North East Steelers 22 October 2017

[Nick Bidmade]

The North East Steelers met last Sunday, 22 October at our usual venue, the Buck Inn, Thornton Watlass.
In attendance – Derek Evans, Keith Glendenning, Tony Russell Davis, Rod and Rosemary King, new members Harvey Spirit and John Stafford, and yours truly. Tony was playing a Beard 8 string resonator tuned to C6. Keith was on his own made 8 string, Rod on his Rickenbacker 8 string ‘Radiogram’ and John on a Bennett 8 string. Harvey isn’t a player (yet) but we all impressed on him the value of ‘having a go’! Maybe he’ll take the plunge.
We had a really good session – round robins of two Hank Williams classics – Cold, Cold Heart and Mansion on the Hill. We followed up with some really great tunes taught and led by Rod and Rosemary. I should have made a note of the names of the tunes, but they were tremendous, with lots of room to improvise over and some really interesting chord changes that really stretched the imagination!
There was plenty of time for lunch and chat and I think it was one of our best sessions. Thanks to all who attended and made it such a success. We missed Mike Eacock and Keith Wilson. Hope they can make the next one.
The next meeting is scheduled for 28 January, weather permitting. I’ll post updates nearer the time. The format for the next meeting is ‘solo’ – a 10 – 15 minute slot to do your own thing – bring backing tracks, your own bands, string quartets – whatever works for you. Derek has also kindly offered to prepare backing tracks for anyone who would like a Band in a Box backing track for their tune/s. YouTube is also a good source for backing tracks, but they are of variable standard and quality.

[Nclepeter]

Hello, I have just joined the group so I would like to introduce myself as I am a total novice although Lap Steel is something I want to learn about. I play guitar and have been looking for a Lap Steel Guitar but have decided as I am a joiner to build my own.... I have been looking for parts on the internet but they seem to be on Ebay and there is no actual site that deals with parts, Build Sizes etc as I want to work of a set of drawings for the neck size etc... Can anyone help? I live in Jarrow, Best Wishes, Peter.

[Tony Russell Davis]

Yes, I can help and so can Keith Glendenning in Hartlepool. Both of us have made guitars, sourced parts and materials and can actually play the things!
PM me with your email address please and we can talk about this off-forum rather than fill up a thread with (uninteresting to other people) detail. Tony.

[nevada150]

Hello,
As Tony said, we have both made our own Lap Steels and regularly play them at our bi-monthly meetings. I usually design mine "on the fly" so to speak. I start off with a rough idea in my head and just go for it. Parts are readily available on eBay and Tony or myself can help you to decide what to buy. There's a Luthier in Scarbrough called JAG Guitars who sells dimensional plans for Lap Steels in a few classical styles. I recently purchased an 8 string Charlie Christian pickup from him for my latest project. PM or email me if you'd like to discuss anything.
Keith.

[RonMc]

Welcome to the forum perhaps this link will help you http://steelguitarbuilder.com/forum/ind ... 97e0456637

I have built several 'steels' pedal and lap versions and you will probably get any help you ask for on that site.

This was the last one I built.



Best Regards Ron Mc

[Danny Mitchell]

That's a very nice lapsteel you've built there Ron

2 wee questions, if i may. Is that a regular six string neck you've incorporated? And, are the black circles pick and bar holders?

[RonMc]

Thanks Danny,
The recesses were for holding picks, the guitar was made out of a lump of oak I had and the fingerboard was mahogany, the controls , machine heads, pickups and tail assembly from a scrap cheapie fender copy I got for £5. I sold it about 2 years ago and the new owner was pleased as punch.
It would be nice to keep all these things, but it's not practical, and more to the point I wouldn't be able to stand the speeches.

[Danny Mitchell]

It would be nice to keep all these things, but it's not practical, and more to the point I wouldn't be able to stand the speeches.

Ha ha! I'm feeling your pain Ron

Ta for the info, very interesting.

[Tony Russell Davis]

Peter - remember what Nick said (above) that we have a steel guitar meeting on the 28th January, lunchtime at the Buck Inn down here. Newcastle is not too far, Nick lives there for instance. Come along and we can talk seriously about how to build your guitar.

[Nclepeter]

Thank you, it would be good to meet up and chat about the Lap Steel Guitar at your next meeting.
I have an idea about pick ups as I want to create something different that I can use in a live situation as I play in a band and use a Line 6 Variax guitar and pedal.
The guitar speaks to the pedal via a cable which allows at a flick of a switch to change from Acoustic to electric to sitar to banjo etc etc... this also includes amp type, speaker type and effects... I spend lots of time programming into the pedal with my guitar to get the sounds I want and then at a gig I use a powered monitor which guarantees that every time I Gig I will get the same sounds through the PA system.
I have a spare Line 6 Variax Guitar which I will use for the lap Steel Guitar and will use the pick ups and mini computer so have stripped them out and ready to go so have bought some Oak which I will glue together to get the body size I require after that I haven't got a clue