Lap Steel Guitar Amping ?

arcaxis · #1 07-05-2004

I picked up an old no-name lap steel guitar at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago and am trying to learn how to play it. I've found a couple of good web sites on tuning and how to play stuff, but no mention that I can find of what's a good setup for an amp and effects. I'm presuming clean is best with a modest amount of reverb.
Wonderin' if you have a lap steel, what you might be using for an amp, effects and anything else.

dwillis45 · #2 07-05-2004

I used a Morrell Little Roy Wiggins 8 string lap steel on a CD I did last year. Most of the tracks were background instrumentals so I ended up going direct through a preamp (Great River) with a fairly heavy reverb added. I found that I could achieve more of a pedal steel sound with generous amounts of reverb. I also learned that less reverb was better suited to playing Hawaiian or honky tonk sounds. On the other hand, I've heard plenty of music where the lap steel was used with some distortion or overdrive. It sounds great, for example, in a heavy blues type song or southern rock music (e.g. Allman Brothers). If I remember correctly, David Lindley also used distortion on his early work with Jackson Browne. So, it's pretty much wide open. Beyond reverb and distortion, you might also look into a good volume pedal. I know that many pedal steel players use it to control their sound and I assume it might also be helpful on the lap steel.

dwillis45 · #3 07-05-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcaxis

and anything else.

Get yourself a good steel slide. Perhaps something like this:

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/S6.htm

Playing lap steel with a standard guitar slide will drive you nuts after awhile!

c7sus · #4 07-05-2004

Good quality thumb and fingerpicks are handy too.

lpdeluxe · #5 07-05-2004

Lap & pedal steels frequently have the best sounding pickups and I often find myself DI'ing into the board, especially when I'm playing some super-clean country lick. If nothing else, it'll improve your chops! BTW, I have an MSA single neck 10 and a gawdawful mongrel 1947 Supro.

boingoman · #6 07-05-2004

I've seen everything from small tube amps to Peavey's Nashville series (very popular steel guitar amps). Verb depending on the music, from none to gobs. Check out Goodrich volume pedals- kinda the standard steel volume pedal. Rock solid and heavy, with a smooth feeling second to none. Their steel driver drive pedal, too, if you can. Not cheap but awesome. Ernie Ball makes a good volume pedal, not quite as solid feeling as goodrich, but not $120, either.

Richard Monroe · #7 07-05-2004

In ancient times (my childhood), they just jacked it into the biggest Fender amp they could find, and that still works. I'd love to hear a good lap steel through a current generation POD. I've also seen a nice solid body that had pickups pirated from a pedal steel.

arcaxis · #8 07-06-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwillis45

Get yourself a good steel slide. Perhaps something like this:

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/S6.htm

Playing lap steel with a standard guitar slide will drive you nuts after awhile!

It actually had a steel slide in the case when I bought it !! And Thanks for the suggestion of the volume pedal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by c7sus

Good quality thumb and fingerpicks are handy too.

This is going to be a real challenge having only played with a standard pick for all these years. The local music store I found out has thumb and finger picks in plastic and metal. He suggested the plastic. Are metal versions used as well ?

lpdeluxe · #9 07-06-2004

I thought metal ones were the standard for steels. That's what I used until I gave up on fingerpicks a few years ago. I don't know if plastic (other than the thumbpick) would give the same sound.

Kevin Deschwazi · #10 07-06-2004

I have the shittiest plank of a lap steel (made by artisan). Sounds pretty good through my Fender hot rod deville.

I use a boss compression pedal too (with noise gate of course

).

Quality picks and slide have already been mentioned but I'll second those.

philboyd studge · #11 07-06-2004

My old Rick with it's horseshoe pickup doesn't seem to care what I run it through. Usually I record direct and for anything live it goes through my Hot Rod Deluxe.

For picks I still have some Dobro plastic thumb picks (though supplies are low) and the old metal Nationals. And that reminds me, it's time to look around and round them all up and see whats left.

Adios.

c7sus · #12 07-06-2004

Yeah, a lot of steel & Dobro players use plastic thumb picks and metal finger picks. Banjo players too.

I never got the hang of fingerpicks, maybe because I don't wanna cut my fingernails.

Yeah, a good-quality volume pedal is really a must too. Never thought about using a gate but that sounds like it could help with wolf-tones.

DJL · #13 07-06-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcaxis

I picked up an old no-name lap steel guitar at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago and am trying to learn how to play it. I've found a couple of good web sites on tuning and how to play stuff, but no mention that I can find of what's a good setup for an amp and effects. I'm presuming clean is best with a modest amount of reverb.
Wonderin' if you have a lap steel, what you might be using for an amp, effects and anything else.

Use a guitar amp with a 15 inch speaker... it's warmer than 10" or 12" speakers on lap and petal steel guitars. My son just ordered a new MSA M2 petal steel guitar... he uses a Fender Twin with one 15 inch speaker.

EddieRay · #14 07-06-2004

I found a sweet little Kalamazoo student model lap steel at a swap meet a couple years back. Sounds like honey no matter what I plug into as long as there's a bit of reverb or delay on it. Sounds good via DI too. A volume pedal really adds to the pedal steel sound. Never got the hang of a pick though.

I've been meaning to try a wah pedal on it. Has anyone tried that?

c7sus · #15 07-06-2004

You might wanna try a MutronIII or similar, although a wah-wah sounds pretty cool too.

The Mutrons and other envelope followers use the attack of the pick to determine the amount of "wah", and the Mutron has an inverter switch that does something a little different than wah. Zappa used it on the "Apostrophe" album.

EddieRay · #16 07-06-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by c7sus

You might wanna try a MutronIII or similar, although a wah-wah sounds pretty cool too.

The Mutrons and other envelope followers use the attack of the pick to determine the amount of "wah", and the Mutron has an inverter switch that does something a little different than wah. Zappa used it on the "Apostrophe" album.

I had to (sniff) sell my Mutron III on eBay a few years back when I was laid off.

c7sus · #17 07-06-2004

I've got an original III (with sperate power supply!), and an original Ocatve Divider too.

Both purchased around 1980 or so. I wish I had one of their phase shifters. I can't believe what those go for on Ebay.

Kevin Deschwazi · #18 07-07-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieRay

I've been meaning to try a wah pedal on it. Has anyone tried that?

One of our songs I play lap steel on, I use a wah on the chorus. I wanted that 'different but the same' sound and it fitted the bill nicely.

C7sus, I use a gate for no other reason than the boss compressor is such a noisy little bugger.