The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a National double eight string lap steel, spent a lot of time fixing it up. Took it out to play tonight in the pick ups are so microphone like I can’t turn it up. Does anyone rework these kind of pick ups or can I get some vintage looking replacements? Any help would be greatly appreciated ...

"Sleepwalk" C6

Free bump for a real beauty!
Man ; I wish I had the duckettes !

The sound guy prolly had your steel too loud in your monitor... The feed back was from the mic on your amp,feeding back into the monitor... That's something you don't really have any control over, and a competent sound guy would just fix it in realtime, instead of panicking and turning everything off.

That is a beautiful restoration. Thanks, Ron. About the only thing that visually sort of bugs me is the shiny brand new look of the new parts on the 70 year-old body. Sort of like a new set of tires on an old rust bucket. But as far as functionality goes, it's a lot like a brand-new instrument that...

Nice find!

Question: How did you create the vinyl stencil for the Magnatone etching? Is it a sticky-backed thing? I am looking at restoring a Magnatone too. -george I used one of those vinyl cutting machines..(CriCut)..yes it is a sticky backed vinyl, I uploaded the image into their software,and sized it to m...

...so ,next I lay out the switches and other controls, to get a feel for the ergonomics.
I will wire them up and fool around with them abit ,to see if I like this configuration. Then, I with make a plate to support them...

I felt that it was necessary to fashion a couple of brass plates to go between the pickup and the bridge. This plate would keep the bridge from shifting ,cover some holes from the old pickup,and also allow me to run a ground wire thru a notch I put on the surface, saving me from trying to drill a ho...

Hey ,that's a great base for a restoration! Look into the Fishman Fluence Classic alnco pup. I use it in two of my laps, and I adore the sound. It requires a 9 volt, but it is a very versatile pickup.

Could you post a pic of the whole body? ...& wut kind of sound are you going for?
(& you may have carpenter ants 😅)
Thanks!

Use a yoga mat ; trimmed to your preference. It's not permanent, and easy to roll up.

Hey James, What length and width piece of brass do you need? I would think that scrap pieces would be pretty readily available in your state. I've got a 17"X7"X.050" plate that I could slice a piece off of with a jigsaw. You'd get to clean and trim it up. I'll be very curious about h...

Have been following this project from the beginning. A very impressive restoration that is obviously a labor of love. Looks like you're gonna end up with an instrument that's better than new. Congratulations. Thanks for the kind words Jack ! I don't know if I would describe it as a labor of love re...

I bet some people in the congregation very curious as to what he was actually playing

Gosh, that's nice!

Gosh, that's nice!

I agree with the positioning of the volume control might be a little awkward. It might make it difficult to do swells with your pinky finger. But I don't really know for sure. Also just a small aesthetic criticism ; I feel the wood tone of the fretboard it's too similar to the wood tone of the body ...

"Sleepwalk" for me as well.in C6.
I never tire of that song.

Will Houston wrote:Missed seeing this before, nice project!

Thanks ,Will!

Here is the drilling for the leg sockets... you can also see the pocket for the battery compartment......I plan on covering the bottom with green felt..... http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix1504/16693_IMG_0525_1.jpg Here is a preasembly photo.... http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix1504/16693_...

Here is a view of the lower body... I will add more coats of finishing to darken it up some. I also routed out a cavity for a 9 volt that will be accessible on the bottom side... http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix1504/16693_IMG_0516_1.jpg I found this logo tag that I will put on the front side r...

Thanks everyone for the replies. I took it to a tech and he said it was the rectifier tube. This is a 2 year old amp You could buy one of these from Weber ,, https://www.tedweber.com/wz34 They are nice to have around for trouble shooting ,or to replace that tube all together. Good thing to have in ...

One more vote for Mr. Piburn. I had an acrylic fretboard that was a mess. I polished the board, both top and bottom until it was spotless and then put it over one of George's peel-n-stick fretboards. Also used one for a catcan rebuild for it's fretboard. They look great and very easy to apply. Thin...

Continuing the work on the Magnatone double neck.... The base was split. I added a thin peice of plywood to bond it back together, as it was cupped .... http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix1504/16693_IMG_0498_1.jpg In fact, the bottom screws where so rusted ; I had to drill out the heads , and rem...