5 string lap steel!

[John Christian]

I just finished making a 5 string lap steel. I've got it tuned to open G tuning low to high GDBGD. I don't see too many 5 strings out there, I think it's kind of rare. Have you all seen it?
Maybe some people on here have one.

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Here's a link to hear what it sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xQJ5CQJGBXs

[Erv Niehaus]

I had a 5 string lap steel.
But then I found another string.

[Mike Neer]

Five strings would be good for Hindustani tuning and playing: D A D A D

I get where you’re coming from, if you just want to play power chords, but the beauty of the Keith Richards thing is that he has the ability to use his finger to get the suspensions. If you are into the blues, a low D would have come in handy for alternate thumbing.

[John Christian]

Erv Niehaus- Yeah, anyone who has broken a guitar string at a show during a song has had to take a crash course in learning the 5 string!

[Mark Eaton]

You don’t see too many five string lap steels out there and they’re kinda rare?

Right - I’ve never seen a five string lap steel until today and I began playing as a kid back in the sixties.

What I have seen with five strings are banjos, certain electric bass guitars, and some of Keith Richards’ Teles.

[John Christian]

Mike Neer- that reminds me of a dulcimer tuning, yeah those drone sounds are great. We generally always want more strings but it's interesting to see how we deal with limitations. It surprised me when I first strung up this five string how much I had been using that low string for reference of where my hand was, but it doesn't take long for the mind to re-map and get used to it. Thanks for the comment! -John

[John Christian]

Mark Eaton- Well I guess it is rare! The only thing I found when I searched for it was something some one had made and it looked like an ironing board. I don't know if it was an actual ironing board they turned into a lap steel, or just made it look like one. Kind of like how I see people making skateboards into lap steels I guess. Well it is pretty fun to play!

[Peter Jacobs]

I dig it! I almost never use the low B in do ro G tuning, so this makes sense. In fact, for years, i used Keef’s 5 string tuning (low to high G-D-G-B-D) plus a C for the first string — a Gadd4 tuning. I know it sounds weird but it let me suspend chords just by slightly moving the bar and changing my grip.

Great job on your steel!

[John Christian]

Peter Jacobs- Thanks for the comment! I like to hear what different people do. there is a huge range of variances in lap steel guitars and tunings. I think it is one of the things that makes it so great. You can tinker around and find cool new things! I had to make the bridge on this, being that there aren't any 5 string lap steel bridges to be had, so I made it with an acoustic guitar bridge saddle. I have done this before and it gives a different sound that I like when playing unplugged. I think I'll bring one of these along next time a want to bring one to practice on and I find myself away from home. Cheers!

[Bill Groner]

Your steel sounds great.......make sure you are up to date on your tetanus shots.

[Frank Nims]

I'm not sure I understand what the advantage of this design is?

[John Christian]

Bill Groner- Ha! When I posted it on Facebook people were making comments like "Sharp!" and "looks prickly!"
Thanks for the comment!

[John Christian]

Frank Nims- I don't think it is much an advantage at all. It is something I wanted to try. It's a little smaller, the neck is a little less wide. It's a little faster to tune it up, by 1/6. You can do quite a lot with 5 strings, or even four. I'm interested in something I can grab and practice on when away from home. I made the bridge from an acoustic guitar bridge, so it sounds pretty cool unplugged, especially when (the instrument)laying flat on a table, the table amplifies the sound. Generally a 6 string is easier to make because the parts are readily available.

[Rick Aiello]

I love my 22.5” and 25.5” 4 sting “tenor pans” … very fun to play.

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[John Christian]

Rick Aiello- those are awesome! thanks for posting the pics! They look like they would be very fun to play

[Rich Arnold]

Absurd.
But whatever turns your crank. There's no rules.
I got an email from a dude asking me what I thought about a 1 string he was building.
I told him he might run into the problem of running out of scale.
He replied nonsense! It's impossible to run out of scale if you jump back up, or down, to the other end of the octave.
A person could also go to the other extreme by following the logic that if 6 strings is better that 5, a 7 string ought to be better than a 6 and an 8 ought to better than a 7...ect and so on.
You eventually end up playing a harp.

[John Christian]

Rich Arnold- I wouldn't spent too much time with it, but a one string would be handy to grab if you were away from home and wanted something to play with while you are waiting for someone else to get whatever it is done. A fidget spinner for steel guitar players. No pickup or any thing like that. Mary had a little lamb, When the Saints go Marching in, etc. Might be a good way to get kids interested in slide guitar.

I made a 7 string for some one and at first I thought that might be absurd, why not just go for 8? But then with the C6th tuning you get that "5" on the top string and it made total sense.
I'd like to have a triple neck with three different tunings, but not a big bulky instrument. I don't think it's possible.
Thanks for the comment! -John

[Erv Niehaus]

A one string sounds like a swineaphone.

[Rich Arnold]

A 1 string... that would be like a slide whistle.

[Allan Revich]

I have a 5 string tenor guitar, tuned GDGBD, and a 4 string lap steel “ukulele” tuned DF#AD. Both custom made for me. I’ll add pictures later.

[John Christian]

Allan Revich- Cool! I like to see

[Fred]

My 6 string spontaneously turns itself into a 5 string now and then, but I've never seen one purpose built with only 5 strings. I've seen a few cigar box guitars meant to be played bottleneck style with only 5 strings.

[Tony Oresteen]

.......

I made a 7 string for some one and at first I thought that might be absurd, why not just go for 8? But then with the C6th tuning you get that "5" on the top string and it made total sense.
I'd like to have a triple neck with three different tunings, but not a big bulky instrument. I don't think it's possible.
Thanks for the comment! -John

I was that "someone" John made the 7 string for. It came out great. I forgot to post it here but I will. 22.5" scale C6. Here's my string set:

7 string short scale C6 500.jpg

We used a Jerry Sentell pickup - LS14 with a rail so no pole pieces to worry about. I like have the high 5th string - (L2H) 1356135. Having the top 3 string make a full major chord is very useful and to me makes sense.

I have three 7 string lap steels. They are tuned to C6, A6, and G6. I posted my G6 7 string here - my 1936 National New Yorker re-build.

[John Christian]

HI Tony! Glad to hear you are happy with the 7 string! I'm sold on the idea of having the major triad on top, and still able to play the minor chords. Great idea! It'd be fun to see if you do post it. Thanks Tony!