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Lap steel questions

3/29/1999 12:58 PM
Mike	Lap steel questions Hello- I am going to build a lap steel as my first guitar project, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the subject. The plans I have drawn up are pretty simple. I’m going to use a 2’ thick piece of ash for the body, with a maple top (not figured) that will also provide material for the headstock. I also plan on using a prefab fretboard from a catalog. As for the bridge, and pickups, what are good choices? I want to build a 6 string version for the sake of using standard guitar parts, and plus if I decide to cannibalize the thing I’d have the parts to graft to another project. Stop tailpiece and humbuckers? Or single coils? Or a combo? Thanks! Mike

3/29/1999 12:58 PM

Mike

Lap steel questions

Hello-
I am going to build a lap steel as my first guitar project, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the subject. The plans I have drawn up are pretty simple. I’m going to use a 2’ thick piece of ash for the body, with a maple top (not figured) that will also provide material for the headstock. I also plan on using a prefab fretboard from a catalog. As for the bridge, and pickups, what are good choices? I want to build a 6 string version for the sake of using standard guitar parts, and plus if I decide to cannibalize the thing I’d have the parts to graft to another project. Stop tailpiece and humbuckers? Or single coils? Or a combo?
Thanks!
Mike

3/29/1999 10:42 PM
Steve A.	Mike: So what kind of music will you be playing? I always thought that David Lindley was about as good as they get on lap steel... but Wishbone Ash did some nice things, too. Or are you thinking along the lines of C&W and/or Hawaiian music? If you are good at woodworking I'd suggest that you try cutting out some resonating chambers in the ash before laminating the maple top on. While solid wood is good for sustain, I think that the chambers would really help a lap steel. For the bridge, you might look into a tele bridge for a humbucker pickup- either use a nice sweet hb there (like a Seth Lover) or maybe a P-94. I think that the strings going through the body would help the sustain. (I think I saw such a bridge in Stew-Mac.) That may be a bit low so you might be better off with a LP stop tail piece and tunamatic bridge... but the radius may be narrower than your strings. Are you thinking of having the strings completely flat, or adding a slight radius to them? For the nut Stew Mac sells an unslotted bone blank for dobros (#1526) for $8.xx. Steve Ahola P.S. Are you planning on using a stand for the lap steel? You might try adding threaded bushings on the bottom to mount it on a pair of mic stands...

3/29/1999 10:42 PM

Steve A.

Mike:

    So what kind of music will you be playing? I always thought that David Lindley was about as good as they get on lap steel... but Wishbone Ash did some nice things, too. Or are you thinking along the lines of C&W and/or Hawaiian music?

    If you are good at woodworking I'd suggest that you try cutting out some resonating chambers in the ash before laminating the maple top on. While solid wood is good for sustain, I think that the chambers would really help a lap steel. For the bridge, you might look into a tele bridge for a humbucker pickup- either use a nice sweet hb there (like a Seth Lover) or maybe a P-94. I think that the strings going through the body would help the sustain. (I think I saw such a bridge in Stew-Mac.) That may be a bit low so you might be better off with a LP stop tail piece and tunamatic bridge... but the radius may be narrower than your strings. Are you thinking of having the strings completely flat, or adding a slight radius to them?

    For the nut Stew Mac sells an unslotted bone blank for dobros (#1526) for $8.xx.

Steve Ahola

P.S. Are you planning on using a stand for the lap steel? You might try adding threaded bushings on the bottom to mount it on a pair of mic stands...

3/30/1999 7:33 AM
Steve M.	Steve, >>I always thought that David Lindley was >>about as good as they get on lap steel.. I am a huge David Lindley fan. He comes through Colorado about once a year, and I've seen him 4 times in the last 5 years. He plays mostly acoustic lapsteel, Weissborns I think, in addition to all those bizzaro ethnic instruments. His main rig is a Roland JC-120 preamped by an Ashley preamp. I have most of his solo stuff, including the three live albums that he records himself and sells at his shows, they are killer! For some of his best work check out "Mercury Blues" from EL Rayo X and EL Rayo X Live, "Heart's on Fire" from Mr. Dave, "Something's Got Ahold of Me" , "Make it on Time" and "Spodie" from Win This Record, and finally "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Tiki Torches at Twilight" from Very Greasy. Another favorite of mine on slide is Sonny Landreth, he is killer too. Steve M.

