Lap Steel Builders and My Ranting

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

Lots of companys have no problem building cheap guitars because the basic principles are well known by now.

No so with the steel guitar... a good example is the string spacing. (why do we need to taper the fretboard on a steel guitar?) I believe it is done because standard guitars do it, so it is copied on the steels.

Also many steels come from the factory with light gauge strings.... why? Light gauges are prefered on guitars because they are easier to push down to the frets, and easier to bend when doing lead work. This is not desirable on a lap steel, you get better tone and a stronger signal with heavy strings. And they are less likely to be bent out of tune by the weight of the bar.

Now I know some players pull string bends behind the bar, but this is an exception to the rule and not usually done on all strings.

Oh Yeah another gripe... If you are lucky enough to find a lap steel for sale in a music store, it will most likely have a standard set of guitar strings on it tuned to E A D G B E ! And if you want to try it out, ask for a "bar" and they will direct you to the pub next door.

"Oh you want a "Slide" they say... and they promptly show you their colorful assortment of bottle necks and hollow tube slides.

I know I'm preachin to the choir, but you my steel friends I know will understand.

I guess it's a small price to pay for the joy of playing the best instrument in the universe. We are rare sight in world full of guitars.

Dom Franco Winking

Todd Weger · From: Safety Harbor, FLAUSA

Dom, I agree with everything you're saying, but you have to remember, at least regarding wanting to try one out in the music store, although it's been around for a century, and at one time was more popular than food, we play a pretty rare instrument. Lately, I try to carry, at minimum, a extra bar and a thumbpick around in the car with me. It's easy to throw an inexpensive Dunlop JB bar in the car, and quite handy. You never know when you might pop in to a Guitar Center, etc., or, should something happen at a gig, you know you always have an extra 'out in the car.' I look at it like a spare set of strings or guitar cable.

I cut those music store cats some slack, but ALSO look at that as an opportunity to educate them on the instrument, how it's played, a little history (careful -- they'll glaze over with too much), etc. When I start playing, I ALWAYS get questions from other patrons and staff. Not that I'm "all that" as a player. Far from it! But because it's so different than what they're used to, they're always curious to find out more about it.

I look at it as an opportunity to "spread the lap steel gospel!"

Very Happy

_________________
Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, E13, A6); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Custom-made 25" aluminum cast "fry pan" with vintage Ricky p'up (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); 1953 Oahu Tonemaster; assorted ukuleles; upright bass

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

Let's hear it for parallel strings!
I don't mind the taper, generally, but prefer them perfectly straight.

For the tuning I use, which is pretty taught, I like the lightest gauges possible, while still retaining good tone. Helps rid the thud at the 12th and higher frets.

Rich Hlaves · From: Wildomar, California, USA

Dom,

I absolutely agree with you. People do buy these guitars however. If there was no market, they would not exist. They are just like price pointed anything else. It's a big company mentality. I think there was a huge disparity even when the instrument first appeared. Some of those less costly "cheap" guitars are sought after today. I'm sure there where players who turned up their noses at these "collectables" years ago. Same thing gones for the six string std. guitar side.

I have to say that many of the small custom builders who cater more to the low end build some really nice playing & sounding guitars. Just a few $$ more.

Doug Freeman · From: Los Angeles, CA

Rickenbacker bakelites have about a 15% taper from bridge to nut. Doesn't seem to hurt their popularity any. Personally I find a modest taper like that more comfortable, perhaps because of having played standard guitar for so many years. I have a Dynalap 8-string that I set up intially to have parallel spacing and thought it felt a little weird. Re-spaced the nut to be about 3/16" less than the bridge and like it a lot better.

Rick Aiello · From: Berryville, VA USA

Here's a "simulation" drawn up on my CAD program ...

23" Scale ...

3/8" spacing at the nut ...

3/8" spacing at the bridge (parallel strings) in black ...

7/16" spacing at the bridge (tapering strings) in blue ...

All strings "built" around a central point at the nut ...

All values in inches ...

The whole fretboard ...

At the nut ...

At the bridge ...

At the 5th fret ... all measurements taken at the fret line ... but staggered for your viewing pleasure ...

At the 12th fret ...

At the 17th fret ...

These minute spacial differences ... well, if you actually can tell the difference ... in "real time" playing ... you're a better "discriminator" than me ...

Personally I like the 3/8" spacing at the nut for slant accuracy ... but enjoy the 7/16" spacing at the bridge for picking comfort.

For the "decimal-ly challenged" ... Winking

1/128 = 0.0078125
1/64 = 0.015625
1/32 = 0.03125
1/16 = 0.0625
1/8 = 0.125

* Discrepancies at the fourth decimal (ten thousandths) place ... CAD error in dimensional analysis/reporting ...

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

After a minute or so, you can get used to the different spacing on most steels. I prefer minimal taper, or parallel strings, but I may be the exception.

When I switch from lap steel to pedal steel, I feel like the strings are too close, and it takes a bit to re-think...

Dom Laughing

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