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Topic: newbie |
Paul Fowler
From:
Louisville,Kentucky, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2011 10:32 am |
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I play acustic and electric guitar and have been toying with the idea of gfetting a 6 string lap steel.I was wondering about string size to purchase,and type of bar i should buy.any help would be appreciated .thanks Paul
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Recently purchased 6 string lap steel hope to learn how to play it.also Allen Melbert 8 string. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 11 Aug 2011 12:11 pm
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What tuning would you like to use? If you click on the Strings link at the top of the page, b0b sells different sets of strings depending on what tuning you'll be using.
Most people who play lap steel use a rounded "bullet" bar such as the Dunlop bars. Others prefer the "grooved" Stevens type bars. The bullet bars are easier to use when slanting the bar (a popular technique). The Stevens bars are easier to hold.
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Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Paul Fowler
From:
Louisville,Kentucky, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2011 1:35 pm newbie
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thank you very much for the advice.i will look into it.Paul
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Recently purchased 6 string lap steel hope to learn how to play it.also Allen Melbert 8 string. |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2011 5:05 am
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Paul, you'll get a lot of opinions on what type of bar to use but which one you choose may depend on what type of music you want to play. The bullet bar, which is a round bar with a rounded end, seems to be the most popular on this forum but many also use the Stevens style which is shaped to make it easier to hold. There are benifits to each so you'll need to figure out which one fits your playing style.
I mostly use the Stevens style.
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https://markmansueto.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/65dQ3EyZC2RaqawA8gPlRy?si=dOdqc5zxSKeJI9cISVVx_A |
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Paul Fowler
From:
Louisville,Kentucky, USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2011 9:33 am bars
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thank you for your help  steve.paul.
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Recently purchased 6 string lap steel hope to learn how to play it.also Allen Melbert 8 string. |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 12 Aug 2011 5:28 pm
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If you are just starting out on steel guitar I think you will find it easier to hold on the Stevens style bar with grooves in the top and sides for your fingers. But if you are also learning how to play a Carter Starter pedal steel I think you will want to learn how to use a bullet bar.
If you are coming from a blues and rock background you probably will want to start out with an open E tuning (E-B-E-G#-B-E) what I call "bottleneck" tuning. If you lean more towards jazz standard or C&W you will probably want to learn how to play a C6 tuning- although once you have it done it works very well for rock and blues.
I think that a good lap steel tuning to transition to an E9th pedal steel would be E7th or E9th. This is what I've been using on some of my lap steels:
| Code: |
E9th (opt. heavier gauge)
E .015
B .018
G# .024w/p
F# .028w (.030)
D .036w (.038)
B .038w (.042)
E9 E7 E6 Em7
E E E E
B B B B
G# G# G# >G
F# >E >E >E
D D >C# D
B B B B |
All of these tunings can use the same set of strings. I included E6 and Em7 because they are handy alternate tunings. With the E6 you get the jazzier sound of C6, along with a straight line minor 7th chord (C#m7). I like the Em7 for those slow deep minor blues songs- incidentally very similar to how Albert Collins tuned his guitar.
Good luck!
Steve
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www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Paul Fowler
From:
Louisville,Kentucky, USA
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Posted 13 Aug 2011 12:57 am ap steel bar
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Thanh you steve i have tried the bulitt bar and can handel it OK.i no longer have the carter just my acustic and my electric.i play mostly gospel,and old standard country
[/u]
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Recently purchased 6 string lap steel hope to learn how to play it.also Allen Melbert 8 string. |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 13 Aug 2011 4:22 am Re: ap steel bar
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| Paul Fowler wrote: |
| i no longer have the carter just my acustic and my electric.i play mostly gospel,and old standard country |
In that case you might want to start off with C6 because I think you will want to move in that direction eventually. C-E-G-A-C-E (lo to hi). Without changing strings you can retune that to A6 which has more of a Western Swing sound. C#-E-F#-A-C#-E (lo to hi).
Another variation on that C6 tuning is to raise the bottom C to C# for a C6/A7 chord in the open position. I believe it was Jerry Byrd- one of the best non-pedal steel players ever- who came up with that twist.
Good luck!
Steve
P.S. As for string gauges you'd want something like .015, .017, .020p, .024w, .030w, .036w
Jagwire C6th or A6th Lap Steel, nickel wound
http://www.steelguitarshopper.com/products/C6th-or-A6th-Lap-Steel%2C-nickel-wound.html
... which is in the strings section of the store here so your purchase helps support the forum.
In a pinch you might be able to find C6 pedal string sets locally- you can usually go up or down one gauge number for the plain strings, or two gauge numbers for wound strings which generally come in just the even numbers.
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www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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