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Topic: Is there a 10 or 12 string Lap Steel? |
John Sims
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 6:20 am |
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My buddy and I want to (possibly) build a 10 string or 12 string lap steel. Are there any out there? If not why? What would be the advantages or disadvantages of a 10 or 12? What tuning would be "the best" or appropriate? We kind of want to mimic our PSG tuning...Are we crazy or innovative?
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Regards,
John
Steelin' is a way of life!
My PSG website-Carter SD-12-U, 8p/5k, Nashville 1000
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 7:14 am
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| I was once of the school 'more was better' but years of playing the beast have smartened me up . Have you ever wondered why the "Master of Touch and Tone" has never gone beyond 8 strings, often prefering 7 ? In my own experience, a 10 string non-pedal is just 2 strings too many. The picking space between the strings becomes too narrow with very few meaningful "extra sounds" to be actually gained. The great masters of yesteryear,(McIntire, Ho'opi'i, Iona, et al), managed to gain their legendary fame and reputation using only 6 strings throughout their entire career. When you stop to think about it, possibly a prime reason why the steel guitar is seldom taken serious by arrangers and other musicians could simply be it has never been standardized as with most any other instument you can name. All of us can plead guilty of constantly 'experimenting'...(tunings, number of strings, pedal vs non-pedal, etc.) Of course, this constant experimentation is not necessarily a bad thing as the steel guitar is still relatively young and evolving. IMHO, 8 strings should be the practical standard on non-pedal guitars. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 7:59 am
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I'd agree with Carl that the spacing for a ten or twelve string lap steel's strings is too close together for my tastes. Alkire E-Harps are probably the most common ten string nonpedal steels out there. You see them regularly on eBay in various conditions and for decent prices. There's not a lot of demand for these guitars, though.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 8:13 am
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I took the pedals off of a Sho-Bud Maverick, extended the legs and played it standing up for a few years. I couldn't do bar slants on adjacent strings, but that wasn't really necessary for the rock-a-billy music I was playing. I used an E13th tuning.
Billy Robinson, Maurice Anderson, Claude Brownell and Tom Morrell all play 10 string guitars without pedals. There's a real nice Alkire 10 string with legs on EBay right now. Rickenbacker also made a 10 string model, I believe.
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 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E7, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6) |
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Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 8:53 am
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| Hank Mann out here in L.A. makes a nice custom koa lap he calls a "SwingRay" and he makes them in 10,12,and 14 strings.He's gonna bring over his double 12 an a couple days and let me check it out. Also,another L.A. guy named Lonnie Spector builds a long scale 7 string koa and mahogany lap steel he calls the "Lapdancer" www.lapdancerguitars.com which has an acoustic cavity under the fingerboard - unique and very well built. |
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wayne yakes md
From:
denver, colorado
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Posted 14 Aug 2001 4:29 pm
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| Alkire E-Harp is a great one, as previously stated. Rickenbacker in the Bakelite model had a 10-string, but had a metal neck so as to not de-tune so much. Dale Mullen made a great 10-string lap steel. Bigsby made a steel for Bobby White in 1954 that had one 8-string neck and two 10-string necks. |
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John Sims
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 5:39 am
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Alot of good advice. Thanks! I kind of have to agree with George, maybe a little more pondering will have to do. I just want to be able to take a guitar somewhere, like the beach or picnics, etc...and play it...
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Regards,
John
Steelin' is a way of life!
My PSG website-Carter SD-12-U, 8p/5k, Nashville 1000
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 7:12 am
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| Playing it on the beach ? Hope you have a long extension cord, (and don't play it in the water....bit of a shocking experience!) |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 9:34 am
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If you're looking for something that's convenient to take to picnics and the beach, check out Paul Beard's "road-o-phonic'. It'a small (6 string) acoustic/electric travel reso. It doesn't have the sound of a full blown reso but it's great for casual jamming and playing. Bring a little battery powered Pignose amp and the squirrels (or horse shoe crabs) will be in for a real treat.
[This message was edited by HowardR on 15 August 2001 at 10:42 AM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 9:41 am
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I agree with Keoki that 8 strings seem to be optimal for non-pedal (but would I tell Tom Morrell he's mistaken? - no way!)Personally, I find that I get plenty of music out of just 6 strings.
As for "Lapdancer" steels .. is it just me or is that an "unfortunate" choice of names? |
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John Sims
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 10:30 am
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| George, I was thinking of what HowardR says, using a little battery amp...But the suggestion of a respohonic mught be more appealing... |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 15 Aug 2001 10:50 am
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I disagree that 8 strings is optimal especially if one is comping while the guitar takes a solo. Those two extra strings on the bottom get me below him. I tune:
G G E
E E D
C C C
A A A
G or C-13 G or G <- Morrell
E E E
C D D
A Bb Bb
G G G
E E C [This message was edited by chas smith on 15 August 2001 at 03:16 PM.] |
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John Kavanagh
From:
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Posted 22 Aug 2001 7:20 am
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Now that I'm used to 8 strings I occasionally wish for 9 so that I could have an extra bass string, and not have to retune when I'm in a situation where I want the low notes. But 10 is too many... I think...
Maybe 7 is best for a lap steel.
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Zayit
From:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 22 Aug 2001 1:12 pm
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Now for me, even 6 strings is too much to keep straight most of the time! But our very own occassional contributor Billy Jones from Medicine Hat Alberta, has no trouble at all slanting & bending with his custom made 10-string "Black Widow" lap steel! He's just too modest to toot his own horn! I caught his show at the Mid-Canada Steel Guitar Convention last year in Winnipeg. He plays TERRIFIC swing as well as wicked pop & country. He regularly blows everybody else off the stage, but he's such a nice guy that nobody minds! Hearing Billy in 1997 at the convention is what got me interested in learning to play swing steel after half a lifetime playing bottleneck... I looked for a good photo link of Billy with the black widow, but youse'll have to make do with this one:
http://www.steelguitar.com/webpix/showpix/link99px/L9917.jpg
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