We're Building a REAL Steel Guitar

[Alan Brookes]

Yes, Phil, I'm interested. I'm trying to visualize what you're suggesting.

Tom just finished making some CAD changes to allow the entire instrument to be rectangular, so that the machine head area blends in better. We're waiting on some machine time to cut the metal right now.

[James Mayer]

...LED's would be cool, but LCD's?! Wow!

Oops, a bit of brain slip there. Yes, LEDs, of course. We're not planning on any Liquid Crystal Displays on the fingerboard, although that could be cool. If you think about it, the fingerboard could be a small computer screen, with the frets as an image. You could then connect it via a USB to your computer, and write a program which illuminates the necessary frets in the appropriate key, plus sevenths and fifths in different colors. You would type in the key you need, and sensors would determine the pitch of the strings. You could have an array of warning lights, like on a car dashboard, warning if a string is out-of-tune, or if you hit too many dischords.

Most of what you describe has been done on a guitar. Check out http://www.fretlight.com/. You could buy one of those, tear it open and put the guts in a steel.

[Alan Brookes]

...Most of what you describe has been done on a guitar. Check out http://www.fretlight.com/. You could buy one of those, tear it open and put the guts in a steel.

Yes, I've seen that before. Unfortunately, unless you're a programmer, you'd be stuck with 6 strings and EADGBE tuning. I was thinking more in terms of a fingerboard that was an actual LCD screen, rather than a fingerboard with LEDs. Imagine if your fingerboard was a long thin computer monitor. You could even put images on it and use your tone bar as a radio-controlled mouse.

[James Mayer]

Heh, sounds like you would have to be programmer to make that LCD fretboard.

From what I understand of the fretlight, the accompanying software allows you to use custom tunings.

[Alan Brookes]

If the fingerboard were a long, thin monitor, I could write an Excel spreadsheet to calculate and indicate the fret positions and notes of chords. I've already done that on a vertical sheet. I would just have to turn the calculation through 90 deg. and play around with the cell sizes to get the frets in the right place.

[Philip Bender]

Aloha Alan,
If you look at photo #18, on page 3, you will notice how,it might look with an elongated hoe for each string to pass through, then be attached to each tuner shaft. the shafts would need to be modified to be long enough, but that would not be a problem. What do you think?
Phil

[Alan Brookes]

I'm not picturing what you're suggesting, Phil. Maybe it's time for another of your sketches,

[Philip Bender]

Hey Alan,
Here is the idea I was trying to explain, just now got a cad system. Is that clear yet, I am not sure the idea is very clear, my drawing skills are a bit off.

[Alan Brookes]

Hey Alan,
Here is the idea I was trying to explain, just now got a cad system. Is that clear yet, I am not sure the idea is very clear, my drawing skills are a bit off.

Did you intend to attach an image ?

Tom is away in Berlin at the moment, so the project is on hold.

[Philip Bender]

Aloha Alan,
What is up with your guitar, have not heard much lately.
Phil

[Alan Brookes]

It has to be slipped in between production jobs, and we've had a lot of work on. Progress IS being made, and I hope to be able to show some results soon, and also post some soundclips.

[Ferdinand van den Berg]

Hi Alan,

Hoe gaat het?

I just read your steel-lap-steel story aftrer a long time, it is coming out as a great experiment!

I bet it is a nice break out of the regular work for the people working at your company too!

How does it sound?

Fern

[Alan Brookes]

Dag Ferdinand, het goet uitstekend.

I retired from the company that has the laser centre at the end of March, so I no longer have access to the equipment. Without me there, those involved in the work are no longer pursuing the project.

I have two prototypes that I need to finish. Unfortunately, when I came to fit the pickups I found that they had cut the holes slightly too small, and stainless steel is too hard for me to grind out with hand tools, so I'm going to have to come up with a solution.

[Philip Bender]

Hey alan, do you have a Dremel tool, there is a diamond grinding bit that you can buy cheap, and it works.
Phil
PS you could always send it to me, I work real cheap.

[Hal Braun]

Alan, great looking project.

I was just noodling around, and angled tuners always bugged me because of binding, string not wrapping consistently, etc. (yes I am anal that way..) as well as your issue of wear and movement on the tuners mounted through a thin wall..

Maybe on one of the next iterations, you could try something like this (quick drawing for idea generation only.. no scale, no art, no drawing talent.. ymmv)

If you bent a similar gauge metal to the body in a "stairstep" and either riveted, spot welded, whatever, that stairstep to the outside of the tuner head.. you could drill perpendicular to the body line, plus have a two "walls" that the hole would penetrate giving you support and aligning the tuners.. just a thought..

[Alan Brookes]

Over six years ago. I wonder if anyone will ever try to build a lap steel again entirely out of welded steel.

Looking back on the project, it was a lot of fun, but, to me, it proved once and for all that the wood that steel guitars are made of is a contributing factor to the tone produced. What we produced in steel was a playable instrument that had no overtones and no character. But it was worth the effort to find that out. Had it been successful I had ideas of an all-steel resonator guitar, but it would have been heavy.

Well, it's all water under the bridge now.