3/30/1999 7:33 AM

Steve M.

Steve,

>>I always thought that David Lindley was
>>about as good as they get on lap steel..

I am a huge David Lindley fan. He comes through Colorado about once a year, and I've seen him 4 times in the last 5 years. He plays mostly acoustic lapsteel, Weissborns I think, in addition to all those bizzaro ethnic instruments. His main rig is a Roland JC-120 preamped by an Ashley preamp.

I have most of his solo stuff, including the three live albums that he records himself and sells at his shows, they are killer! For some of his best work check out "Mercury Blues" from EL Rayo X and EL Rayo X Live, "Heart's on Fire" from Mr. Dave, "Something's Got Ahold of Me" , "Make it on Time" and "Spodie" from Win This Record, and finally "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Tiki Torches at Twilight" from Very Greasy.

Another favorite of mine on slide is Sonny Landreth, he is killer too.

Steve M.

3/30/1999 9:24 PM
Steve A.	Steve: "El Rayo X" was like the #1 "roots rock" party record of 1982... great album cover too! (It reminded me of those imported reggae records from Jamaica.) After he disbanded El Rayo X I really haven't followed his acoustic "treks" around the world (although I still have the greatest respect for him). Did you know that he was with the band Kaleidoscope from the 60's? (They were a psychedelic band that played songs with Middle Eastern and East Indian instruments and scales.) Of course you know he later hooked up with Terry Reid and Jackson Brown... So what is "Mr. Dave"? (I must have missed that one! BTW I thought that I was the only one who bought their imported live record... You must be a real David Lindley fanatic, too!) Sonny Landreth is great, too, but doesn't he usually play bottleneck-style? His tricks of fretting behind the slide are incredible... Mike: Maybe you could raise a tele-style bridge by laminating an extra layer of wood to the body underneath it (or would that look too funky?). If you go with a tunamatic bridge, you might try using a vise with two blocks of wood to flatten the string radius a bit. You might want to try that with an old bridge first to see how it works; you may need to ream out the two holes so that it will fit over the threaded pins. (For a lap steel, I think you want the strings to be absolutely flat, while for a slide guitar you would want a slight radius...) Steve Ahola

3/30/1999 9:24 PM

Steve A.

Steve:

    "El Rayo X" was like the #1 "roots rock" party record of 1982... great album cover too! (It reminded me of those imported reggae records from Jamaica.) After he disbanded El Rayo X I really haven't followed his acoustic "treks" around the world (although I still have the greatest respect for him). Did you know that he was with the band Kaleidoscope from the 60's? (They were a psychedelic band that played songs with Middle Eastern and East Indian instruments and scales.) Of course you know he later hooked up with Terry Reid and Jackson Brown...

    So what is "Mr. Dave"? (I must have missed that one! BTW I thought that I was the only one who bought their imported live record... You must be a real David Lindley fanatic, too!)

    Sonny Landreth is great, too, but doesn't he usually play bottleneck-style? His tricks of fretting behind the slide are incredible...

Mike:

    Maybe you could raise a tele-style bridge by laminating an extra layer of wood to the body underneath it (or would that look too funky?). If you go with a tunamatic bridge, you might try using a vise with two blocks of wood to flatten the string radius a bit. You might want to try that with an old bridge first to see how it works; you may need to ream out the two holes so that it will fit over the threaded pins. (For a lap steel, I think you want the strings to be absolutely flat, while for a slide guitar you would want a slight radius...)

