Recording King lap steel: how bad is it?

[@Frankayres9]

Thank you. Good comments. I have just bought the Epiphone and converted it to Left handed without any problems at all. A little filing here and there at the nut and 'bridge' . It sounds great.

[@rootstudio247]

Excellent 👍

[@Bigdakasam]

Thank you very much, I'm a lefty but play rig handed. In 60s/70s I was a semi pro session and freelance guitarist and could sight read which is why I got work in big/dance bands as well as other gigs. I stopped band work when I got a regular job but carried on playing for fun. In 2020 I had an accident and broke my left wrist, 4 bouts of surgery and it's still not fixed. I decided recently to try lap steel guitar, at first on an acoustic standard tuning but struggled with lefthand pressure on tone bar so I switched to an American Vintage II '51 Telecaster with Thomastik-Infeld JS110 Jazz Swing Flatwound 10-44 strings tuned to C6. Sounds much better but too slippy-slidey for my liking. Almost impossible to nurse on my lap but has proven to me that I might be able to master playing lap steal guitar. I had been weighing up which lap steal guitar to get and had more or less decided on the Epiphone, your video has connvinced me it's the one to buy and try.

[@rootstudio247]

@@Bigdakasam thanks and enjoy the journey 😊

[@andretremblay]

I just bought one of these and like it very much. It seems very well-made and has wonderful tone. It was a real bargain at $220.

[@rootstudio247]

Good choice 👍

[@michaelshown1362]

I always accepted that a change in gage changed intonation on regular guitar because it always did for me. I always assumed it was due to the changes in the way a heavier string vibrates compared to a thinner one and also that a change in string tension with gage change alter the action slightly. Of course I don’t think the tension/ action would be a factor on a lap steel. At least I never believed it would matter. ??

[@rootstudio247]

The theory of the different bending across the bridge is what I heard. It does make sense when you think about it. Also one of the reasons you are supposed to press down on fresh strings right next to the bridge to define the proper intonation point.

[@joeking433]

I doubt any lap steels have their fret markers right on the note. You basically have to hear the note you want to play anyway.

[@rootstudio247]

Hilarious! The markers on the Epiphone were dead on, though.

[@joeking433]

@@rootstudio247 I mean, you can't even see the fucking marks half the time you're playing! You're at different angles and such. It's all about being able to hear the correct pitch as you come up on a note. If you can't do that you are never going to be a good lap steel player no matter how the frets are placed.

[@rootstudio247]

@@joeking433 😆

[@dummyguava]

I have to agree here - I've always used the fret markers as a guide and use my ear for precision. I have the RK lap steel, usually in open D and it hasn't been an issue for me. I've had other lap style guitars - tricone squareneck and even an old "converted" flattop and I view the frets as helpers rather than precision markers.

[@joeking433]

@@dummyguava Exactly!

[@BeesKneesBenjamin]

I honestly thought fret markers were more of a suggestion and you'd have to use your ear to perfectly play in tune :-). Then again I mostly play a pedal steel without fretmarkers so it's never been an issue. It's important to note, the thicker the string, the longer (only by a fraction) it should be to be properly intonated. This is due to the stiffness. The thicker the string, the further the knot of the string is away from the bending point :-). Give a bass a close look, you can see how slanted the saddles need to be to compensate for string gauge. So changing the strings, despite it being a small change in gauge, can in fact change your intonation quite a bit. I know for pedal steel atleast, you strictly never change your strings to another thickness. Partially due to intonation problems, partially due to the changes being out of tune.

[@rootstudio247]

@@BeesKneesBenjamin thank you 😊 don’t think I will ever tackle pedal steel!

[@WillieBeard]

You use the fret makers for note accuracy?😂

[@rootstudio247]

@@WillieBeard why not? Are you removing them?

[@hollisnorton500]

Mines great. No triuble with it.

[@michaelshown1362]

I always accepted that a change in gage changed intonation on regular guitar because it always did for me. I always assumed it was due to the changes in the way a heavier string vibrates compared to a thinner one and also that a change in string tension with gage change alter the action slightly. Of course I don’t think the tension/ action would be a factor on a lap steel. At least I never believed it would matter. ??

[@rootstudio247]

Most people argue that the change in intonation is because of the change in the arching across the bridge. But I have never investigated further myself.