My new Harden Engineering lap steel
Posted: 8 Feb 2019 7:57 am
I usually stick with vintage steels, but none in my collection really fit my new group's sound. I was looking for an 8-stringer that could do both clean and dirty rock tones, so I decided to go for a custom build. I was aware of Harden Engineering from the guitar world, and when I discovered that Bill Harnden also did steels, I decided to drop him a line. The result was affordably priced and sounds exellent:
I know a lot of you are going to instantly notice the slanted bridge. When I first unwrapped the instrument I was dismayed to see it, but once I tuned it up... actually, the intonation is just fine. I've checked it up and down the fretboard, and it sounds best with the bar perfectly parallel to the frets. Perhaps I'm putting more pressure on the bass strings without realizing it.
The body is made of two slabs of mahogany glued together; the seam is visible around the sides. The headstock is a separate piece of mahogany with a maple veneer, and it's glued into a recess in the body under the fretboard. It's covered in a satin finish. The nut and bridge are solid aluminum, as are all the stamped & etched plates that adorn various parts of the instrument (including the control cavity cover and the jack plate). There are non-slip pads on the back.
The pickup is the same single-coil design used in may of Harden's guitars. It's the size of a P90, but it sounds more like the oval pickups used in late '40s Gibson steels: thick and creamy, with plenty of mids, smooth highs, and a touch of compression. It gains an exceptional bite through an overdriven amp though, and the output is moderate so it doesn't become muddy. The steel has very good sustain, especially considering its light weight.
I know a lot of you are going to instantly notice the slanted bridge. When I first unwrapped the instrument I was dismayed to see it, but once I tuned it up... actually, the intonation is just fine. I've checked it up and down the fretboard, and it sounds best with the bar perfectly parallel to the frets. Perhaps I'm putting more pressure on the bass strings without realizing it.
The body is made of two slabs of mahogany glued together; the seam is visible around the sides. The headstock is a separate piece of mahogany with a maple veneer, and it's glued into a recess in the body under the fretboard. It's covered in a satin finish. The nut and bridge are solid aluminum, as are all the stamped & etched plates that adorn various parts of the instrument (including the control cavity cover and the jack plate). There are non-slip pads on the back.
The pickup is the same single-coil design used in may of Harden's guitars. It's the size of a P90, but it sounds more like the oval pickups used in late '40s Gibson steels: thick and creamy, with plenty of mids, smooth highs, and a touch of compression. It gains an exceptional bite through an overdriven amp though, and the output is moderate so it doesn't become muddy. The steel has very good sustain, especially considering its light weight.
