I am a new owner (and list member, glad to be here!
) of a 2004 Harmos Americana 8-string.
Presently, I keep it tuned to C6. I have limited (to put it mildly) experience with proper lap steel guitars, and I can not compare the Harmos to other implementations of the steel guitar. However, I have played bottleneck guitar for 30 (sigh) years. I felt at home at once on the Harmos.
The Harmos has a wide range of sounds, and I can easily go from a Dobro style of playing/sound, to screaming lead guitar, to more traditional steel sounds.
The Harmos vibrates a lot, and you can feel it dancing. If I place it on a table, I can play it acoustically
Still, it has long sustain times.
It is oh so light (but rigid). I can just tuck it under my arm in its gig bag, and it is easily a carry-on, even together with other bags (or even a Calton guitar case!
).
The string spacing on the 8-string is perfect for me. I tried the 6-string, and it was OK, but the narrower 8-string spacing turned out to be just right.
I am very happy with my Harmos, and I am having a ball playing screaming lead guitar on it. However, I know, I really must start to play proper steel guitar soon, and I am working hard at it