The Steel Guitar Forum

Mike,

I know you check in with the Forum once in awhile, and I have a question: What lap steel are you playing on "Willin" on the new John Starling & Carolina Star CD?

I'm thinking it's an MSA SuperSlide, and I'm wondering about the amp as well.

Guys-this new album from Carolina Star, which came out on Tuesday-I already know is going to be one of my favorites of the year. It's wonderful stuff!

Mike Auldridge, a.k.a. Larry the Legend, or His Legendship, is all over it on dobro with some of his former compadres from Seldom Scene, of course featuring John Starling. And Emmylou is on there as well!

Sort of a mostly acoustic, bluegrass/country hybrid CD, and for the folks around here that don't care for banjo-you'll be happy to know that there isn't any!

I sure wish I could be in Alexandria, VA at the Birchmere this evening for the CD release party!

Here is their myspace page if you want to check out some of the tunes, including Little Feat's "Willin'" with Mike going electric:

http://www.myspace.com/johnstarlingandcarolinastar

Could also be Mike's Ricky B6(?).

He has way too many neat toys.

hp

That would seem possible, Howard-but then I thought you might be the guy with the inside scoop!

Maybe Mike will check in here at some point...

I'm like a White House "anonomous source"...never to be trusted!

But...Mike is due to test drive a batch of his guitars before Dallas, so..The correct response is not too far in the future.

hp

Mark and Howard... I used my Rickenbacher 6 string (from the 1930's) and Lowell George's Fender Twin Reverb on the cut of Willin' in the studio. The engineer, George Massenburg, owns Lowell's old amp, which was the same amp used on the original cut of Willin', engineered by Massenburg. We did the CD release party on Feb 23 at the Birchmere, and I used my Super Slide double neck played through my Stereo Steel set up. The Super Slide holds the tuning better than the old Rick, and sounds really close in tone.

Mike

Howard, nice call on the Ricky!

Thanks for your post, Mike. That's a great story about George Massenburg and Lowell's Twin Reverb! I'm a major Little Feat fan going almost all the way back to their beginning.

I thought I have heard that the SuperSlide is probably about the closest modern steel one can get to the old Ricks for that sweet tone.

It kind've helps to cement my decison to continue to save my nickels for a SuperSlide. And unlike a lot of folks here, who are as good at tinkering as they are at playing, I'd just as soon go modern instead of buying a "project."

I saw that fellow Californian Gary Lynch has a thread in the wanted to buy section that reads as follows: "I am looking for a super clean Ric lap steel with no issues."

That would be my approach as well.

Mike, I hope that you and Carolina Star are going to come back out to San Francisco in the fall for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, if not sooner.

And I would love to see a dobro feature on one of the stages. Last fall they had a banjo extravaganza.

Three of the best-Mike, Jerry Douglas, and Rob Ickes, were all at the festival this past year. It would be great to have them all on the same stage for a set!

Mark,

The problem with the old Ric lap steels is that they all have that staying in tune issue. They sound wonderful, but the bakelite is unstable I guess. They go out of tune as soon as you lay it on the heat of your lap, not to mention the heat of the stage lights. When I worked with Lylye Lovett, every night I had to tune the Ric several times within one song. The Super Slide is as close to the Ric tone as anything I've heard, and it stays in tune.

Carolina Star is booked to play with Emmylou Harris again at the Hardly Strickly Festival in the fall.... the three dobro players doing a set probably won't happen though. But you never know what might develop over the next six months.

Mike