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Topic: Tremolo Arm on a Lap Steel |
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 29 Mar 2006 3:14 pm |
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Don't laugh ! The first reaction is always, "why would you need one ?! After all, you can add tremolo with your left hand."
Over the years I've used many regular solid electric guitars as lap steels by raising the bridge and nut. When I play such an instrument I find myself resting my right arm on the tremolo/vibrato arm while I play, and instinctively adding vicrato with my palm. It seems to add to the texture.
A while ago I threw a lap steel together from spare parts, and added a tremolo unit as an experiment. It certainly sounds different. I don't know whether I'd do it again !
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 29 Mar 2006 3:19 pm
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| I have had occasion to need to bring some surf & twang vibe to a song and found myself wishing I had a whammy bar---I just can't find the right touch & sound with bar movement alone. Doesn't sound crazy to me. |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 30 Mar 2006 12:58 am
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| Hmm, a lap steel with a Bigsby sure would look cool... |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2006 1:34 am
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Why not just comprimise and play a Bigsby lap steel? 
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Ben Jones
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2006 10:29 am
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sounds like a great idea to me. Put a Floyd Rose on there and a locking nut so you can do some Eddie van halen divebombs
seriously, sounds like kinda a good idea to me (not the so much EVH divebombs but the trem arm) |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 30 Mar 2006 7:03 pm
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| How about a motorized bar on the bridge end(!!) You could use a pedal for speed, and not have to wave the bar around so much!! |
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Apr 2006 7:02 pm
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Not on my guitar yah dun't¡
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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
n.t.s.g.a. #90
’05 D–10 Derby
’65 Re-Issue Fender Twin–Reverb Custom™ 15”
Current Equipment
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Kay Das
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 2 Apr 2006 9:34 pm
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An interesting idea. I did consider a whammy bar while working with bob l. on the steelocaster. Decided against it as the string tension required to pull 8 strings may have been too high for a comfortable feel. Perhaps okay for six strings. It is possible and effective to emulate a simple whammy bar "bend" with the steel and I have tried this on some recordings. Some of the other whammy bar effect techniques may, I fear, not be tasteful on a steel guitar.
However, the whammy bar on a Strat does add to its visual elegance, in my opinion.
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kay |
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Paul Arntson
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2006 6:59 pm
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Say Bill,
There was a pre-war Rickenbacher with a motorized vibrola. I've seen one. Kaufman? Anyway, it was pretty weird. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 11 Apr 2006 4:19 pm
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Paul:
That was the one with the motor vibrating the bridge back and forth. From what I'm told the problem was that when you swtiched off the motor it could stop at any part during its rotation, and if you tuned it while the motor was off, once the motor started again the instrument would go out of tune, so you had to tune it with the motor running. |
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John Bushouse
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Posted 15 Apr 2006 4:05 am
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| Never mind. [This message was edited by John Bushouse on 15 April 2006 at 05:07 AM.] |
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AJ Azure
From:
Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 17 Apr 2006 9:56 am
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| I have a converted Ibanez with a floyd. Works real nice and I get 6 pickup positions. |
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