The Steel Guitar Forum

The 100 Ben Harper Model Series II Limited Edition lap steels have sold out! It has been a really fun journey with this limited edition - gaining much exposure and inquiries from all over the world.

For those of you who regret not being able to snag one, another opportunity awaits you next year. Bill and Ben have decided that this lap steel design is to important to end here - The continuation will be Ben Harper's signature model with just a few subtle changes to keep the first 100 unique, prized, and collectable. This lap steel will now be a standard model that Asher and Harper will continue to offer to lap steel enthusiasts for generations to come. No exact details have emerged regarding the new tweaks and upgrades, but as soon as Bill and Ben make it official we will let you know!

And as a final sweet goodbye to the production run of the Ben Harper Series II Limited Edition, we were overjoyed by the news that it will grace the cover (and cover story) of an upcoming Guitar Player magazine. Of course, the story will revolve around Ben's music and his new killer band the Relentless 7, but according to Ben, his Asher lap steel is "the best, most amazing lap steel he has ever played."

Those are some powerful words. Thanks Ben for all your support, inspiration and music! And thank you to everyone who is intrigued by the lap steel, and wants to learn more about it to continue its future.

Where's the "drool" emoticon when one needs it....?

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Bill, I enjoyed the article in GP about Ben and really like the looks of your guitar. I know it has to sound great from the materials you've selected for it's construction. It's without a doubt the "Les Paul" of the steel guitar world....JH in Va.

And if that isn't enough, Bill has just finished this Ben Harper Electro Hawaiin "Classic" for me..briing back memories of bygone days of yesteryear.

In fact he liked it so much, he said he might put it back in his catalog as "The Classic".

Beutiful Instrument.

James - are they p90s?


I'd love to see the ben harper model come out as a goldtop

Hi folks, I own several of Bill's lapsteels and guitars, and was lucky enough to be able to order the first production Ben Harper Series II #001 of 100. The instrument sounds killer and is truly impeccably made. Bill is a wonderful luthier to work with and is a great guy! I got to meet him in person and visit his shop a couple of years ago and would love to be able to get back there again. Here are the pics of 001:





I am looking forward to ordering another soon!

See Ya!

Alan Barley

The pickups for the James Williamson guitar I call an S-1 because they were the first lap steel pickups I made. They have a large thin coil like a P-90 with ceramic magnets. I use bobbin material and then laminate it with aluminum tied to ground for extra shielding which is needed for a high output single coils on a lap steel. I also use a larger size steel hex screw pole piece which delivers more magnetic field for more warmth, punch, and sustain. By the end of the year I will be offering these pickups for sale, for both lap steels and guitars because the players that hear them really love the tone they offer. The production models will be called S-92's because they will retro fit to any P-90 guitar and will be tapped for two outputs which can be selected by a mini switch, push pull pot, or hard wired to your liking. I dig having the option of a "vintage" and "hot" pickup in one. Why not get the advantages of both. They will come in cream or black P-90 covers, the tortoiseshell cover or other materials are an upgrade option. Anyone can email me if your are interested I have a waiting list started for delivery by November.
P.S. Grant we will be doing some Gold Tops on the upcoming Ben Harper model available early 2010.

Grant,

No these pickups are handwound by Bill Asher to his specifications single coil pickups (maybe not so differant from P90s, but clearly his own approach)...he also said he added extra shielding around the pickups to help with the hum issues of single coils.

They sound great!

james

Here are some nice pics we took showing the beautiful Hawaiian Koa, trimmed in curly maple. This model is officially available now as the Asher Electro-Hawaiian "Classic".

Good to hear Bill, I've had it in the back of my head for a while that a BH Gold Top would be fantastic, time to start putting some pennies away!

These guitars are amazing instruments. They are routed with multiple chambers which add air to the sound. Personally, other than the shape, I don't hear the comparison some people make of the Asher to the sound an acoustic Weissenborn gone electric. To my ear, these guitars have an amazing articulated low end and lower mids with a shimmering top end that's unique and unavailable in any other lap steel I've heard. The pickups have incredible punch - especially on the Ben Harper II. When Cindy Cashdollar switched from her Stringmaster to the Asher at her San Diego gig last February, there was an audible murmur in the crowd at the rich sound of the Asher. Gorgeous instruments. How about a 22.5" scale steel, Bill?

