Lap Steel for Pedal Steel Practice

Jack Devereux · Post by **Jack Devereux** » 14 Jun 2013 8:57 am

Hey there, I'm fairly new to the Pedal Steel, but make my living as a fiddle player, and so travel quite a bit for work. Because I often can't bring the Pedal Steel with me, there are long stretches I'm unable to practice, which is a real bummer. I'm looking into getting/building a lap steel to practice while on the road, and would love to hear any advice you have. Would getting hold of a 10 string and putting it in standard E9 tuning be the way to go, or settle for less strings and just work on technique? Like I say, this would be a practice tool for working on pedal steel stuff when I'm away from my main ax for a couple weeks at a time.

Thanks,

Jack

Bill Adams · Post by **Bill Adams** » 15 Jun 2013 5:46 am

Jack, As a person who plays Lap Steel and PSG, I use the 'time away from the pedals' to work on right and left hand technique for sure. One thing not to forget when selecting a practice instrument is finding/building something with the same string spacing as your PSG. Experiment with various tunings..the particular tuning you use will evolve and become less of an issue as you progress.

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 16 Jun 2013 9:59 am

Two previous threads that discuss this:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

I ended up not thinking that lap steel would help me really practice pedal steel - just too many differences. Of course, picking and blocking is similar....but I decided to simply use the lap steel as a lap steel and use time away from pedal to get better at lap steel....and now I play both pedal steel and dobro at gigs, so a lap steel tuned to dobro tuning is perfect for practice...

And the effort of trying to do pedal stuff on lap steel did make me learn to get better at slants which are the 'pedals" on lap steel...

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 16 Jun 2013 10:14 am

This is a little deal I put together for practice and writing Tab right at the computer. (ClicTab)
Two pieces of hardwood flooring glued and locked together, some odds and ends..presto. Cost negligible! I use a contact mike sometimes which works fine. That is not a sound hole under the strings but a paint on. I use a 24" scale and make the fret board also. All I need for purpose intended for.

Frank Montmarquet · Post by **Frank Montmarquet** » 16 Jun 2013 12:34 pm

I need one.
What did you use for tuning machine?

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 16 Jun 2013 12:46 pm

Auto Harp keys. 10 cents a piece.

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 17 Jun 2013 4:17 am

"George Boards" come to my mind. George Piburn is a forumite. I'm not sure he'selling anymore but you might be able to find a kit somewhere.
You could mimimic string spacing, scale length, string height, etc of your current PSG. They look great too.

Jack Devereux · Post by **Jack Devereux** » 17 Jun 2013 2:52 pm

Thanks for the input, guys. Roy, that looks like what I was thinking of- something super light and cheap that I can toss in the luggage and not worry about getting smashed or lost. My pedal steel is a GFI, and I was able to find their scale and spacing information, so that shouldn't be hard to replicate. Thanks again!

MIchael Bean · Post by **MIchael Bean** » 18 Jun 2013 8:43 am

Jack, a lap steel is great for practicing away from the pedal steel. Sometimes I'll practice picking by itself, with a crude picking practice pad, slapped together from a discarded bed baseboard and some spare guitar hardware. There is foam under the strings to deaden the sound. With this I can practice rolls while working, driving, watching tv, anytime! I brought it with me once to the Bluegrass Mansion when you were there.

Jack Devereux · Post by **Jack Devereux** » 18 Jun 2013 11:54 am

Hey Michael, I remember seeing that. Looks like a good idea, even more portable as well. I'm up in Boston next week, I'll give you a call, we should hang out. Thanks for the reply.

MIchael Bean · Post by **MIchael Bean** » 18 Jun 2013 6:29 pm

A buddy of mine from Texas is in town for the Mark O'Connor Camp at Berklee, so I am picking him up for the Cantab Tuesday. I think it's part of the curriculum now. It should be a fun one with all the fiddle people in town.