Upgrades for SX lapsteel w/P90

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 10 Jun 2013 5:53 am

Hi folks,

I found many threads regarding the SX Lapsteel and I was wondering if anyone has had any luck doing some upgrades. Some mentionned swapping for a bridge without saddles, and possibly a piece that is straight, as opposed to guitar bridges which are radiused. Anyone found a good wraparound bridge that fits this description?

Also, pickups. A Lollar P90 would be an obvious choice, but I'm wondering about the Lollar Supro pickup, because I really want a humbucker. Lollar Imperial is another possibility. A friend of mine has a pair of those on his Asher Hawaiian JR and they sound awesome.

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 7:23 am

I anchored the wraparound bridge through the body. Very stable now. Used chrome hardware so it looks right. Also installed a pair of Alumatone P 90's via blend pot. Love those pups. Loud, clear, and warm. Clear and warm don't usually go together, which is why I find them so amazing. The neck pickup gives a deep bluesy sound. The bridge pickup is more biting, and together they give a stratty/stringmaster-ish sound that is really sweet.

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 10 Jun 2013 8:08 am

Darrell, I would love to see some pics! Any 60cycle hum with those alumitone? I have a guitar with a pair of Lollar P90, when both pickups are used the noise is cancelled, but used individually they basically function like single coils, with the usual caveats...

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 10 Jun 2013 8:11 am

I think this bridge would be amazing, as long as it fits:

http://www.electrohawaiian.com/sbr1-ash ... psho1.html

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 8:29 am

Here you go. The velcro on the back was for a little prop that made it easier to play standing up, worn on a strap, for a gig on a tight stage.

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 8:37 am

For the bridge anchors I took some long barrel nuts and rounded the hex corner edges so that the barrels were a bit more cylindrical, cut them to the width of the body and epoxied them in. Chrome hex head cap screws top and bottom, with chrome washers. Small diameter washers on top for proper bridge height spacing. Large washers in back for added stability. The rounded heads of the cap screws make things comfortable.

The controls are blend and tone. No volume pot. I use a volume pedal. The warmth I'm hearing probably comes from the wood which I believe is probably ash on your model. Mine was listed as mahogany but I think it's more like sapele. Kinda soft and light, which may be a good thing but it sure didn't hold the bridge well. It never would hold tune.

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 10 Jun 2013 11:13 am

Nice mods, Darell. Looks like you surface mounted the Alumitones. How did that work out in terms of distance from the strings? I like your idea of using a blend pot -- probably gives you lots of cool tones.

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 12:08 pm

The strings are too close to the pickups to be able pick in that area but the sound is SO good that way that I probably won't change it. I put it together as a prototype with the thought of routing the body to sink the pickups deeper but decided to just leave it. Love blend pots. Use 'em on my basses too.

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 10 Jun 2013 12:22 pm

Cool -- I may have to give it a try.

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 12:31 pm

Let me know what you think of it. Be nice to have a second opinion on this setup. It ain't perfect but it is very unique and useful. For me, it really sits well in a band mix. It cuts through with a strong presence but doesn't overpower or hurt. I really need to try it with distortion some day.

G Strout · Post by **G Strout** » 10 Jun 2013 12:34 pm

Darrell Birtcher wrote:Kinda soft and light, which may be a good thing but it sure didn't hold the bridge well. It never would hold tune.

I have the same model as Darrell and also had the same problem. I finally took the bridge out and replaced it with one of these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LAP-STEEL-GUITA ... 56434d3889

Then I drilled 6 holes through the body and used Telecaster ferrulles to hold the strings. Replaced the original tuners with Grovers, put a P 90 in it and replaced the electronics with decent stuff.
Looks rough around the edges but really screams.

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 10 Jun 2013 2:12 pm

Let's see it!

Darrell, which model of Alumitone? They make a noiseles P90 that might be just what the tone doctor ordered...

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 10 Jun 2013 2:30 pm

Aluma 90

http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_Aluma90.php

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 11 Jun 2013 6:35 am

Here's a link where you can see the two Rondo's that I have:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

One has a Vintage Vibe P90 and the other has a Bill Lawrence humbucker with coil switching. Both have LP JR stop type bridges with the tops flattened.

The one with the Lawrence has been my main player ever since I finished it. Sounds and plays excellent and is dead quiet.

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 11 Jun 2013 1:44 pm

Thanks MArk, very interesting thread.

You mean you filed down the tailpiece yourself?

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 11 Jun 2013 3:10 pm

Allright, just took a walk down the street and came back with an SX lap steel! This is the one with the P90; I really like the fact that it came with a hard case featuring a shoulder strap. Best of both worlds.

Now, I have to get a new tailpiece, either an LP Jr or that awesome Asher/Hipshot I mentioned earlier in the thread.

For the pickup, I think I really should go with another dog-eared P90, otherwise it's going to look like a mess.

Darell, how in the world did you fit two pickups in there? Did you change the scale and move the bridge back?

Mark, I'm impressed with what you did with yours, pickguards and all... but way beyond my skill set!

Darrell Birtcher · Post by **Darrell Birtcher** » 11 Jun 2013 3:49 pm

No scale change. The Alumatones are an upside down "U" shape. The forward one straddled over the end of the fingerboard.

Clayton Pashka · Post by **Clayton Pashka** » 13 Jun 2013 7:55 am

I have an sx lap steel aswell and am thinking of putting a Wilkinson Tele style bridge form guitar fetish on it. It's the one with out the cutout for the angular single coil. Can I just fill the holes left by the bushings from the original bridge with wood fill?

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 13 Jun 2013 8:46 am

Clayton, I thing you'd be better off keeping the wraparound format with something like this:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Les-Paul-Ju ... p_449.html

or this:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson-L ... p_892.html

It would be less work anyway and esthetically it wouldn't mess up the instrument so much. Some people simply file down the one in the first link... I'm not sure I want to get into that but either those options would be better than the original SX bridge.

Question though, does it matter if the bridge is intonated? I mean, we don't need it on a steel, but does it take anything away?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 13 Jun 2013 8:57 am

Why do you feel you would need an intonated bridge?

I have an extra wraparound tailpiece laying around, if you'd like it.

Clayton Pashka · Post by **Clayton Pashka** » 13 Jun 2013 2:41 pm

I don't need an intonated bridge just like the look of the wilkinson. I also heard that the bushings on the original bridge are too short and that the bridge begins to lift away from the guitar in time. I won't have that problem with the four screws on the wilkinson.

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 13 Jun 2013 3:30 pm

A Top-load tele bridge will work, but can you get the saddles high enough? I think you'll need to prop up the bridge or it will be too low.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 14 Jun 2013 5:40 am

Alex Cattaneo wrote:Thanks MArk, very interesting thread.

You mean you filed down the tailpiece yourself?

Yes, I just took a medium file and hand filed the top until it was flat across where the strings lay.

FYI, Asher uses the same bridge on the JR model with the arched saddles and I haven't heard of anyone complaining about it so you could leave it as is. I had a file so I flattened mine.

The LP JR bridge is compensated for intonation which was a concern but turned out to be no problem. Besides, I got it cheap from Guitar Fetish and it's an EXACT fit so it was a no brainer to try. For anyone contemplating a bridge change on a Rondo I highly recommend trying a LP JR before hacking up the guitar.