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Topic: Wood for non-pedal steels |
William Peabody
From:
Seattle, WA, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2001 9:55 pm |
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I'm starting to do research on wood for non pedal steels. I bought John Tipkas booklet on building a hawaiian lap steel. It mentions honduras mahogany, white oak, curly or birds-eye maple, and american southern yellow pine. I'm looking for other options as well.
Today I went to a local hardwood supply store and got overwhelmed by the number of choices. I realize I need to find some good reference material on wood for use in instruments. What books would you folks recommend. There's one I saw on amazon -- Acoustics of Wood by Voichita Bucur. It's a little spendy at $265. Anyone looked at this one?
Thanks for any input.
Bill |
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Everett Cox
From:
Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)
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Posted 9 Jul 2001 11:07 pm
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William-- I've built a number of lap and console steels, using a variety of woods. Starting out, the 'acoustic qualty' of a given species was one of the most important choice considerations.
When creating a new design, I usually build a prototype with whatever CHEAP piece of material is sitting around in my shop. Often, that means a slab of clear (no knots) 2x10 or 2x12 fir or yellow pine. --standard lumber yard construction stuff. Later, after building one with 'select' material, there frequently seems to be little difference in the tonal character between the two.
Now, the more usefull factors in choosing the wood have come down to:
1. availability in desired sizes (especially thicknes)
2. workability (I tend to do a lot of 'shaping' to get something aesthetically pleasing to MY eyes.)
3. the color and type of 'finish' to be used.
All that being said, I DO believe the general wisdom that a 'hard' wood tends to a 'brighter' tone than a softer variety. Not having done scientific tests, I can only go by what I seem to hear. Density/mass of the guitar's body AND good workmanship in attaching ALL the hardware (including the tuning pegs/keys) is critical. Also, it seems that straight-grained woods are better in acoustics than others.
Basically, I guess I'm saying use ANY wood that you find pleases you. There ARE differences but, to me, the body material contributes less to the final tone than does the pickup type and position, or the nut and bridge material and shape, or the scale length and string gauges.
To ME, Tipka's booklet and design was quite basic and 'standard', thus, uninspiring. Do what pleases YOUR eyes. There's nothing wrong with 'exotic' woods, and some ARE actually better, but don't let that be too strong a design factor. Putting thought and money into the other parts is a better payoff.
If you wish to get into this stuff more, feel free to drop me an email. And, of course remember, this is just MY take on the matter. Good luck. --Everett[This message was edited by Everett Cox on 10 July 2001 at 12:12 AM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 10 Jul 2001 3:02 am
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The subject of tone woods is a very complex one in which there are many differing opinions and lots of good info available on-line without spending a dime. This is a subject that has interested me for some time. Does an old Fender steel made of Swamp Ash have a special resonance that stands out from other Fender guitars? Some people think so. Was the secret to Antonio Stradavari's Violins the fact that he soaked his wood in the local waters and bacteria created tiny open cells that act as microscopic tone chambers? Is straight grained Koa more better sounding than the flashier curley variety? People have debating these issues for a long time.
To get you started, here's some good basic info from the Warmoth guitar site: http://www.warmoth.com/common/frames/bodies.htm
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Everett Cox
From:
Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)
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Posted 10 Jul 2001 9:14 am
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Andy-- Good points and excellent link. Warmoth's URL is in my 'favorites' and I should have suggested it. That's one of the reasons this forum is so useful - plenty of knowledge and oppinions to fill in the gaps left by any one individual.
Currently, I'm working on a couple projects (one 8str lap, the other an 8 + 10 str console) using Cherry. Normally, I like to start with a slab of wood at least 1 3/4" thick. The cherry that happens to be 'gathering dust' right now is only around 1" after planing to a smooth surface. That means the lap steel (and likely the console) requires two pieces glued up to my desired thickness.
Which brings up another critical factor for consideration. I don't want to 'muddy up' this thread but, if laminating (I'm NOT talking about 'mica) is required, the glue and joinery is perhaps more important than whether the wood is Northern or Southern Ash. --Everett |
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Frank
From:
West Memphis, Ar . USofA, where steeling comes natural
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Posted 17 Jul 2001 5:10 pm
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Hi guys, just happened in on this thread and am glad I did. been wanting to build a lap steel for several years but could not find any written data,ie location of pickups, location of bridge, length of neck etc with which to get started.
Is there any rule of thumb as to dimensions, pickup type, placement of pickup with relation to the bridge, or is it all just Kentucky windage. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 17 Jul 2001 8:27 pm
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I think it's more than Kentucky windage, although I've never built a lap steel myself.
John Tipka's book on building lap steels is the way to go in my opinion.
------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Everett Cox
From:
Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)
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Mike D
From:
Phx, Az
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Ron Castle
From:
West Hurley,NY
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Posted 26 Jul 2001 1:32 am
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I'm not a steel builder - probably never will but.. has anyone ever tried Bakelite instead of wood?
I've heard that very good lap steels were made of it in the 40's, and I know it can be very resonant. |
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