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Topic: Hello everybody. |
Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 12:10 pm |
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I guess I should introduce myself. I've been playing lap style guitar for about three years now (when I can--tendonitis slows me down  ), having never played any instrument before that (excepting a few piano lessons as a kid). I was introduced to the instrument via a friend who is an enormous David Lindley and Ry Cooder fan (and a fine lap/bottleneck and bouzouki player himself). I started playing after my step-grandmother found a '34 squareneck Duolian in her attic (seriously--literally in the attic).
I own a mediocre sounding but okay for heavy distortion Mason lap steel (through a Mesa Subway Rocket), a cheap sounding tiny travel guitar with a nut extender (sort of sweet sounding, but thin), the duolian I mentioned (dirty junky blues sound, no sustain, but it does have some meat to it--it sounds pretty good, darkish...), and a Jasmine acoustic 12-string on which I filed down the nut a bit, then epoxied on another nut, then shimmed the saddle with some toothpicks (so I can play lap arrangements of Leo Kottke tunes!)--someday I'll get around to filing down the string slots so that the bar lies flat across the strings (nice run-on sentence here...). The Jasmine works surprisingly well (sounds decent even though like most cheap 12-strings I've seen the 5th string is way louder than all the others), and the conversion is dirt cheap and easy to do. Oh yeah, I also have a classical guitar which I sometimes put the nut extender on, for laughs). 
Anyways, this forum is the greatest and easily the best resource for a novice steel guitar player in the entire world, so I finally decided to register. Huzzah. I don't have much to offer yet, although if anybody wanted to know how to play any acoustic lap David Lindley songs, I can probably tab something out or advise on his techniques.
Glad to finally be able to post.
-Travis[This message was edited by Travis Bernhardt on 20 February 2003 at 08:14 PM.] [This message was edited by Travis Bernhardt on 20 February 2003 at 08:15 PM.] |
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Russ Young
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 12:53 pm
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Hi Travis,
It's always nice to see another Northwesterner joining the Forum -- we can all relate to the perils of the rainy season.
I've bought several old houses in Seattle, but how come I never find vintage guitars in the attics or basements? It's usually worn-out matresses, mildewed books, and polyester jackets and slacks that only David Lindley could appreciate. Would you take some in exchange for tab? (The clothes, that is.)  |
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 12:56 pm
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Hi Travis, I just joined myself!
Is the tendonitis in your right arm?
I had problems for a while myself because of the angle of my right wrist (combined with enthusiastic over-playing).
This was on an old acoustic with extension nut, and I solved the problem by innstalling a "hand rest" over the strings at the bridge.
This made my hand position much straighter and relaxed, and after a while the problems dissapeared and today I can play without any problems even without the hand rest.
Don't know if this is of any help, but I thought I'd let you know.
Anyway,- good luck and welcome, fellow "newbie"!
------------------
"I don't play fast. I'm from Norway." |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 5:01 pm
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Welcome aboard Travis. This is a very serious forum....no fooling around here  |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 21 Feb 2003 1:38 pm
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Welcome to this Great Fo'rum Travis
kinda like Witches Brew here
Caution Habit Forming
(watch out for them NYC and New Joyzee guys) |
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RB Jones
From:
Burlingame, California, USA
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Posted 21 Feb 2003 10:52 pm
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Welcome to the club. I also like Lindley's playing and I'm also a fan of Rob Ickes on Dobro. You don't happen to have tabbed out any of Lindley's steel backup for the Jackson Browne songs on the Late for the Sky album? I've been working on learning some of the phrasing because it's so sweet and I'd like to emulate that sound on some of my own stuff.
RB |
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