Old style lap steel stands

Levi Gemmell · Post by **Levi Gemmell** » 6 May 2017 5:34 pm

I am looking for one of those single-leg steel guitar stands that seem to have fallen out of favour with the invention of the console steel. I've seen advertisements for Gibson-branded ones, but I basically have nothing else to go on.

http://www.gibson-prewar.com/lapsteel-stand/

http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-480 ... INSTRUMENT

Have they all disappeared, and the second-hand market is dry?

Does anybody know the name of a manufacturer other than Gibson, that I could possibly search for?

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 6 May 2017 5:45 pm

Levi Gemmell wrote:Does anybody know the name of a manufacturer other than Gibson, that I could possibly search for?

Hamilton, the music stand people, made 'em too.

David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 7 May 2017 6:04 am

Levi Gemmell wrote:
Have they all disappeared, and the second-hand market is dry?

It seems so, at least when I've been looking for one. You'd think that with all the old lap steels, there would be more of those stands around.

I know there are new models of stands around, but I'd like one of those old ones.

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 7 May 2017 8:38 am

I lucked into one 2 yrs. ago. Wasn't mentioned in the buy-it-now auction on ebay but I saw that the reasonably priced Oahu guitar looked like it was on a stand in the very last picture. I tracked down the phone # of the music store and asked if the stand was included. When he said yes, I clicked "Buy" while I was still on the phone! You can barely make out an old Oahu decal on it and it has a bit of rusty patina but I love it. I expect that it was made for Oahu by Hamilton or perhaps one of the old drum hardware companies.

Yeah, I don't get it. What happened to all those old stands? If you just like the look, I think you could modify a vintage snare, tom or cymbal stand to work.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 8 May 2017 8:01 am

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Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 8 May 2017 8:40 am

I've owned two of the old Oahu stands in the past, and to be honest... there weren't very stable. The lap steel would wobble around constantly when I played. That single-pole support is not adequate IMO. I think you'd be better off buying one of the modern stands with four legs.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 8 May 2017 9:00 am

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David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 8 May 2017 1:12 pm

So they look retro cool...but modern stuff works better as an actual stand?

Abe Levy · Post by **Abe Levy** » 8 May 2017 1:21 pm

Mine works great, very solid - as long as I put a rubber band around the two swinging supports to keep the guitar tight in there. I made a new neck support to fit my clinesmith 10 string - the original was only wide enough for a six string. I love these things and I think they look way cooler than the modern ones, but I'm a vintage snob I guess. I waited a long time to find a nice one for sale. I got it here on the forum a few years ago.

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 8 May 2017 5:44 pm

I have one of the old ones also, and like Abe, I use rubber bands to keep those swinging arms pulled together !
I bought this one from L T Zinn some time ago...

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 12 May 2017 1:36 am

I just got one from Mark Roeder and it is sweet. Four nice chrome adjustable legs......very sturdy.

(http://www.deluxe34.com).

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 12 May 2017 2:16 am

Levi Gemmell wrote:I am looking for one of those single-leg steel guitar stands that seem to have fallen out of favour with the invention of the console steel. I've seen advertisements for Gibson-branded ones, but I basically have nothing else to go on.

http://www.gibson-prewar.com/lapsteel-stand/

http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-480 ... INSTRUMENT

Have they all disappeared, and the second-hand market is dry?

Does anybody know the name of a manufacturer other than Gibson, that I could possibly search for?

WOW! Lots of work on that Gibson-prewar for $12! I know..........$12 back then was a lot of money. Pretty ingenious with those swing arms.

Jerry Wagner · Post by **Jerry Wagner** » 16 May 2017 5:40 am

One of the old style stands just showed up on eBay this morning:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1930-19 ... SwH09ZGISs

David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 16 May 2017 6:13 am

Jerry Wagner wrote:One of the old style stands just showed up on eBay this morning:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1930-19 ... SwH09ZGISs

Thanks. I just made a bid on it.

And funny enough, the steel he used an an example is the same model National Waikiki as I plan to use with it.

David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 16 May 2017 7:07 am

And outbid already! and i'm not going to pay more than that thing is worth!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 16 May 2017 7:17 am

i'm not going to pay more than that thing is worth!

I wouldn't want it at any price. Like I said earlier, I've owned two of them and they wobble too much, too flimsy. Just my opinion. I got both of them for free... they came with old lap steels I bought. One I sold on eBay and the other one I threw in the dumpster.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 16 May 2017 7:26 am

I can't imagine using anything else other than these ...

http://www.deluxe34.com

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 16 May 2017 7:29 am

"One man's trash is another man's treasure".

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 16 May 2017 10:41 am

Here's my setup for a gig this past Saturday. I use my Oahu stand all the time for pickup gigs where I'm just using a single neck. This model is a little different from the one that's now on ebay so maybe it's not as wobbly. Certainly not as secure as a Deluxe34 stand but I think it's more secure than the conventional guitar stand that many of us rest our very expensive acoustic guitars on. I probably would want to use one of Mark's stands with a more valuable guitar though.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 16 May 2017 10:47 am

I've owned a bunch of these old stands, but never actually used them on gigs. Sold them and gave one away, always got $150-200 for them. One had a little music stand attachment that was pretty worthless. Very prone to rust, so get a tetanus shot.

David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 16 May 2017 6:48 pm

Andy Volk wrote:I can't imagine using anything else other than these ...

http://www.deluxe34.com

Realistically yes.

Nostalgically not quite....yet.

I may get one of these if I decide to go further. I'll just play my other steels that have legs already if i want to stand up.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » 11 Jun 2017 6:42 pm

That thing went for $194...no way.

Kekoa Blanchet · Post by **Kekoa Blanchet** » 11 Jun 2017 10:58 pm

A compromise solution, the look of the old stands but sturdier and cheaper (and not rusty), would be to adapt a percussion stand to hold your steel. Here's a link to an earlier discussion with a couple of examples:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 12 Jun 2017 2:07 am

Plus 1 for Mark's Deluxe 34 stand.

Who cares about history if it rusts and doesn't function well. For that price you can get an actual sturdy stand from Mark that does the job.

Cause at the end of the day we need something that will function so you can PLAY. However if you are not planning to actually use it then ok.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » 12 Jun 2017 4:30 am

I have a photo of my dad playing his old Gibson on one of these stands, but I have no idea what happened to it after his death many years ago. It could be stored somewhere probably never to be found again.

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