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Topic: Lap Steel Without Volume And Tone Controls |
Brian Henry
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Posted 15 May 2010 2:56 am |
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I am making a lap steel and would rather not have the bother of soldering up tone and volume controls. Is there any downside to running the pickup direct to the output jack and using my volume peedal just as I do on my pedal steel?
brian henry
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LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN GEORGIA |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 15 May 2010 3:55 am
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Hi Brian,
I am building my first console steels, and still wrestle with the trade-offs between controls/no controls. If you use a volume pedal, then the volume pot is redundant. If you generally find the setting on your amp you like, and leave it there, then the tone pot is not really necessary, either.
As for tone, it is generally accepted that the simpler the signal path, the fuller the sound straight from the pickup.
However, many lap and console players use both tone and volume controls for swells, wah-wah, and other effects like "booh-wah". Also, on regular electric guitar, in a live setting, even while using a volume pedal, I tend to make minor adjustments with my tone control, and raise or lower my peak volume on the guitar for when the volume pedal is all the way down.
I am pretty new to pedal steel, and don't miss having controls on it, but then I am always sitting down close to my amp in case something needs tweaking.
Although I am not at present building steels for sale, I do want other players to like my designs. Who knows? I might want to sell some of then down the road. I have polled several professional players, and it seems quite a few of them expect controls on a lap steel.
Is it possible to leave space on the body for possibly adding in controls later? Maybe layout where the pots and added wiring could go, and rout out where needed. You could go ahead without them, and change your mind later.
I am (when I finish the shop I am building)working on two triple 8's, and two single 10's, and I plan to put controls on them.
Love to see what you are building. |
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Daniel Policarpo
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Posted 15 May 2010 4:17 am
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Hi fellas,
I just rebuilt an old artisan lap steel, one of those very inexpensive models..I put in a new jack, new tuners and wired a mini-humbucker directly to the jack...it sounds great, very full and bright, I had a little noise issue with the ground somewhere, maybe because I was just re-using the cheap wire it came with? either way, i just tied an old guitar string(unwound) between the jack and bridge and that continued the ground cycle, and now she is quiet and sounds great...I haven't missed using any swell effects yet, and like Don noted, with a volume pedal and my bar use, I can still mimic a lot of the tension and effects, getting the emotion over another way..try it out I like the simplicity maybe leave room for a tone and vol. pot for the future,,,good luck! |
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Allan Munro
From:
Pennsylvania, USA and Scotland
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Posted 15 May 2010 7:33 pm
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I have just completed a re-wire on a Strat clone. It now has a single volume pot and a switch. The switch brings a tone cap in or out of the circuit. In other words, treble cut or not. It's an easier wiring option if you don't fancy a full blown wiring job. My guitar has three pickup selectors in addition, but that doesn't come into this discussion.
The important thing, as has been mentioned, is not to forget the bridge/string ground wire.
Regards, Allan.....
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Only nuts eat squirrels.
Television is the REAL opiate of the masses! |
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