RobbieReverb
Joined: Feb 28, 2006
Posts: 2391
San Jose, Ca.
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Posted on Sep 21 2011 08:02 PM
zzero wrote:
now, this subject i find interesting! always wanted to
dabble in the lap steel thing; this may be a good time
to start!
i use a strange tuning for the acoustic and occasionaly
for the electric.
it's---e-b-e(an octave higher than the 6th string)-e(in
unison with the 4th string)-b-e. makes a big roar when
i use it to mimic Indian sitar music and such. it can
be pretty limiting at times but it's the only open
tuning i reaqlly know. will work on the tunings i see
posted above and see what i can do with them! this will
be really bad or really fun!!!!
As long as you're having fun, it's all good! (As long as people aren't throwing things at you, calling the police, and/or braking your hands!)
There is a tremendous book, "the complete Book of Alternate Tunings" by Mark Hanson, published by Accent On Music c1995.
Good luck, zzero!
Bob
— Bob
Last edited: Sep 21, 2011 20:03:10
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LHR
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 2123
The jungle
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Posted on Sep 22 2011 02:31 AM
Make this thread a sticky. Steel tunings are voodoo. Over the coming years, perhaps others will add their favorite recipes.
For the record, I play an Oahu Stringmaster steel like the one shown above but with a weird Rowe Stringtone bridge. It allows three tunings, that adjust with a levered cam kind of arrangement: A major (string 1 to 6: E-C#-A-E-C#-A), E major (E-B-G#-E-B-E.), and C# minor (E-C#-G#-E-B-E). It is shown here, with the cover off to illustrate the cam and stop action:
You can do pedal steel sorts of tricks with it. Almost useless in surf but fun.
— SSIV
Last edited: Sep 22, 2011 02:34:46
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mad_dog
Joined: Sep 23, 2008
Posts: 349
Montclair, NJ
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Posted on Sep 22 2011 12:00 PM
LHR:
That Oahu Tonemaster has another one of the classic old single coil p/us. Huge sound. Beautiful guitar!
MD
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zzero
Joined: Jul 09, 2010
Posts: 1153
Lillian Alabama
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Posted on Sep 26 2011 12:42 PM
Thanks Bob!! most definitely fun!! will find the book you mentioned, cuz i'm just flailing about right now.
— Enjoying the surf,sun and sand!!
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RobbieReverb
Joined: Feb 28, 2006
Posts: 2391
San Jose, Ca.
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Posted on Sep 26 2011 12:43 PM
zzero wrote:
Thanks Bob!! most definitely fun!! will find the book
you mentioned, cuz i'm just flailing about right now.
Amazon carries it.
Bob
— Bob
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planish
Joined: Jan 09, 2008
Posts: 473
Sackville, New Brunswick
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Posted on Jan 19 2016 10:31 PM
Ooh, this is an old thread. Nevertheless...
I had been watching this youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvKbbDBeBNo and got all inspired.
I recalled that I had bought an extension nut maybe 25 years ago and never used it. Almost exactly like this one:
Also, I had a spare electric guitar around, a mid-70s copy of an SG strung with flat-wound strings (D'Addario .011s or .012s, not sure). Really old ones.
A few minutes work with a string winder, et voila! a DIY 6-string lap steel suitable for dipping one's toe in.
The hard part was deciding which tuning to play with, just to get the gist of it.
So far, I like a C6 best, E-C-G-A-C-E. I had made a note to myself that it was interesting enough to come back to. When I did come back to it, I looked at it and thought "What? Did I really crank the D string up to a G before?" So, crank-crank-crank-TWUNK!. Arrgh, broken string.
I dug out a G string from a lightly-used set of Roto Purples, and put in in the 4th position. Great, now I have two G strings, but it works fine for a C6 tuning, without being too floppy for, say, an open E-minor tuning. Much brighter than the flat-wound D too. I get the impression that selection of string gauges for lap steel is one of the Black Arts.
My next step will be to fabricate a bridge cover out of angled aluminum, just to flatten the height of the strings at the tune-o-matic bridge.
I'm still at the stage of hunting for the right notes, but I do love the spooky atmospheric sound that it gives. My biggest cash outlay was for an assortment of thumb and finger picks, plus a APM & Co Stevens steel slide bar (CAD$32!) It's 5.2 oz., I think. The glass slide I already had didn't quite do the job.
— I'm not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing.
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