ain't true, it ain't blues.
David, 1-800-391-8762----24/7---product # 518800---thay can HELP you :twisted: :lol: :lol:
$59.99--NO TAX :twisted: :twisted:
I use 22.5" scale. I have to search for the site where I found fretboard calculations. may take awhile.
yeah, Im going t yank that fretboard and create a fifties look.
