The Steel Guitar Forum

Welcome John, Once asked if he studied music theory, Jeff Beck remarked, "Only enough to not hurt my playing". Theory is this bottomless pit modes, scales, triads, inversions, etcetera, ad nauseum. Don't get me wrong, I'm eternally grateful to professors and musicians who've let me learn m...

Hello Kelvin, Lots of good advice here, so I think I'll put in my two cents, too. I have lap steels with both scale lengths. I use the long scale to rehearse and the short scale onstage. I use a nice Lapstick Studio live since it sounds fantastic and has a shorter, more maneuverable scale length. I ...

Hello Huib, You can make your volume, or wah for that matter, work "backwards", which I prefer, too. Here's how... Use a soldering iron to remove the hot lead from the volume pot and move it to the outer lug on the opposite end. This move makes the pot function counter-clockwise, thus maki...

e That Labradoodle looks swell! Alexa, how do you like your Labradoodle? I liked the Laberdoodle, Brian, but I gave it away when I left Portland. My new squeeze is the Lap Pro, sporting a nice P-90 style pup and nice Grover tuners. It simply sounds amazing. I use .08s on it and it produces a nice ja...

Just posted a new lesson at my YouTube channl...

www.youtube.com/sisteralexa

Shore is purty

Welcome, Brian :D I've owned the white Rogue Jersey Lightning, EA, an SX Laberdoodle (I'll have what whoever concoted the name is drinking) and, currently, an SX Lap Pro. You're getting some great advice by the guys recommending the white, $99 Musician's Friend Rogue Jersey Lightning (an equally biz...

I like the Guyatone TZ-2, Paul, which sounds rather like a Super Fuzz from my mis-spent youth. Here's a link with sounds...

http://www.guyatone.com/Tz2.php

I owned one of the red ones and really enjoyed the sound and controls. It turned out a little too heavy for me, though.

You may want to see my lap steel guitar lesson channel, John...

www.youtube.com/sisteralexa

Hope this helps.

Hello Clair, One way to increase sustain and make it more uniform string to string, is to add a compressor. Simple stomp boxes only have a couple knobs. The more complex models have knobs for attack, delay, sustain, release, or ADSR. The rack mount versions often include soft or hard knee compresson...

Hello Mark,

Paul is totally right that the tape acts as a marker for mic placement, and that it dates quite a few decades. I've seen caulk used, too.

This said, it's not uncommon the hotspot drifting as the speaker seasons over time.

Hello Brad, This is a bit fussy, but always yields good results positioning a guitar amp mic. Plug a guitar cable into the amp input and turn it up until you hear background hiss. Wearing a pair of sound-isolating headphones, listen to the amp mic via the mixer. Move the mic clock-wise around the sp...

Thank you for the mention, J. I sure do appreciate it.

Hello Michael,

Single coils only have 2 leads running from it, the darker ground and the lighter one hot, whereas most humbuckers have 4 leads for coil-tapping. The wireing scheme is the same for both for volume, tone, and what have you.

Hope this helps,

Alexa

Welcome to SGF, David. I owned a white Rogue Jersey Lighting and really enjoyed it for the features, or lack thereof, and it being so light. If you'd like some ideas, you might tune into my YouTube lesson channel clicking the link below. http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix1029/10005_White_Lightni...

I got the SX P90 lap steel and really like it a lot. The P90 and Grover machine heads are similar to the ones in their Agile guitars, which I like a lot, too. So, I suppose I'll resist the urge to replace and just leave her stock, except for the bridge which I'm replacing with one without the saddle...

Just posted a new video at my lesson channel...

www.youtube.com/sisteralexa

Enjoy!

I'll share what I do, Benjamin, which is playing along with the radio, any channel will do, the more variety the better. The idea is shifting between different keys, styles, and tempos in order to broaden your scope and to develop improvisational skill and dexterity. At first, you can adapt your exi...

I use a noise gate I ordered online. It's a Behringer and works just fine. It's got quite a nice and natural release and ramps out slowly and sounds quite musical. Or, you could get one of those Planet Waves guitar cables with the on/off switch on the jack to damp the buzz between numbers on stage. ...

I suppose you're spot on, Stephen, with the Sonny Landreth comparison. John Hiatt always hires the best players for his projects. Must go listen to some of his stuff.

Jerry Douglas sounds like Ry Cooder, Jason, in his Bring the Family phase, with Elvis Costello filling in for John Hiatt. Just an opinion.

Greetings from San Francisco, Frank, and welcome.

Thank you for the kind words, Joe. Sure do appreciate it.

Just posted a video at my lessson channel demonstrating and explaining country blues lap steel double-stops.

www.youtube.com/sisteralexa

Enjoy