The Steel Guitar Forum

I tune in anticipation of the song I am playing. If my low D is a bit sloshy and the song requires me to dig in, then I loosen the D.

If the song is gentle, then I stay true. This process has always worked for me.

...What Jeff said!

I used my Paloma on my '48 National Dynamic for a piano / lap steel performance at Christmas time and it was nice. A hair less sustain and bit breathier. I liked it. The only hurdle with ceramic bars for me is getting my hand used to the chunkier size. I don't feel quite as nimble with it -- but aft...

What is considered to be a fair price for one of these? I came across this one on reverb.com https://reverb.com/item/288787-1942-national-dynamic-hawaiian-lap-steel It's a slightly different body style, but very cool looking I think. $500 is a great price. I was surprised to learn that the Dynamics...

Thanks to you all! It's good to have the time to come back to the forum again. I'm glad you liked the performance and vid. It was challenging but fun. Recording it was way more fun than making the video portion though. That was a bit of a pain. The positive feedback makes it worthwhile though. Truth...

Well the tone pot was wide open in that particular recording so the sound was not affected by my tone pot. It was a combo of the pup, flatwound strings and my choice of amp. In this case it was two Vox AC30's to give some width. I maintain that the pup did make some difference though. I also think t...

Yeah, I tried them all -- both on clean settings and then on overdrive, before I made my decision. Clean, I liked the Supro pup better than the Dynamic (but my Dynamic pup is pretty old and likely a little weak) but on overdrive the Dynamic had vicious teeth and a throatier sound. Not as throaty as ...

My tone knob works but the change is minimal -- I can't really use it for a wah effect at all like I can with some of my other lap steels. It is good for rolling off any painful high tones sometimes. My opinion is that the National Dynamic pup is unique and has a throaty growl to it. Before I record...

Hi Guys!

Happy to be back after a year or so away. Even happier that my return coincides with the topic of National Dynamics.

Check this out:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 54#2369154

I've been away from the forum for over a year, as we had a baby boy and I've been pretty busy, however, I was delighted to return to find a prominent discussion on the topic of the National Dynamics. I am a huge fan. I (literally) just finished recording myself playing my 1948 (just like Lindley's)....

I have both. The string-thru design is more powerful so you get a stronger signal and more headroom. The postwar version is weaker but has a neat growl (others here have testified as much of their National Dynamics also) that none of my other steels has. It definitely has it's own voice. This is why...

You can play more expressively with bare fingers than you can with picks, provided you have enough fingernail to alternate. That said, I have to agree that you won't quite get that 'classic' sound without the finger picks. I use both as my situation requires. My advice is to keep practicing with the...

Gorgeous! Let me say for the umpteenth time that Bob makes great lap steels. I never get tired of mine.

PS> It could also be an issue with a pickup placement on the body of your guitar...

I've had the bobtail model for about a month, and it seems ok except the tuning machines seem very tight, and I've had some problem with an echo when played plugged in straight to the amp. What do you think could be causing this echo? Perhaps I am misunderstanding you but...this sounds like an issu...

Excellent, thanks Jim!

Any idea why they taper outwards at the bottom? Two of my lap steel fretboards don't taper, and two do. Seems pretty arbitrary.

All my steels are 6 string tho...

Awesome! Thanks Michael!

Anyone care to volunteer the width measurement for an 8 string (at the nut)?

I assume it's wider than a 6 sting fretboard/neck but I would like a number to work with....

Anyone?

Hmmm... I have no guilt using the Duesy bender on my Melbert lap steel at all! It just makes the lap format more versatile. My other lap steels are in different tunings so in the long run all the guitars see equitable use.

Thanks Steve, that is very interesting. It really makes sense now that you explain it. Also, I can look right at the pup itself and see plainly that it is set up three and three -- like the bass pups you mentioned. Cool info! Regarding the noisy single coils that Jean mentioned and your own explanat...

Yes I second what Steve says about the nature of 'buckers vs. single coil. Humbuckers do tend to sound a bit muffled whereas single coil are clear and clean and very reactive. Humbuckers also tend to have a bit of natural compression so they sound more "even". Add a bit of distortion to th...

Yes, I would look to Lollar pickups. The guy is a wizard and is recognized globally as one of the best pup makers ever. Here is a direct link to his steel guitar pups: http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=steel-guitar-pickups But you should also look through his options for single co...

Its a great idea and I am getting 'er done this aft!

Lane Gray wrote:Many recommend putting about a 1M resistor on the jumper between the two.

Thx, I will mention this to him!