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Comment by rayinstirling on Tuesday

Here is my little ol' Hofner bought early 70's and still in working order unlike myself :)

Comment by fred davis on Tuesday

Anyone else having a problem with playing at local jams due to the need to anp the steel?  Here in Santa Cruz most of the open jams don't want amped instruments and my wessenborn is to nice and instrument to play on the sand!

Comment by Edward Sparks on November 5, 2011 at 7:15am

Hey, the wife and I are going to the Great American Philly Vintage Guitar show on November 13th...if any of you are going to be there, let me know and we will try to run into each other!  Edward

Here is the link and info...http://www.bee3vintage.com/south_philly.html

Great American Guitar Show (Fall Philly)

Greater Philadelphia Expo Center

DATES

Saturday, November 12, 2011. Sunday, November 13, 2011.TIME Saturday: 10:00am to 6:00pm. Sunday: 10:00am to 4:00pm.

The line can grow very long when doors first open. Don't worry, the line moves fast!

PRICE

Saturday Pass: $12.00Sunday Pass: $10.00, 2-Day Pass: $15.00Children 12 and under free with an adult!

WHERE

Greater Philadelphia Expo Center Rt. 422, Exit at Oaks 100 Station Ave., Oaks, PA 19456

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Comment by Rob Anderlik on May 2, 2011 at 6:52pm

Here's a little demo of my new weissenborn guitar by New Zealand luthier Tony Francis. Hope you guys like it!

Comment by Edward Sparks on February 9, 2011 at 6:34am

This just in from EQ magazine:

 

Tips for Tracking Lap Steel

  Kent Carmical  

It’s now somewhat common for all manner of “Americana” instruments to show up at your studio, as more and more people wash out in the traditional rock-and-roll milieu, often turning to less-conventional instruments in an attempt to remain relevant. This month, we’ll to consider lap steel recording strategies.

Electric Laps
You can’t get much simpler than the electric lap steel. Basically a 2x4 with six to ten strings and a pickup, it’s a manufacturer’s dream. Before you record, check out the instrument. Vintage lap steels are often rife with hideous pops, crackles, buzzes and hums—usually a shot or two of good contact cleaner in the right spots can exorcise these sonic demons. Contemporary lap steels have more predictable electronics and shouldn’t cause much problem.

When miking an amp, you’ll almost always get great results by combining a small-diameter condenser with a Shure SM57. Put the mics as close as possible to each other without touching. (The farther apart they are, the greater the chance of phase cancellation.) Place the mic combo seven to nine inches from the speaker cone, with the capsules at an approximately 15-degree angle. Keep in mind that more directly you place the mic capsules over the speaker center, the more high-end there will be in the tone. You can downplay this unpleasantness by angling the mic capsule toward the edge of the speaker. If you have access to a ribbon mic like a Royer R-121, its natural tendency to roll off high-end is a good alternative to turning the guitar and amp’s tone controls all the way down.

If you are using amp-modeling software, choose a Blackface Fender Twin model for that real down-home, country sound, and if your modeler has it, choose a 15- inch speaker with an open-back cabinet. While the SM 57/small-diameter condenser combo can prove to be the best miking setup in the analog universe, a largediameter condenser model often provides the most slide-a-licious sound in the realm of ones and zeros.

In both hardware and virtual scenarios, a limiter set to a 4:1 ratio smooths out the track’s dynamics nicely. In my recording, setting the attack of a UREI 1176 plug-in at 5, or halfway, produced the most body for me. (Settings on your particular limiter may vary.) When it came to setting my release time, I set it to complement the tempo of the track so that the limiting effect on each note is finished as the attack of the next note is starting. It took some time for me to tweak it properly, but the results were well worth it, as it pumped out a huge sound.

There really isn’t a great tradition of using effects on lap steel, so experiment. After tracking with a Fulltone OCD for some crispy overdrive, I used a tape echo plug-in with a delay time of around 450 ms, as well as liberal amounts of digital plate reverb to dial in an “Instant David Gilmour, just add talent”—type sound.

Weiss-Guys
Back in the olden days before amplification, Hermann Weissenborn conceived and built the first guitars specifically designed for lap playing. Made of koa wood and featuring square, hollow necks, the Weissenborns had a sweet tone, long sustain, and were louder than a regular acoustic guitar when played on one’s lap.

Aft

Comment by Edward Sparks on November 11, 2010 at 6:33pm

How about this for a lapsteel! Music AND transportation!
Edward

Comment by Edward Sparks on September 22, 2010 at 7:49am

I am just about finished my first recording with my newly finished lap steel...although I am really just beginning to learn how to play it, it occupies a small fill in a new song I wrote called "Heartland Revisited" and have just recorded...everything is finished except replacing the scratch lead vocal with the final lead vocal. Once I get it done I will post it here for comments. Thanks, Edward

Comment by Tony Burt on August 30, 2010 at 9:47pm

Guys thought you may be interested in this ,, some restoration work my friend and fellow muso Garrett, restoring the Commodore Lap Steel, also a look at one already restored... but of fun ,, let me know,, you never know there may be more episodes in the series .. we go under the name "The Baker Brothers ...a.k.a "The Dough Bro's :-))
www.acousticguitarcommunity.com/video/restoring-a-classic-vintage-nz

Comment by Edward Sparks on August 24, 2010 at 10:17am

Lap steels...not just for squirrels!!! Edward

Comment by John Gundrum on August 23, 2010 at 9:06pm

That's one rockin' squirrel!

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