The Steel Guitar Forum

I am thinking about making a "steel" guitar body out of either aluminum channel 2" X 6" X 36" or thereabouts, or rectangular aluminum tube of the same size.

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I'm sure it's strong enough, and I can deal with the temperature changes, but I am wondering about the tone. Of course, wood is just a selective damper that mutes and muffles highs, which can be done in other ways.

David - I'm a real newbie but why not try it? Tone preference is a personal thing just like any thing - Go for it and see what you come up with - Dennis Brooker

You mean like one of these:
http://www.industrialguitar.com/

I have made several lap guitars using not rectangular channel, but I used "U" channel (1/4 thick, about three inches by 2 cross section, and of course about a yard long.)I made it with the open side of the channel facing up, and then filled the open space with alternate pieces of walnut and maple, each piece the proper width for each fret spacing. Artistically, it was a success.

However, the tone did not compare to a good commercial lap guitar, but it was worth the effort, and given the average amplifier's ability to modify the sound a bit, the average listener couldn't tell the difference.

by the way, I verified, along the way, that cheap pickups do not produce good sound, no matter what else you do to fine tune the sound.

I no longer own the guitars, but still have several other metal lap guitars I have made, and will get some pics up soon.

Just to give you an idea I have a

Fouke Industrial Guitar

He call it something else, but I call it my modern 'FryPan' cause that is what it is like .
Stays in tune for weeks

I like it !

Some of the best money I have ever spent .

And he is a great guy too .

IMHO

Tuck

This one was on the Forum not long ago, maybe some ideas here.

James.

6-string bass steel guitar using 7075 T8 aerospace billet.

Sierra used 60xx extruded aluminum channel with mica/maple overlay for their bodies. I suspect that any other aluminum guitar would sound somewhat similar if you factor out strings, pickups, bridge material, etc.....maybe even a bit more treble-y if no wood overlay was used.

I have a number of all metal guitars and to tell the truth, I think wood guitars sound warmer and "friendlier".

I own several wood and several aluminum guitars. For several reasons discussed HERE, I prefer my aluminum bodied models.

In the photo below, you'll see the next that I'm not playing (at that moment) has a tight-fitting mahogony block that fills in the entire cavity and even has a string-through design to incorporate more of the wood into the sound. It did change the tone a little but I wouldn't really miss it if it was gone. It's had much less effect than a subsequent pickup change.