Rogue Jersey Lightning

Karen Sarkisian · Post by **Karen Sarkisian** » 5 Aug 2011 4:01 pm

I just ordered me a red on from musicians friend. $149.00 free shipping. too good to pass up. they're backordered tho so it'll be a while.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 5 Aug 2011 5:35 pm

Karen, not to throw a wrench into the works, but i guess I will - you should check out this Morrell second!

http://compare.ebay.com/like/1706774016 ... 3217414920

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Aug 2011 6:06 pm

I've owned both the Jersey Lightning and a Morrell 8-string, and IMO the Jersey Lightning is a much better lap steel. I played it on a couple of gigs and I was very happy with it. The Morrell feels like a toy. Very cheaply made and the pickup isn't even wide enough to go under all 8 strings, so string 8 can barely be heard through the amp. It's not playable on a bandstand IMO without an upgraded pickup, nut and bridge.

Karen Sarkisian · Post by **Karen Sarkisian** » 5 Aug 2011 6:30 pm

The rogue has gotten many good reviews and at a buck 49 it's a good choice for me. Thanks for the heads up. I saw your YouTube video Doug which helped me in my decision. I just hope this new venture will help improve my pedal steel chops and not take away from them. It'll be nice to be able to sit on my couch and practice my palm blocking !

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 5 Aug 2011 7:31 pm

I just hope this new venture will help improve my pedal steel chops and not take away from them

Karen, playing lap steel will help your pedal steel playing, picking technique, blocking, bar motion, etc. Playing non-pedal steel makes me look at the pedal steel in a different way... and use the bar more for slides, slants, and licks without relying so much on the pedals. It doesn't really take away from my pedal steel playing except my feet don't get a workout.

FYI: I too ordered a red Jersey Lightning from Musician's Friend a couple of months ago and it was back ordered. One month later they refunded my money via PayPal and said the guitar was not in yet and by law they were required to refund the money to me... just thought I'd pass that along.

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 6 Aug 2011 1:18 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:The Morrell feels like a toy. Very cheaply made and the pickup isn't even wide enough to go under all 8 strings, so string 8 can barely be heard through the amp. It's not playable on a bandstand IMO without an upgraded pickup, nut and bridge.

I have to agree about the Kent Armstrong lipstick pickup being too short. Is there a pickup that you'd recommend to replace it? The pickguard on the one I have is metal which would make the project a bit trickier.
I have the model with the slotted headstock, the one that has the strings digging into the wood...

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Aug 2011 9:33 pm

Steve, I'd probably go with a Wallace True Tone 8-string pickup... if it fits your Morrell.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 7 Aug 2011 12:20 pm

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Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 7 Aug 2011 12:21 pm

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Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 11 Aug 2011 10:02 am

Rather than hog this thread with my comments about the Joe Morrell MJMP-8N lap steel I started its own thread:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1816951

Steve

P.S. Thanks for posting the pictures of the $199.99 white pearloid Jersey Lightning! I was wondering what they looked like under the pickup cover. They look like they are constructed much better than the Rondo SX steels (like the Morrells another project steel for DIY-ers).

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 11 Aug 2011 8:51 pm

There seems to be something fishy going on over at Musicians Friend... Earlier today I double-checked and I am sure that the special discount was 5% for orders $150-249 and 10% for orders $250-599. I was putting together an order and when I checked for the discount code I saw that the discount was now $10 for orders $150-249 and $25 for orders $250-599. I wish I had printed out that page earlier today because I might have remembered it wrong.

For an order of $250 (which was what I was aiming for) the discount would have been the same either way, but for purchases of $599.99 a discount of $25 is only 4%- not really that tempting.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 12 Aug 2011 8:40 am

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Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 12 Aug 2011 11:35 am

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Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 12 Aug 2011 5:00 pm

MLA:

The white pearloid Jersey Lightning looks really nice, much nicer than the other colors! So is that a standard PAF humbucker like in a regular guitar or are the poles spaced further apart?

Your pictures show a lot more detail than what they have at Musicians Friend. The construction looks much better than the other current production lap steels under $200 (or even higher than that). The tune-a-matic bridge is a weak spot on the Rondo SX varieties; I like that the Rogue uses a standard lap steel L bridge, with the strings going through the body. The nut looks top notch (a weak point on the Morrell and the Rogue EA-3). The headstock is not slotted as on the Morrell, the Rondo or the EA-3. And you can tell that it is a solid piece of wood just looking at the control cavity.

