The Steel Guitar Forum

I just put the finishing touches on a new 8 string prototype. Just wanted to try out a few ideas I've been mulling over for awhile. It turned out quite nicely and sounds great. It has killer sustain.



Construction pictures and beauty shots.

http://www.leroybeal.net/guitars/lap/lap02/index.html

Specs:

Body - Re-cycled Red Oak
Fret board - Walnut with maple frets
Nut and saddle - Steel allthread
Tuners - Economy Gotoh type
Pickups - Economy P-bass type
Strings - Scotty's 8 string C6
Scale 23 inch
6 lbs 10 oz
37" x 7" x 3"

Leroy - Looks very nice to me - Quite clean looking - LOTS of red oak and walnut here in Iowa - got more than a few of them on my timber - DB

These two items seem to be of interest to an increasing number of players these days.

I noted these were BOTH absent from your fine lil' g'tar. What price range is it in. How much does it weigh?

I'll weigh in - no interest in an arm rest here, but if a pick guard will keep my son from stealing my picks, I'm all for it.

I got to strum a few bars on Leroy's 8 this morning and it's a serious contender - harmonics just pop out of it.

Ray Montee wrote:These two items seem to be of interest to an increasing number of players these days.

I noted these were BOTH absent from your fine lil' g'tar. What price range is it in. How much does it weigh?

It wouldn't take much of an effort to fabricate those two things, but I like to keep things simple if possible. As I mentioned in the specs it weights 6 lb 10 ozs. Price? Not for sale at the moment. Mostly I'd like to inspire others to try their hand at making their own instruments. As you can see from the pictures on my website, there's not much to it.

Very nice!
very simple, elegant design.
I've often thought of making one using pretty much the same construction method.
Is the head stock strong enough for the string tension? Would you add a stiffener to it next time or is it a non-issue?
So the P-Bass pup sounds good? I'd love to hear some sound clips!
Again thanks for posting! Very inspiring.
(You should make a few to sell!)

Leroy-You have finally done it. Ive been thinking how I could make a neat little lap. I see ya have used some of my ideas as to all thread and a chambered body also staggering the pups. Ive been using red oak for a long time and it seems to work well for these kinda projects and as I cant get any other good wood locally Ive gotten by with it. Is it necessary to line the P/U chamber with copper to shield it?

Also I love the stone finishes on the guitars that you posted a few days ago. Please dont stop making the things you have been making. They are an insperation to a lot of us old guys.
Norm McDaniel
nmcdaniel001@hot.rr.com

John Burton wrote:Very nice!
very simple, elegant design.
I've often thought of making one using pretty much the same construction method.
Is the head stock strong enough for the string tension? Would you add a stiffener to it next time or is it a non-issue?
So the P-Bass pup sounds good? I'd love to hear some sound clips!
Again thanks for posting! Very inspiring.
(You should make a few to sell!)

The headstock (top) is 5/8 inch thick Oak. Stiff and solid. I don't think that a center stiffener is needed, but only time will tell. As for sound clips, I'll keep practicing or maybe find a player locally to give it a road test.

This is my only electric guitar that has a copper lined electronic cavity. Mark tells me he is pretty sure that the P-bass pups are humbuckers. It's probably a combination of both things, but all I know is this one is very quite.