The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm a newbie wanting to learn lap steel, retired for a few years and plenty of time to practice. Previous musical training was on keyboards many years ago. I am from San Jose Calif.
I would like opinions on the inexpensive starter lap steels. The Rogue at about 80$ +, the SX at 109$+ and the Morrel starter is avialable in red on musicalinstruments.com for 89$+.
I am kinda leaning towards the SX it looks like the best of the group.

Hi George

I am just learning also and i purchased a rogue.

I am not very pleased with the rogue i am having
a problem getting it tuned the way i want.

I sent a message to the forumn regarding the adjustabe bridge on it and everyone says it is generic.

My opinion is go with the rondo i have read some
good reviews on it but that is just my opinion

Good luck in learning.
Leo

The starter that I've heard the best reports on is the Artisan. I don't know where any are available at this time. Hopefully someone who does will chime in. But given what I've heard about the other choices and my own experience with the Morrell, it may be better to go one step up and begin with either a Gold Tone or a Chandler RH2. Gold Tone can be found at Elderly Instruments. Chandler Musical Instruments has their own site. But you can actually order the RH-2 cheaper through Musician's Friend. I think that in the long run the extra money for one of these models is likely to be worth it. The $100.00 models that you listed are not much more than boards with cheap electronics inserted. You wouldn't be happy with them for long if at all.

I have the Artisan EA1. There's nothing to complain about there. It stays in tune and has a decent tone. I've used it live once and actually enjoyed playing it quite a bit.

I also have an Artisan - Paid $35 for it on eBay a long while ago and it sat in a closet unopened. Last month I upgraded the tuners since one of the old ones bent ($15) and also relocated the output jack from the bottom location - right where I rest my hand - to the end ($0.15 for a fender washer) and put larger gauge ground wires ($0.00) and it sounds great and stays in tune. I think the Rondo is a better looking guitar though.

Since I've owned the Artisan EA-3 (currently sold under the Rogue name) and the Rondo SX, I can compare those two steels. I haven't owned the Morrell so I will not compare it.

I believe the Rondo is the better buy between the two instruments. It has standard scale length (22.5" vs. the Artisan's 21" scale), a three octave neck, and better construction with heavier wood. The fretboard is wood, not plastic. The Rondo also has the hard shell case instead of a cloth gig bag. The Morrell comes with a chipboard case.

Both guitars suffer in the bridge area. They use a Les Paul style wraparound bridge, which makes string changing a hassle. The radiused bridge inserts are designed for a standard guitar and aren't really useful in a steel guitar.

Having said all that, if you're starting out on lap steel, either instrument will give you an idea of whether steel guitar is for you.