BTW you would be amazed at the low prices that the factories in China charge a distributor like Musicians Friend. And if you give those factories a good design to copy they can crank out some nice guitars and steels- as you have pointed out the Jersey Lightning is one of the good designs, much better than most of its competition.

Steve

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 12 Aug 2011 6:02 pm

You're right, Steve. The nut, the bridge, the strings-through body, and the pickup on the Jersey Lightning are much better quality than the cheaper Rogue and the Morrell. The JL is a very "playable" lap steel IMO.

BTW, I received a message today from a Youtube member who said the Jersey Lightning is back in stock at Musician's Friend and he got his four days after ordering it.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 13 Aug 2011 1:13 pm

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Kekoa Blanchet · Post by **Kekoa Blanchet** » 13 Aug 2011 1:56 pm

It's great to see such a thorough discussion of this guitar. Thanks guys!

Does anyone know what the string spacing and scale length are on the Rogue Jersey Lightning, the new Recording King, and the Rondo SX?

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 13 Aug 2011 4:24 pm

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Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 13 Aug 2011 4:33 pm

So the RJL will take a standard humbucker- that is great because there is such a wide selection of pickups available which will fit in, giving you plenty of tonal options (P-90 pickups do not have anywhere near as many options).

IMO it is only when humbuckers are raised up close to the strings that the spacing becomes critical. Many people agree that you get the best sound from a humbucker (or practically any pickup for that matter) if you keep the pickup closer to the body. One big advantage for raising the pickups close to the strings is that it increases the voltage output, but modern amps and pedals can give you as much gain as you'd ever want so I like to adjust pickups to get the tone I like the best.

A different subject: IMO scale length doesn't matter unless it is way too short (like the Rogue EA-3) or way too long. String spacing is much more important to me. 3/8" (.375") is usually the recommendation for an 8 string. A regular 6 string guitar typically has a string spacing of 0.425" while my 6 string Supro lap steel has a string spacing of 0.450". My Gibson BR-9 has a string spacing of 0.475" at the bridge which is very wide (perhaps too wide). My Morrell 8 string has a string spacing of 0.340" which is just too narrow (if it was converted to 7 strings you could increase the spacing to 0.375" for a total width of 2.25" which should work fine with the Kent Armstrong pickup).
0.340" Morrell 8 string

0.375" Recommended for 8 strings

0.425" PRS regular 6 string guitar
0.450" 1961 Supro
0.475" 1949 Gibson BR-9

Karen Sarkisian · Post by **Karen Sarkisian** » 15 Aug 2011 4:04 am

my jersey lightning came last thursday. i was pretty amazed that it shipped so quickly. it came with a nice soft case. i got the red one cause it was $50 cheaper than the white one, but i'm not crazy about the color. its okay. i'm sure it will be a fine lap steel to learn on.

John Bushouse · Post by **John Bushouse** » 15 Aug 2011 10:58 am

I'm glad I opened up this thread - the Jersey Lightning looks like a really good guitar for the price. Plus, it comes in blue pearloid!

Karen Sarkisian · Post by **Karen Sarkisian** » 15 Aug 2011 6:29 pm

John Bushouse wrote:I'm glad I opened up this thread - the Jersey Lightning looks like a really good guitar for the price. Plus, it comes in blue pearloid!

yeah I almost bought the blue but my pedal steel is blue so i went with red

Craig Stenseth · Post by **Craig Stenseth** » 17 Aug 2011 4:54 pm

John Bushouse wrote:I'm glad I opened up this thread - the Jersey Lightning looks like a really good guitar for the price. Plus, it comes in blue pearloid!

And now, black pearloid! That one has to sound the best.

Daniel Policarpo · Post by **Daniel Policarpo** » 18 Aug 2011 10:47 am

After playing the dreaded Rogue EA-3 for the last 5 years(not too bad with new tuners and a mini-humbucker) I have judged my steel skills to be past the learner stage and just ordered a white pearloid Jersey. I have too many black guitars, I thought a nice white might balance out the mix a little. These look really sweet. And damn , the price is right. I got a used-needs repair model from MF for $84. Seems something is wrong with the jack. I think I can handle that.

THanks for letting me know about this, ladies and gentlemen.

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 18 Aug 2011 5:12 pm

Daniel Policarpo wrote:I got a used-needs repair model from MF for $84. Seems something is wrong with the jack. I think I can handle that.

So how did you find out about the one that needs repair? Was it listed under clearance? Sounds like a good deal since there is really not that much to a lap steel like the RJL (or practically any of them for that matter). Whereas a regular guitar could have all sorts of problems that could affect playability. (I have yet to see a lap steel that needs to be refretted.

)

Steve