anyone experience/recommendations for lap steel, please :-)

ToneControl

Whitecat said:

ToneControl said:

I have the 6 and 8 string sliders, they are well made

The 8 string pickup has a more SC quality, and matches the instrument better - the distance between strings is a little narrower than I'd prefer though 

My 6 string one is now surplus, btw

I've been thinking about picking up the 8-string, actually, it seems a bargain for what it is... how hard is it to transition to playing it? I mostly play the 6-string in open G... the string spacing thing is a little worrying, I wouldn't call my fingers "slender" but at the same time I guess they're not "fat" either. 

I'd say the 8 string is only useful if you are picking out notes, with fingers, picks or a plectrum

I have a handmade 8 string with wider pitch, so I probably notice it more than most would

Both 8 strings are playable, the wider one is easier when using the tonebar on selected strings

I think the G6 and A6 tuning are good on the 8 strings, 

Whitecat

Cheers for that. May have to snag one, I suspect I might keep both and keep them in different tunings...

WezV

ToneControl said:

Answering the questions this time:

You only need one pickup really

I think humbuckers are too muddy - most lap steels don't feature humbuckers

Scale length varies a lot, many are 21 inch

Make sure you use a proper heavy Shubb Tonebar. It makes a huge difference

agree about 1 pickup, although 2 won't hurt on somethng with a longer sale length where you can set them apart a bit. The asher lapsteels are a good example.

I had an old japanese one with 2 broken gold foils   I had them rewound to different specs (different wire and output - original magnets) to give good tonal variation and it worked very well. 

totally agree about the tonebar - its the difference between shit and brilliant

21-22" is quite a traditonal length, but longer does work well and allow a greater choice of strings and tunings

english_bob

ToneControl said:

Make sure you use a proper heavy Shubb Tonebar. It makes a huge difference

Difference compared to what? Compared to a regular slide for "spanish" guitar, or to a crappier tonebar?

If the former, totally agree.

 

FWIW, I put a Wilkinson P90-size mini humbucker in my Recording King lap steel because the place we used to rehearse had a fluorescent light right over "my" spot- not so bad with regular s/c guitars but not kind to lap steels which pointed straight at it. It doesn't sound quite the same, but not miles off.

marktheharp

ToneControl
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Great advice, thanks guys