The Steel Guitar Forum

There is a fellow in my area selling a GRETSCH LAP STEEL G5700 .....any good? Retails for $350.00 and I can get it for $225.00 It,s new so he says.....


Lenny

That's my main working steel. Its the black metalflake. I did find a huge difference between the black/ and the sunburst as far as the bodies.
I played both first, the body on the black was considerably heavier. This gave it a much fuller sound without an amp.

The only problem is: the knobs are very heavy and the
plate they mount to is thin. The plate started to crack from some use. So...get lighter knobs.
Two thumbs up!
Steve

Thanks Steve:

I'll give the guitar a tryout this week. What amp are you using with your Gretsch lap steel?

Thanks,

Lenny

Ive been using Bass amps...all combos with a 15" spkr
I found the 15's with some lower frequencies really give you a big sound. The steel into a tuner, into Compressor/sustainer into digital delay, finally into reverb then to amp.

Our website has the songs from a new EP, no big deal but you can hear what I'm talking about.
Good luck, Lenny!
Steve

Len, for $225 you cannot go wrong. These reissued Gretsch lap steels are not bad for the money. I have two of them; the black metal flake and the burst. Both sound fine. I use the one in the band and have had no complaints. The hardware is OK and the pickup is very adequate. I also like the retro body shape. Some have complained about the raised pickup cover. It has never been an issue for me. I play it through a 200W ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox with the Lunchbox extension speaker, spread about 6 feet behind me. All the power I need and have no problem being heard with a drummer, a plugged in bass and an all tube lead guitar player and an electric banjo all in the mix. I would go for it.

Len,
I purchased one a month ago while I slowly build a lap steel. For the price it's pretty good...all was ok except the plastic fretboard was warped and a few more screws won't make it flat...only affects the looks.

When I first played it it didn't sound good at all...changed the strings to a good set for c6 tuning and it now sounds good --to my ear.

I paid 250 with no gig bag...$225 is good.

Good luck
Terry

Here's my original 1963 Electromatic Mainliner which the 5700 was copied from. It has a Valco pickup and sounds great.

Hey guys, thanks for the input on this Gretsch lap steel. I will prbably remove the pickup cover and maybe install a few decorative screws.

I assume the strings go through the bridge plate? Anyone ever try drilling through the plate and put ferrals in the back like a Tele. I have a Peavey Power Slide I call the Franken Steel that I experiment with and plan on doing that to see what happens.

Thanks again,

Lenny

I have a 5700 that I bought already modified, it is a fine steel:
-roller nut (helps with the multibender, see below)
-locking tuners (originals aren't great)
-Duesenberg Multibender to replace the bridge - on this steel it is an easy add-on. gives me 3 pedal steel changes in addition to the normal steel stuff, it is great fun to play! I have it tuned (lo-to-hi) B-E-F#-G#-B-E, levers to do low E-Eb, B-C#, G#-A.

Hey Steve, that is an amazing job! I'll bet it is fun to play, its very cool.

Steve,
Where did you get the roller nut?
I plan on doing just what you did.
I like that lever on the lower string, did you make the lever?
Erv

Steve, nice job on the mods and I like the roller nut also. It's interesting when someone posts a question and you get ideas to expand on what your original thought was question was. This could become another Franken Steel project.

I was looking at the Multibender, thinking of getting a Pomona or Fairytale - the expensive steels they make - had a thread running on the Forum with questions about it....but then David Slack on the forum had seen the thread and hit me up about this beauty...he just switched to pedal steel and would sell it, which he did!

He got the Gretsch, and "added a custom roller nut made by Don Burrows that helps with the string breakage problem people had...When I order the multibender(from Rockinger) I got parts for an extra lever and fabricated a more ergonomic lever shape that is easier to use..Grover locking tuners"

Well, I traded a distortion pedal and a Harley Davidson guitar strap and got the Gretsch for 200 even with a padded case. The fellow was very nice and said he had advertised it was only several months old but could not play it. He put guitar strings on it and it was not playable. The strings go through the body and it has grover type machine heads on it. I tried it out at my place and it sounded very nice but I will set it up with my strings and I also removed the tail piece.

Here she is:

This was my very first steel guitar, and I enjoyed playing it, but eventually found the string spacing a tad tight for me. But that being said, it is still int he house and gets taken out now and then.

I'd say go for it ... I have this same one in metal flake and it is good for the price ...

Update on the Gretsch lap steel. Pretty darn good! On a six string, I am used to Peavey Power Slides and I experiment with different tunings so more color to the lap steel party.

Hey Len
Your right, the Gretsch works pretty good.
I play in D tuning and started with lighter gauge strings~
From: 16 18 28 38 48 58.
To: 18P 20P 28 38 48 60
The P next to the gauge stands for plain, or unwrapped Ernie Ball strings.
It's the same diameter, but lots stiffer and it made a huge difference in sound.
Oh yeah, different bar material is cool to mess around with. My stainless bar is bright, but for some stuff I use a glass bar that's a bit bigger diameter and its like rolling off some high end..
End Of My Report
Steve