Bill, that Electro-Hawaiian Classic is a beautiful instrument. I also really like Bill's single coil pickups he put in the first Ben Harper series. They are very big sounding clean and can be overdriven nicely. Everyone always comments on the sound of my Asher guitars. I like the fact that Bill is now tapping these pickups to give two different outputs. I have that feature on one of the Asher Ultra-tone guitars I own and it works great.

This is my first Asher, a Ben Harper model, that started my love for Bill's work. This guitar has a beautiful gloss finish on it and has incredible sustain. I got this one in 2001.



The third electric lapsteel I own of Bill's is a prototype for his Dual Tone mode. This one has a swamp ash body with a flamed redwood top with hollow side wings. One of the single coils sits at the neck position with a rewound horseshoe pickup at the neck. There is a under-saddle pickup and the guitar has separate output jacks for the electric signal and the piezo signal. Its an amazing sound when I send each output to separate channels on a two channel amp and blend them together. The ability to combine Bill's single coil sound with the horseshoe gives a thick low end with a very warm articulate high. Blending in the piezo can add some acoustic sparkle to the sound.



Great work Bill!

See ya!

Alan Barley

Sweet guitars ... I've always been a fan of Bills work

I have a 2001 Ben Harper, too.
Weren`t the pups on those early ones designed and/or made by Tom Anderson ?
Feel free to correct me if I`m wrong...

Hi Olli,
Nice to see you on the forum. After I made a hand full of prototypes I did then go to my friend Tom Anderson to make the pickups. The S-I pickups are my proprietary design but Tom had a much better set up for the production end.
I have always enjoyed doing rewinds, as well as designing and making pickups. In our new shop we will be set up for more production of our own.
Hope this helps clarify.

All these beauties..... sigh...
Oh well, I still have my EH Junior:

Andy Volk wrote: How about a 22.5" scale steel, Bill?

Hey Andy,
I have been asked about doing a short scale several times, but Cruz Tone and George Boards along with others have been doing such a nice job. I just took a look at Tom Pettingill's they are quite nice too. I do have an idea for my version of a 22.5" scale 6 string, and 8 string. Lets hope i can get it done in 2010.

Hi Andy,

It isn't that the Ashers "sound" some much like an acoustic gone electric, but rather that they "play" like an acoustic gone electric...if that makes sense to you...it truly the "missing link"...

james

James Williamson wrote:...but rather that they "play" like an acoustic gone electric...if that makes sense to you...

On my first Asher, a custom Electro Hawaiian, not only the scale length but also the string spacing at the bridge and nut were more or less identical to that of a weissenborn. So that has a lot to do with the similar feel...

I believe the long scale length has a very positive impact on the tone. The best sounding laps I have owned have been 25 1/2" (one of them an Asher).

I do get the Asher-Weissenborn connection and the overall vibe is definitely that of an acoustic gone electric. I believe Ben Harper's original motivation was to have the feel and sound of his beloved Weissenborns in an instrument he could play at the same volume levels or with the same pedals he'd use on a Strat or Les Paul. I think it's a combination of the body shape, size, scale length and especially - the eight tone chambers that give the Ashers their signature tone.

That said, in my mind, it doesn't evoke an electric Weissenborn as much as maybe a baritone voiced lap steel in that the EH Asher is kind of like a baritone guitar compared to a standard guitar. It doesn't replace a great-sounding Ric, National or Fender but offers you another voice and access to other registers.I tend to like a tight action so perhaps with a looser string tension the acoustic thing is more obvious. In any case, Bill Asher's instruments are truly unsurpassed in workmanship, tone, quality and backed by impeccable customer service. They do what they're designed to do and do so superbly. Not many other things I own deliver on that promise.

AMEN Andy

I'm lucky enough to have #62 that I bought from forumite Peewee Charles... I absolutely love this instrument, and aside from its' beautiful sound and playability, it's really pretty to look at!

Thanks Bill, (and Peewee)