The Steel Guitar Forum

What (if anything) affects the tone of a lap steel instrument other than the pickup and the strings that are on it ?

For me, the biggest tonal difference on my steels comes from where I pick the strings - brighter closer to the bridge, and warmer as I move toward the fret board. That holds true for my electric or acoustic steels.

The bar.

Ensuring your pressure with the bar on the strings is consistent, not too light (this kills sustain), not too heavy (this kills intonation). Pickup height to the strings as well, depending on the guitar design, if the pickup is too close to the strings the magnets act like "brakes" on the vibrating string.

I'd say everything about nut and bridge/tailpiece: material, how slots are cut, how solidly attached to body, breakover angle etc. Single coil height matters a lot, also

Maybe you can post pix of steel that you'd maybe like to hear improvement and people make suggestions.

All of it. Everything matters to some degree or other; some of it matters so little that you'll never hear it, some of it plays a huge part in the instrument's sound.

Mostly the person playing it.

All of the above, but body material must have some effect, otherwise all pre-war Rics would sound the same no matter whether they are cast aluminum, bakelite, hollow brass or steel sheet.

Scale length seems to be a big factor, in my humble opinion.

To expand on above: everything that touches the strings, so material and blade shape of finger and thumbpicks makes a big difference. You can try brass and stainless steel fingerpicks, tho it would be easier/cheaper to find a banjo or steel player that will let you borrow a variety (you have to promise not to bend them). Pretty straight and very curved blades on the picks makes a big difference