Steve Ahola

3/31/1999 7:11 AM
Steve M.	Steve: >>After he disbanded ElRayo X I really haven't >>followed his acoustic "treks" around the >>world (although I still have the greatest >>respectfor him). Supposedly he is coming out with a new live El Rayo X album. I saw him last Sept. in Boulder, CO. He was playing with a new drummer/percussionist, Wally Ingram. He had been playing with Hanni Naser. Anyway check out his new official webpage: http://www.davidlindley.com/ and http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/lindley.html He was supposed to come out with the new live album back in October, but I don't see any mention of it now >>Did you know that he was with the band >>Kaleidoscope from the 60's? (They were a >>psychedelic band that played songs with >>Middle Eastern and East Indian instruments >>and scales.) I used to work with a guy who was an even bigger DL fan than I was, he had one of Kaleidescope's old vinyl albums, and made a copy for me, weird stuff! Kinda cool though. >>So what is "Mr. Dave"? (I must have missed >>that one! BTW I thought that I was the >>only one who bought their imported live >>record... You must be a real David Lindley >>fanatic, too!) "Mr. Dave" was a studio album that he made in the early 80s, I can't remember the exact year, but apparently it was only released on album and tape he in the US, and wasn't around for very long. I've seen copies of the record in used record stores. I got it on CD back in '85 or '86 as a Japanese import. It was $25 back then. Ouch! It is super-overprocessed studio-wise, but I really like it, lots of "Mr. Dave-isms". I got the El Rayo X live album around the same time. His new stuff really could be classified as "amplified acoustic" music, but he has some killer tunes. He does a killer blues song called "New Minglewood Blues/.45 Blues" on what is I think a Irish Bazouki on the new "Twango Bango Deluxe" album. I just checked the website, and his new CDs are $20 each! (postpaid) I got them at the live shows for $15. In fact he's one of the few artists that I'll pay full boat for a CD, 'cause I know I'll like it. My uncle has a friend who knows someone who recorded with Lindley one time, he said Lindley showed up at the session all dirty, with greasy hair and smelling like horsesh*t, but as soon as he plugged in and played, it was like being in the presence of God Of course, this may only be a rumor. [Sonny Landreth] Doh! Forgot he played bottleneck on regular guitar, he's still rules though. BTW, you know anything about the guy who played the solo on Red Rider's song "Lunatic Fringe"? I always thought that was a killer solo, but don't know anything about they guy who performed it. Regards, Steve

3/31/1999 7:11 AM

Steve M.

Steve:

>>After he disbanded ElRayo X I really haven't
>>followed his acoustic "treks" around the
>>world (although I still have the greatest
>>respectfor him).

Supposedly he is coming out with a new live El Rayo X album. I saw him last Sept. in Boulder, CO. He was playing with a new drummer/percussionist, Wally Ingram. He had been playing with Hanni Naser. Anyway check out his new official webpage:

http://www.davidlindley.com/

and

http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/lindley.html

He was supposed to come out with the new live album back in October, but I don't see any mention of it now

>>Did you know that he was with the band
>>Kaleidoscope from the 60's? (They were a
>>psychedelic band that played songs with
>>Middle Eastern and East Indian instruments
>>and scales.)

I used to work with a guy who was an even bigger DL fan than I was, he had one of Kaleidescope's old vinyl albums, and made a copy for me, weird stuff! Kinda cool though.

>>So what is "Mr. Dave"? (I must have missed
>>that one! BTW I thought that I was the
>>only one who bought their imported live
>>record... You must be a real David Lindley
>>fanatic, too!)

"Mr. Dave" was a studio album that he made in the early 80s, I can't remember the exact year, but apparently it was only released on album and tape he in the US, and wasn't around for very long. I've seen copies of the record in used record stores. I got it on CD back in '85 or '86 as a Japanese import. It was $25 back then. Ouch! It is super-overprocessed studio-wise, but I really like it, lots of "Mr. Dave-isms". I got the El Rayo X live album around the same time.

His new stuff really could be classified as "amplified acoustic" music, but he has some killer tunes. He does a killer blues song called "New Minglewood Blues/.45 Blues" on what is I think a Irish Bazouki on the new "Twango Bango Deluxe" album. I just checked the website, and his new CDs are $20 each! (postpaid) I got them at the live shows for $15. In fact he's one of the few artists that I'll pay full boat for a CD, 'cause I know I'll like it.

