Lap steel

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 8:34 pm

BTW - I bought a Stevens steel today... MUCH better than trying to use a slide... GREAT ideas, all ... thanks!

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 7:27 pm

Linwood Thorpe wrote:did you say STEEL, or....

never mind. I have enough threads going on right now about a certain Pittsburgh NFL team.

Word!

Linwood Thorpe · Post by **Linwood Thorpe** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 7:22 pm

did you say STEEL, or....

never mind. I have enough threads going on right now about a certain Pittsburgh NFL team.

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 6:52 pm

loose_string wrote:Twitcher, Just get a volume pedal. That's the smartest move you can make. If you can play the lap steel like a pro, but you don't use the volume pedal as a part of the instrument, then it just sounds like a slide on an electric guitar and then what's the point!??

Get a volume pedal. Turn the reverb to 11. And slide up to those notes as you press on the volume pedal. Oh, man.

AHHHHH!!!! THAT'S IT... to get that great twangy sound... THANKS LS!

loose_string · Post by **loose_string** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 9:16 am

Twitcher, Just get a volume pedal. That's the smartest move you can make. If you can play the lap steel like a pro, but you don't use the volume pedal as a part of the instrument, then it just sounds like a slide on an electric guitar and then what's the point!??

Get a volume pedal. Turn the reverb to 11. And slide up to those notes as you press on the volume pedal. Oh, man.

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:25 pm

funkywhiteboy wrote:
twitcher73 wrote:Yeah, right now I'm just playing in open G and I'm using a chrome slide - not worn on my finger, but held down by my index finger while I dull the strings behind the slide with my other fingers. I'm having fun with what I'm doing, but I'd like to maybe see a scale chart or something so I know where to hit, rather than just "feeling" it out, which is what I'm doing now... and other tunings... I would love to know some other tunings. I suppose I could try out different things I've done on guitar...
Yeah both D and E tunings work well on lap steel. I never could get the hang of that dobro tuning(GBDGBD) The Hank Williamsish(Don Helms I geuss really) tuning is C6. Wich is CEGACE. THis one you can tune "high" or "low" by changing out the string gauges. If you see Mark Spencer post on here anytime soon, try to pump him for some information. You gotta get a steel, but you probably know that. I'd reccomend the heaviest Stevens bar you can find. You know what a Stevens bar is?

The C6 is a lot of fun... been playing with it for the past few hours while watching the Patriots / Broncos game... I tried to find a steel at my local music shop, but they were sold out... so I will look for a Stevens bar on the internet... very cool stuff... I appreciate the information!

dEvRoNiKa · Post by **dEvRoNiKa** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:59 pm

Awesome thing I learned about the lap steel ... I got the Husband one (bought it from Sam, remember him?) Anyway - while you're playing along, with the bar resting under your middle finger or whatever, you can take your RING finger and bend a string! Like - behind the bar. I don't know if I make a lick of sense.

funkywhiteboy · Post by **funkywhiteboy** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:07 pm

twitcher73 wrote:
funkywhiteboy wrote:. You know what a Stevens bar is?
Lemme guess...

a fence post?

Well, no. Its kind of an ergonomically shaped bar. Its not just a cylinder. Easier to pickup and hold. The're very cool. Hey also if you google "learning lap steel" you'll get some worthwhile hits it seems.

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:38 pm

funkywhiteboy wrote:. You know what a Stevens bar is?

Lemme guess...

a fence post?

funkywhiteboy · Post by **funkywhiteboy** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:08 pm

twitcher73 wrote:Yeah, right now I'm just playing in open G and I'm using a chrome slide - not worn on my finger, but held down by my index finger while I dull the strings behind the slide with my other fingers. I'm having fun with what I'm doing, but I'd like to maybe see a scale chart or something so I know where to hit, rather than just "feeling" it out, which is what I'm doing now... and other tunings... I would love to know some other tunings. I suppose I could try out different things I've done on guitar...

Yeah both D and E tunings work well on lap steel. I never could get the hang of that dobro tuning(GBDGBD) The Hank Williamsish(Don Helms I geuss really) tuning is C6. Wich is CEGACE. THis one you can tune "high" or "low" by changing out the string gauges. If you see Mark Spencer post on here anytime soon, try to pump him for some information. You gotta get a steel, but you probably know that. I'd reccomend the heaviest Stevens bar you can find. You know what a Stevens bar is?

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:31 am

I can

calexico · Post by **calexico** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:27 am

Can you play Smoke On The Water with it?

twitcher73 · Post by **twitcher73** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:23 am

Yeah, right now I'm just playing in open G and I'm using a chrome slide - not worn on my finger, but held down by my index finger while I dull the strings behind the slide with my other fingers. I'm having fun with what I'm doing, but I'd like to maybe see a scale chart or something so I know where to hit, rather than just "feeling" it out, which is what I'm doing now... and other tunings... I would love to know some other tunings. I suppose I could try out different things I've done on guitar...

funkywhiteboy · Post by **funkywhiteboy** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:01 pm

The problem I always have with it is if I dont play it very much, my intonation gets off. Sometimes if you change tunings it'll kind of open its own doors, know what I mean? I remember I was using this tuning I thought was cool but everything I played sounded like Hank Williams. Now this wasnt bad, but it seemed harder than hell to get a different feel from it. I would suggest a differnt tuning if you are feeling limited.

keith21 · Post by **keith21** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:11 pm

Lap steels are cool, but I find myself find them a little too limiting for some reason. I'd much rather use my electric guitar (low action and all) with a metal slide and a volume pedal, with the high e tuned to a d for an open g on the first for strings. I know that doesn't make any sense but if you tune your lap steel that way it might be cool (open g is probably the most standard, i think). I always end up playing the exact same licks over and over on a lap steel. I don't know...