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Topic: Hi from a new member from Australia |
Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2010 8:56 pm |
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I'm new to the forum and to lap steel as well, although like almost everyone else I'll always loved the sound. I've borrowed a lap steel from a friend and have restrung it with a C6 tuning.
Last night was the first chance I had to really dig in on it and I was blown away by the experience. I haven't been so happy in a long time.
I found the tuning quite intuitive. I'm wondering whether this is a beginner's fallacy and I'm in for a rude shock when I try to extend myself.
I've played a bit of guitar and bass but I'm mainly a keyboard player. I play a range of styles - blues, soul, jazz, latin, ska and rocksteady, and I've always loved western swing.
I'm going to look for my own lap steel and I've seen a few posts here advising novices like myself. I think a Dynalap 8 might be the go because I'd like to have the extra strings and the string spacing is good. I can't find any working links for Dynalaps at the moment so if someone could help me out with a contact I would appreciate it.
I'm also looking the Gold Tone LS-8, which seems to be pretty good as well.
I have Scotty's C6 book on the way and I'm looking forward to pestering folks here for advice in the near future.
Cheers, Adrian |
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Kekoa Blanchet
From:
Kaua'i
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Posted 15 Jul 2010 9:07 pm
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Welcome, Adrian!
Sad news about the Dynalaps, though. Mark Vinbury isn't making the kits any more.
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=184997&highlight=dynalap
But you'll occasionally see kits or completed Dynalaps for sale on eBay or in the Instruments for Sale section here on the forum.
The Gold Tone LS-8 is a beautiful instrument. But the string spacing seems a bit close for me.
I'm sure you'll get good recommendations from other forum members. |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2010 9:16 pm
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Thanks Kekoa!
I had a inkling that might be the case with the Dynalaps. There's one going in Australia but it's about US$850, which seems a bit steep to me.
I might pass on the Gold Tone as well because of the string spacing.
I want to get an instrument that I won't grow out of an a couple of months. |
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Benjamin Franz
From:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2010 9:26 pm
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Hey adrian,
I've got a friend who's selling an early 50's fender 8 string down in Geelong. It's a nice instrument. Let me know if you're interested and I'll pass on his details. |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2010 9:31 pm
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| Hi Benjamin, I would be interested. I'm in Melbourne so Geelong is not a problem. Please PM or email me with the details. Cheers |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 16 Jul 2010 6:37 am
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Welcome, Adrian. Fender eight string steels are great instruments, so I hope this transaction works out well for you.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 16 Jul 2010 9:09 pm
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Welcome to the forums Adrian 
| Quote: |
| Last night was the first chance I had to really dig in on it and I was blown away by the experience. I haven't been so happy in a long time. |
Thats what its all about, steel is a ton of fun!!
_________________
Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
Follow me on Facebook here |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 17 Jul 2010 5:11 am
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| Thanks folks, I'm following up on a couple of leads from here and I feel very welcome. |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 17 Jul 2010 3:22 pm
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| Got an 8 string Dynalap heading this way from Bill Moore - can't wait! |
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Travis Hillis
From:
Nashville TN, USA
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Posted 17 Jul 2010 4:19 pm
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Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new axe  |
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Kelvin Monaghan
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 18 Jul 2010 1:41 am
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Hey Adrian you will love your Dynalap they are great guitars ,here is a pic of mine I did make a few changes ,thats the beauty of the kit you can make it your own .Cheers Kelvin
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Dean Gray
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 22 Jul 2010 4:13 pm
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G'day Adrian. Welcome to the world of non pedal steel. I don't post much here, but there are quite a few Aussies lurking around. I'm sure you will enjoy the 8 string C6 tuning, especially given your keyboard background.
There a lot of cool chord fragments and substitutions in the C6 tuning, and while we can't get as many big chords as on a piano/keyboard, it seems that on the steel a lot of times just 2 or 3 note intervals/triads sound as good or better.
I might add I got a big kickstart from Rick Alexanders' videos when I started out - both his Tuff Fun Tab and the free stuff he posted on you tube, check it out.
Dean
_________________
If it’s on the ground it can’t fall down. |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 22 Jul 2010 6:58 pm
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It's good to hear from some fellow Aussies. The Dynalap is still on the way, but you might appreciate my current rig.
The borrowed lap steel is a Moody ES-1, made by R. Moody & Co. of Sydney. For bedroom volumes I'm running it through a Moody Student model amp, which has a nice clean sound. I'm a big fan of Aussie amps and I've built up a small collection, including a 40W Ultratone head also made by Moody.
I'll check out Rick Alexander's lessons. My head is spinning at the moment trying to get some pick blocking going. I don't want to develop any bad habits that may be hard to kick later on (if only I could apply that philosophy to the rest of my life!). |
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Jeff Spencer
From:
Queensland, Australia
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Posted 2 Aug 2010 4:04 am
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G'day Adrian and welcome. There are quite a few aussies around playing steel and lurking in strange places and not so strange tring to feed the addition that will soon beset you.The steel world is quite small here and you will soon feret out others to chat and maybe jamm with. Have fun and enjoy the "trip"!! Here is my myspace site
http://www.myspace.com/jeffronaldspencer |
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Jeff Spencer
From:
Queensland, Australia
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Posted 2 Aug 2010 4:22 am
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Hay Adrian. Love to see some pics of the Moody. Mine is a killer for tone and I gig with because it's so good.
Cheers
J |
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Alexa Gomez
From:
San Francisco
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Posted 2 Aug 2010 10:43 pm Zen Guitar
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Hi Adrian,
Welocme! I'm a new member, too.
That sense of connection with the instrument you describe is mentioned in a book, Zen Guitar, where the author observes how, no matter how much we learn, we're always really just white belts, even though we may have occaisional black belt chops. I've been playing many years and never tire of just looking at or even just holding my guitar, much less playing. It seems like you're tuned into something magical there, Adrian.
Alexa
_________________
Sister Alexa>SX Lap Pro>Rocktron Surf Tremolo>Pignose 7-100.
www.youtube.com/sisteralexa |
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Adrian Reeves
From:
Victoria, Australia
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Posted 2 Aug 2010 11:09 pm
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Hi Jeff,
I'll try to take some photos to post at some stage - there's another, older Moody I'm hoping to check out as well.
Hi Alexa,
For me there's a mix of the magical and the frustrating. The most important thing is that I hear in my head what I want to play, even if I can't get there yet.
At the moment I'm trying to get my head my around pick blocking, then I see Walter Niesing's string bending technique on Youtube and realise how far there is to go... |
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