The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the group. I just purchased 1938 Rickenbacker B-6 which sounds great, of course, but I want to put the guitar on a stand rather than play it directly on my lap. Any suggestions for stands that are made for lap steel guitars? Any advice more than appreciated! Thanks.

Mike

Hello and welcome, Mike. I built my own stand as follows; cut the shape of the guitar out of 1/4" aluminum plate, figured out what angle I wanted the legs to be, mounted some 1/2" nuts welded to washers at the proper angle to the bottom of the aluminum plate, bought some adjustable legs from Bobbe Seymore, stuck some rubber shelving mat to the top and voila! I've seen folks use walkers, keyboard stands, small tables and just about anything to set their guitar on. Good luck.

Terry:
Thanks for the input. Unfortunately for me, I'm all thumbs when it comes to building things. You're a better man than I am! I was just wondering, aside from using walkers, keyboard stands, etc., if there are any companies making lap steel stands that anyone would recommend. I've seen a couple on the internet but I hate to order anything without a word from someone who has tried the product.

Mike

hi mike, i have had considerable success with mutilating snare stands, usually drill out 1 rivet and bend and reverse the longest arm and bend the already padded tips to conform to the lapsteel contour. not very hard to do but start with a wide base quality stand, often in parts bins in drum departments for few $. i have done three sucessfully. also forumites, replacement legs can be fashioned from old tripod legs, just cut the solid top of legs and tap for threads. regards rob

Robert, you're on the right track. I'm evidently the only Forumite who has seen a Ric stand. I almost bought a double 8-string a dozen years ago. It came with it's original stand, which looked almost identical to a snare drum stand. Had a little Ric badge on it too.

I use a projector stand with adjustable legs. It works great and I can put my effects on it on the back edge to make changes on the fly. I attached a rubber mat to the top to securely hold the guitars. Total investment: 22.00

Thanks guys for the tips. I guess the bottom line is to be creative and make something work. I may try the projector stand idea, since it seems the most simple and that fits the description of my
construction skills!

Mike

Hi Mike,

A word of caution: make sure that B6 is really secure on the stand. When they drop they break right in half.


Keith, can you give us any particulars about the projector stand? Pics? A source of supply?

There were about five of them offered on eBay just a month or so back.

I have tried a key board stand, and it's by far the most stable but, as others have WARNED! Just one one over active band member who likes to be the star of the show and is always jumping around, is CERTAIN to hook the pointy toe of his cowboy boot in an errant curl of your chord and over she goes.

THAT SOUND of Rick being destroyed is just about on par with the sound of a pedestrian striking your car's front fender.

To me, the lap is the ONLY WAY! I believe it also enhances one's TONE.

That's scary for sure. Maybe there's some way to anchor it.

Mike

Maybe there's some way to anchor it.

There is.

On your lap.

Aloha,
Don

Why take a chance?


This was on eBay a while back.
I think it was a Forum members.

That's the rare Rick travel version, isn't it?

How about this?
Link to auction on eBay.

It might work with a Ric. Better ask about the dimensions first.

Yeah, thanks. I DID see that one on ebay but it's too hard to tell if it would work or not since they only show you one shot of the thing. It would have been better to show the entire stand w/o the guitar.

m