Nut / Bridge Question

[Mike Dexter]

Would different material used for nut and bridge make a difference to the tone of a lap steel?--bone / wood / brass / steel / aluminium? No difference? Use tone controls on the amp to get the sound you want? Have you tried different material?

[Tony Russell Davis]

Yes is the answer. but the nut will only affect open strings; It's a good question and I hope the following helps - bear in mind I used only what was handy and all dimensions were governed by the materials.
The bridge material will affect all notes. That said, all of the materials you list have been used, with different effects, on guitars. I've used steel angle (bright sound), brass (still bright and easier to cut and file) most wood is pretty dead and not recommended, (it needs to be in the lignum vitae/ebony bracket to be any use), bone is very good for nuts (as on the sunburst guitar) and bridge saddles and aluminium works very well and is easy to work on.
Recommendation - aluminium angle is readily available and will do both jobs. Years ago I got loads of offcuts, angle and channel, being chucked out from a double glazing manufacturer and have only come to the last few bits now.
It can be bought fairly cheap off eBay and the same stuff used at both ends of the guitar. You may need to hacksaw and file one side of the angle to get the right the height.
Here's some pictures of two 7 stringers that I made out of wood offcuts from a furniture maker (mahogany 1-1/4" x 2-1/4" for the neck) set into a routed out channel, about an inch deep, in a band-sawn piece of thick pine window-sill (route first, shape after!).

You can see how the ali. angle for the nut has been filed to fit into a routed socket to go hidden under the fretboard.
Here's the white one "finished",

The ali. has been notched for the ball-ends of the strings and the body cut away for clearance. The cover is one discarded from a Fender bass.

and here it is now.

The fretboard (and hence the scale length) was transcribed from the first fret to bridge of a standard guitar by cutting through the top layer of a black/white/black plastic sheet I had bought for scratch-plates. The paint is standard spray can stuff, and the fret markers are stick on's from China (about £2.55 a set)

[Mike Dexter]

Hi Tony
Many thanks for your useful information--much appreciated.

Mike.

[Tony Russell Davis]

Hope you make a good'un. Get back to me if I can help any more, I don't have a lot more on hand just now!!!

[CharlieC1942]

Hi Mike,
I'm new to the forum and have just seen your post about replacing the wooden nut on your Artisan lap steel. I have replaced the wooden nut on my Jagard (same body - just a different name) and modified the bridge (along with few other parts). Although your project might be completed you might like to see the mods I have made. I have only uploaded a few photos but if you want any information please let me know.

Attachments

[Tony Russell Davis]

Hi David, glad you made it to the forum. Good pictures of a very neat build- see you tomorrow, Tony

[CharlieC1942]

Hi Tony,
Thank you for the welcome. I must admit I did struggle with uploading the photos because initially the photos were rejected as being too large and to resize them in terms of kB rather than pixel dimensions was problematic. However perseverance paid off and I did manage to upload something which I hope is useful.

As word of warning to anyone thinking of attempting the sort of mods I carried out I would not recommend buying a lap steel at the cheaper end of the market and doing what I did. The pickup alone was probably more expensive than the original guitar (it was a present and my family never revealed the cost) and I did have to get some parts made for me because I don't have workshop. Having said that, I did do a lot of filing and cutting on the kitchen surface. The Jagard is very different from the original and considering the time and cost I could have probably have bought a much better guitar, older no doubt, but better. If you're up for a challenge Tony you can road test it tomorrow. I will be happy to share my experience and details with anyone who's interested.

Regards,
David

[Pop123]

Hi Mike,
I'm new to the forum and have just seen your post about replacing the wooden nut on your Artisan lap steel. I have replaced the wooden nut on my Jagard (same body - just a different name) and modified the bridge (along with few other parts). Although your project might be completed you might like to see the mods I have made. I have only uploaded a few photos but if you want any information please let me know.

Hello CharlieC

Thanks for your post, it looks as if you have done a good job on your lap steel. I believe the nut/ bridge material issue is more of an issue on acoustic guitars. Having said that, the consensus seems to be, harder the material, the brighter the tone. Looks also play a part. But like most things, it comes down to personal preference.

[CharlieC1942]

Hi Pop123,
Thanks for your kind words re the lap steel. The question of which material is best for the nut and bridge is forever being argued and once the bar is on the strings the nut material would appear to be an irrelevance. However, are there any good quality lap steels with a wooden nut? To the best of my knowledge they are usually only found on the cheaper range of lap steels. I've only ever had the one lap steel and it is the only one I have ever modified so cannot speak with any experience or authority on the science behind the choice of materials. As you say it comes down to personal preference. One person will champion the use of brass while another will says it the worst. I'm not suggesting for a moment that as soon as you get one of these guitars you should change the wooden nut. We all know what an accomplished player can extract from a musical instrument at the cheaper end of the range and there will be players out there making good music with guitars at that end of the spectrum.

Regards,
CharlieC1942

[Pop123]

Hi Pop123,
Thanks for your kind words re the lap steel. The question of which material is best for the nut and bridge is forever being argued and once the bar is on the strings the nut material would appear to be an irrelevance. However, are there any good quality lap steels with a wooden nut? To the best of my knowledge they are usually only found on the cheaper range of lap steels. I've only ever had the one lap steel and it is the only one I have ever modified so cannot speak with any experience or authority on the science behind the choice of materials. As you say it comes down to personal preference. One person will champion the use of brass while another will says it the worst. I'm not suggesting for a moment that as soon as you get one of these guitars you should change the wooden nut. We all know what an accomplished player can extract from a musical instrument at the cheaper end of the range and there will be players out there making good music with guitars at that end of the spectrum.

Regards,
CharlieC1942

The other thing we have not mentioned is the cost. Manufacturers will often fit the cheapest nuts and don't seem to worry about the setup.