Now available. Direct from RAM Guitars.
$800 + shipping
SpeakEasy 8 string lapsteel.
For more information please message via forum or email info@ramguitars(dot)com
Mahogany body and neck with Maple top
Set neck with tenon joint
Full rear cover
Satin Oil finish on body and neck. Sunburst Lacquer finished top.
White/Black/White binding on body and fretboard.
24.5†scale solid Rosewood fretboard with white markers and mother of pearl dots.
Lollar Custom 8 string Charlie Christian pickup with white binding on black top.
Output jack side mounted on a square chrome plate
Volume and Tone controls
Custom made bridge with 3/8†string spacing
White Corian Nut
Grover mini Rotomatic tuners.
Ebony head plate with the brass SpeakEasy nameplate
Padded Gig bag.
Hard case available in black tolex. Call or email for case price.
Last edited by Ron Mielzynski on 27 May 2015 6:02 am, edited 6 times in total.
I like the smoother tone from the C.C. pickup , therefore I had Ron put a C.C. pickup in the neck postion on my Ram, and put a Gibson Grande pickup in the bridge position ......BOTH pickups exhibit good string to string balance .....I think that the pickup makers of today address any short comings of the vintage pickup clones if possible .....I'm not saying that single coils will be hum freee, but wire gauge and potting and other methods of how the wire lays on the pickup, are addressed to make a good pickup a better pickup ... Today , the newer pickups pretty much all have decent string to string balance .... This combined with quality components that Ron uses in the Speakeasy , make for a really nice package ....The craftsmanship is of the BEST !!.....His finishes are SUPERB !!....It's just a very nice overall package, and Ron will customize with whatever you want at a very reasonable price ..... He's my GO TO guy for lap steels now .....Jim
Ron Mielzynski wrote:AlNiCo5 magnets.
Is there a similar pickup with cobalt magnets?
if the pickup does not have the cobalt mags as the original CC then it really has nothing to do with a CC pick up except in copying the appearance. those things have a sound like no other pickup ever made.
just wondering if these were for real copies of the originals.
Life doesn't get much better than Lollar pick ups. Your guitars are beautiful Ron, always admired them since someone posted a Neo Grande a few years ago.
If anyone is looking for a lapsteel in this style, many options are available from RAM Guitars.
6 string, 8 string, various body and neck woods, burst finishes.
Email if you have any questions.
Jason Lollar does indeed make great pickups, I have several of his in some of my guitars & steels. I think his CC pickup is modeled on the second-generation (1948 or so) when they went to a stacked magnet under the coil, rather than the two magnet bars extending up under the top of the guitar.
If you are looking for a totally 100% re-creation of the original Charlie Christian pickup you might check out this site. I don't have any experience with them but they claim to have gone to great lengths to reproduce every detail of the original, even sourcing re-cycled, vintage raw materials:
