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Topic: Update:Lefty Looking for First Lap Steel :Ordered a Melbert |
Derrick Simon
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 15 Dec 2022 8:26 am |
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Hello Everyone,
Just signed up here and would welcome input on buying a lefty lap steel.
I know you get what you pay for,but I am looking for something that is playable for an entry level.
Morrell has an entry level for $219 and I believe they will make a left handed model.
But,I'm not sure how long it would take.
I like that it is made in the U.S.
SX makes a left handed model for $239 and it is in stock.
The SX has gotten a few decent reviews.
My preference would be U.S. made,but then the price goes up substantionally.
Like many other long time guitarists,I'd like to try my hand at lap steel.
UPDATE !
I couldn't cheap out with an offshore lap steel.
Spoke to Bob Allen on the phone and placed my order for a lefty 6 string Melbert.
Yahoo! 
Last edited by Derrick Simon on 19 Dec 2022 12:40 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 15 Dec 2022 8:46 am
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| The forum archive is a wealth of information. I'm sure both of these models has been discussed before and people's experiences with inexpensive lap steels. A lifetime of info in the search engine. |
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John Harmon
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2022 10:50 am
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| Also new and would advise you to get the best you can afford. Have 2 of the cheaper ones and they really don't sound too well. Makes practicing a little harder because you don't want to. I'm looking to get a Melbert and won't be able to get much out of the others. Just my 2 cents and good luck. John |
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Derrick Simon
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 15 Dec 2022 10:59 am
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| John Harmon wrote: |
| Also new and would advise you to get the best you can afford. Have 2 of the cheaper ones and they really don't sound too well. Makes practicing a little harder because you don't want to. I'm looking to get a Melbert and won't be able to get much out of the others. Just my 2 cents and good luck. John |
Thanks for the reply John.
I've looked at Melbert too and they get good reviews.
They could probably make a lefty for me. |
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 16 Dec 2022 9:18 am
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I play standard guitar lefty, but I play steel right handed.
Mostly because playing vintage multi-neck guitars would be very awkward, and if deciding to transition to pedals, left-handed models are of much rarer.
Lefty availability is a much bigger issue for steels than standard “armpit” guitars. There’s only the cheapest stuff like SX and then custom made. No in between or vintage options, unless you do lefty conversions but then you have hardware and knobs in the way (I learned guitar on a standard RH strat upside down… I don’t see how Jimi did it, i was always inadvertently turning the knobs).
Unless playing left handed due to disability, I would say try playing right-handed. They are different instruments! As a fellow lefty I roll my eyes when people say things like “there are no left handed pianos so why are there lefty guitars” but in this case, getting used to picking with right hand fingers shouldn’t be too hard thanks to the dexterity built up from years of fretting with them. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2022 9:59 am
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I am a lefty but play steel right handed like a lot of other players.
Many years ago my guitar teacher said that the sound is in the left hand so if you are left handed you are gifted when playing a steel guitar right handed.
Erv |
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Tom Snook
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2022 2:28 pm
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I'm a lefty but play righty both guitar and steel.isnt that special
Aloha
_________________
I wanna go back to my little grass shack........ |
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Al Terhune
From:
Newcastle, WA
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Posted 17 Dec 2022 7:27 am
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Echoing the suggestions to learn right-handed. I, too, am a lefty guitarist who, after 20 years of playing guitar, learned "right-handed" steel.
First, it's not that difficult to retrain your right hand to pick. It really isn't. You'll be surprised at how well you adapt - as Joe said above, it's already half there from years of fretting.
Second, it's very, very unusual for a steel player to buy one guitar and stick with it. Most of us have have a handful if not a dozen or more. Playing right-handed gives you the luxury of choosing any steel out there (as also mentioned above - especially a vintage guitar), while I can't remember the last time I saw a left-handed steel anywhere.
You can do it! And if you choose to learn banjo afterwards, you can get a right-handed banjo. 
_________________
Al
My equipment:
One heck of a Wife
The ghost of a red Doberman
Several pairs of reading glasses strewn about |
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Charlie Hansen
From:
Halifax, NS Canada and Various Southern Towns.
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Posted 17 Dec 2022 7:48 am
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Here's a video with a comparison of cheap lap steels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ddtUaEeflc
_________________
I don't know much but what I know I know very well.
Carter S-10 3X5, Peavey Nashville 112, plus Regal dobro and too many other instruments to mention.
Bluegrass Island CFCY FM 95.1 Charlottetown, PE, Canada, on the web at cfcy.fm.
A Touch Of Texas CIOE FM 97.5 Sackville, NS, Canada,
on the web at cioe975.ca. |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Dec 2022 8:23 am
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You could get a nice old Comet or something similar and just flip the nut, these guitars can be had for 3 to 500.00 all day long. I have one and it sounds great.
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Derrick Simon
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 17 Dec 2022 10:05 am
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| Glenn Wilde wrote: |
You could get a nice old Comet or something similar and just flip the nut, these guitars can be had for 3 to 500.00 all day long. I have one and it sounds great.
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That's a nice looker.
I am looking at righties where I can easily flip the strings. |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Derrick Simon
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 19 Dec 2022 11:06 am
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Thanks everyone for your input.
It was most appreciated.
Spoke to Bob Allen on the phone and ordered up a Maple six string Melbert.
I'm a patient man.
I can wait. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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