The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi everybody,
I’m gonna have a friend of mine build me a six string lapsteel shaped as a telecaster. I do have a few questions so I can have it built to the best quality we can make it!

I am curious if there’s a type of wood that would be best? (Sustain, tone, etc.)

Also could I use any standard 6 string guitar pickups? Or does it need to be lapsteel specific? I was thinking of using those humbuckers with a split coil as this lapsteel will be for real rocking songs my band likes to do, and the single coil would be a nice twang that I could switch to once in a while.

Is there a Scale length that’s best? I’ll keep it in Open D and would like the strings to be taught enough to really rip on them and not go sharp. The low D string would be my biggest concern. I’m hoping I could get it sized to a telecaster; If it was shaped the same size as a telecaster I could play it standing and throw it in a case and call it good.

Is there any other things I should be considering in this build?

Thank you in advance!
Cody Coombs

Glad to see someone with a lap steel project! Lots of pedal builders here. My first build was an 8 string using plywood and a 6" can resonator. I love it! I like blade pickups. All depends on how much you want to spend, a cheap Strat single coil would probably still sound fine. For choice of wood, I would suggest Poplar or Pine. Harder materials may sustain more. No need to use anything fancy, especially if painting. If staining maybe Maple or Cherry? I would just make sure it is setup well. I like 22.5 scale length but my next guitar will have a 23" because it is a happy medium.

I think that’s some great ideas and knowledge, I suppose I was getting a bit more technical than I needed to be. I appreciate the information and am looking forward to the winter so this lapsteel can get started! Will keep ya updated when the time comes!
Thanks

You might want to post this over on the non pedal forum. You would probably get more of a response.