My uncle has a friend who knows someone who recorded with Lindley one time, he said Lindley showed up at the session all dirty, with greasy hair and smelling like horsesh*t, but as soon as he plugged in and played, it was like being in the presence of God

Of course, this may only be a rumor.

[Sonny Landreth]

Doh! Forgot he played bottleneck on regular guitar, he's still rules though.

BTW, you know anything about the guy who played the solo on Red Rider's song "Lunatic Fringe"? I always thought that was a killer solo, but don't know anything about they guy who performed it.

Regards,

Steve

3/31/1999 10:03 PM
Steve A.	Steve: Thanks for all of the info and links on D.Lindley! As for Sonny, his playing is so awesome that you'd think that it was lap steel— or even a rocking pedal steel like Al Perkins used to play with the Flying Burrito Brothers... With a bottleneck I get about as far as 2 Elmore James licks and maybe 3 from Robert Johnson and 4 from Duane Allman— for some reason I've always been able to relate to a lap steel or dobro better than a bottleneck guitar... I seem to go braindead playing slide and end up repeating the same riffs over and over (well, it did work for Jeremy Spencer in the original Fleetwood Mac...) Steve Ahola

3/31/1999 10:03 PM

Steve A.

Steve:

Thanks for all of the info and links on D.Lindley! As for Sonny, his playing is so awesome that you'd think that it was lap steel— or even a rocking pedal steel like Al Perkins used to play with the Flying Burrito Brothers... With a bottleneck I get about as far as 2 Elmore James licks and maybe 3 from Robert Johnson and 4 from Duane Allman— for some reason I've always been able to relate to a lap steel or dobro better than a bottleneck guitar... I seem to go braindead playing slide and end up repeating the same riffs over and over (well, it did work for Jeremy Spencer in the original Fleetwood Mac...)

Steve Ahola

3/30/1999 9:55 AM
Mike	Steve- I’m more into country rock (Jayhawks, SonVolt) than anything, and looking for a way to have another instrument to play around with. I thought about that Tele bridge, but the string height was the big question… I want to have the strings sit at 3/8 in above the fretboard, so I think that Tunamatic might be the ticket. I’m thinking of using a piece of Corian for the nut. I want the string distance cut the same amount apart as the saddle with little to no radius. As for the tuner/ head stock config, I’m at a loss. I would like to have tuners that would be on the ‘top’ of the headstock (like reversed classical tuners) but also like the look of the traditional tuners. I would like to do is use string trees (rollers) and a straight pull on the strings, like a Strat or a Tele, but can’t figure out what style (inline or 3+3) of headstock I want. The Seth Lover suggestion is great… I think that and a single coil in the neck position might be cool… as for a tone and volume, I think a volume pedal is the ticket, but I’ll wire a volume pot in anyway. Any suggestions on the headstock? The body is going to be more like a morphed LP than traditional lap steel. Thanks, Mike

3/30/1999 9:55 AM

Mike

Steve-
I’m more into country rock (Jayhawks, SonVolt) than anything, and looking for a way to have another instrument to play around with. I thought about that Tele bridge, but the string height was the big question… I want to have the strings sit at 3/8 in above the fretboard, so I think that Tunamatic might be the ticket. I’m thinking of using a piece of Corian for the nut. I want the string distance cut the same amount apart as the saddle with little to no radius. As for the tuner/ head stock config, I’m at a loss. I would like to have tuners that would be on the ‘top’ of the headstock (like reversed classical tuners) but also like the look of the traditional tuners. I would like to do is use string trees (rollers) and a straight pull on the strings, like a Strat or a Tele, but can’t figure out what style (inline or 3+3) of headstock I want. The Seth Lover suggestion is great… I think that and a single coil in the neck position might be cool… as for a tone and volume, I think a volume pedal is the ticket, but I’ll wire a volume pot in anyway.
Any suggestions on the headstock? The body is going to be more like a morphed LP than traditional lap steel.
Thanks,
Mike

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