Who just plays one lap?

Al Terhune · From: Newcastle, WA

It's been my desire for a while to get intimate and play just one lap. I think I've finally found that one, but I was wondering how many players actually are true to one guitar? And what is that guitar?
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Al

My equipment:

One heck of a Wife
The ghost of a red Doberman
Several pairs of reading glasses strewn about

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

For the last year and a half I've only owned one lap steel, and that's an Asher EH Junior. I wouldn't mind having a couple more though, it feels a bit 'naked' to only have one lap steel...
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"Play to express, not to impress"
Website - YouTube

G Strout · From: Carabelle, Florida

These days I just play the old Rick pictured in my avatar. I have four laps..... but do not play them.

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

I've got several nice steels but the one that gets the most play is a single 8 CruzTone in A6.

Danny James · From: Summerfield Florida USA

Do to numbness in my legs, I have just about given up playing my pedal steel and now play the lap steel guitar that I designed and built that has a 4 tuning built in adjustable changer in it.
The tunings available with the flip of a single lever are low bass A,-E,-C6th, & A6th.
I have several others but it's the one I always play.

Kurt Kowalski · From: Kendall, NY USA

Danny, sent you an email,
Kurt

Bill Ladd · From: Wilmington, NC, USA

<- Yer lookin' at it. Although I never play it on my lap unless a quick rehearsal to learn a new song.

James Kerr · From: Scotland, UK

I have 4 single neck Lap Steels, a twin neck, and a Dobro. I know, its terrible, but they all get their turn as anyone who has looked at my You Tubes will know. The Dobro and the Teisco R1 are store bought, the rest made by me.

James.

Charley Wilder · From: Dover, New Hampshire, USA

I play my Loney exclusively. The D8 stays under the bed. Very Happy

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

When you're blessed to have more than one lap steel,
and they're all quality instruments, I've found it takes so much energy just to make up one's mind as to which one should be taken down from their wall hangers and placed on one's lap..........that I pretty well stick with the same Ric I received from Queensland, Australia, the with the broken neck. I have it on one of those early day metal stands where I leave it. No decisions to make and it's all set up for me to slip up behind and start playing.

Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

This post put me in mind of this saying among us hunters and shooters: "Beware the man with only one gun -- for he may know how to use it!"

Probably applies to guitars too although I can't seem to stick to one guitar any more than I stick to one gun. Cool

Stephen Abruzzo · From: Philly, PA

I mostly use my Pettingill FPS-101 that is strung in Open E. But every once in a while I want to play in Dobro High G and then I play my Fouke Walsh Pro.

If I wasn't changing tunings, then I would never change steels.

Anthony Locke · From: Texas, USA

I've owned my Magnatone Maestro for about 8 yrs now. It has been my only console steel in that time. At this point, if I were to start using another console, I would feel like I were cheating on my Magnatone.

Josh Cho · From: New York, NY (orig. Honolulu, HI)

I'm down to just one steel guitar: my Remington Steelmaster D8.

But the two necks is like having more than one guitar in a way....

Josh

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Lap-n-Console Steel Guitar Lessons

Bill McCloskey · Posted 11 Feb 2010 1:26 pm

I have 3 weissenborn's that I play exclusively now. I've put the dobro away, mainly because I like the sound of the weissenborn better. I have 3 because one is a baritone, one has a pickup, and one is purely acoustic with no pick up in.

On the other hand I've given up playing guitar completely to focus on weiss.

Gary Stevenson · From: Northern New York,USA

I almost have GAS.I have built 15 lap steels and I have tweaked most of them as I got better at the electronics.I am going to unload some,but which one? Crying or Very sad

Each time I made one they were different and each has their own tone.But like some have said here, you can only play one at a time.If I had bought them it would be easier to part with I think. Just my 2$

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Al........how're you and that NEW ONE gettin' along?

Haven't heard a word spoken about it!

Al Terhune · From: Newcastle, WA

Oh, Ray, it's been so much fun. You know, truly, I can't say it's the best steel, or best-sounding steel, or "best" anything I've ever had. But I love the size and how it feels, and I'm really fascinated with its place in steel guitar history, it's rarity, and..gee, whiz, it cost me so gosh darn much! It better be my one guitar! I was telling Susan yesterday that I love the fry pan for the improv I play with "folky" songs I write, but I really dig the 10-string B10 for the poppier improv, as that lower octave is pretty effective. So...in essence, I'll probably be a two-guitar guy. But the fry pan, and my rediscovery of taking six strings and finding every possible combination of two- (and 3-) string harmonies, has been very satisfying and somewhat of a non-surprising discovery. And I keep finding more unusual positions for them that slide into even yet further ear-pleasing sounds.
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Al

My equipment:

One heck of a Wife
The ghost of a red Doberman
Several pairs of reading glasses strewn about

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I have four lapsteels including a 1952 National D-8 Grand Console, an old Regal (made in Chicago) six string, a six string console model with legs which says Fender on the front but isn't, and finally the one I play only on the rare occasion when I get a lapsteel or Hawaiian call to play which is a Chandler six string.

The reason I like it is that it's easy to change tunings. I usually keep it in G6th which is low to high B D E G B D but I've had Scruggs/Keith banjo de-tuners on it for a long time on strings one and three and just recently added another on string five. I can raise string 1 to E and string 3 to G# which gives me an E7 tuning which is very useful. Also if needed when in the key of E, I can lower string 5 to C# for an E6 tuning. If you're not aware of these tuning pegs they're great. They have two presets so you can easily go between two notes with each one with a flick of the wrist and even during a song if you need to.....JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Tom Pettingill · From: California, USA (deceased)

I have 2 that I play regularly, one of my maple / mahogany Deco models with a big fat in your face humbucker in open E for the rock and blues side and one of my mahogany / maple asymmetrical style short scale with a vintage wind P90 in C6 for nice chimey cleans.
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Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
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Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Al Terhune.......I'm curious what you might discover with a small amp of that same era, like a little Harmony 8 inch or Oahu 8 inch, preferrably with a ROLA Speaker.

I've found they give the guitar a much bigger BITE!

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I am a guitar philanderer. I like laps and I like legs--nothing like a nice long, slender set of...or wait, a nice full lap... Whoa!

I have 3 guitars which I love dearly. They are not interchangeable. I need nothing more, but I couldn't settle for less.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links

Al Terhune · From: Newcastle, WA

Ray -- I don't have anything from the 30's, but I've got a couple of Gibson amps from the 40's that have field coil speakers, and they sound really, really nice with my laps coming through them. I also have a 40's Magnatone amp that has a great sound, as well. That said, coming through my Nashville 400 is just a completely bigger, nicer sound (and more mold-able)...but I still like recording with the old Gibsons and Magnatone just for "authenticity," using a ribbon microphone.

Mike: What are your three guitars, pray tell? I know one is, indeed, a fry pan.
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Al

My equipment:

One heck of a Wife
The ghost of a red Doberman
Several pairs of reading glasses strewn about

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

I also have 3 guitars. My favorite at this time is the McKenna 8 string resonator. For some reason, whenever I get an acoustic, it just takes over. But there are venues for which I must have an electric. So then it's my Georgeboard. I also have a pedal guitar. For awhile I played it exclusively. But my enthusiasm is wearing down. There are some people, though, who now insist that I play it. What're ya gonna do?
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Amor vincit omnia

John Rosett · From: Missoula, MT

I have a '47 Gibson BR-4 that I converted to 7-string. It's tuned to G6.
As soon as I master that completely, I'll get another one and start in on another tuning.
In short, this is probably the only steel I'll EVER have.

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