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Post by jackstrat on Sept 26, 2008 16:13:05 GMT
Here's a real newbie question for ya'll!!!
Why is it that any electric lapsteels that I've come across have fret positions indicated but do not have actual frets...while any acoustic lapsteel/squareneck dobro-type guitar actually has frets...are they not unnecessary on such guitars? Is is just a style thing or have I missed something really big here guys?
regards,
Niall
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2008 17:52:48 GMT
No big thing, frets on acoustic lapsteels are really just a "vestigial" feature, from when a regular "spanish" guitar would be used for lap steel just by using a nut riser or fitting a tall nut.
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Post by tark on Sept 27, 2008 2:17:37 GMT
Electric lap steels are often built much more along the lines of a flat wide chunk of wood and many of the old ones had printed and painted perspex fretboards so the construction methods just don't suite the use of frets. The acoustic Dobro and Weisenborn guitars are built along the lines of other acoustic guitars. The frets do sometimes serve a function as locator rails for some designs of capo.
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Post by leeophonic on Sept 27, 2008 9:10:36 GMT
The only use of the real frets on dobros & other lap guitars is to rake/drag the slide off of the high E string for a musical style not disimular to the old pre war hawaiian players (Sol Hoopii etc).
Dobro/national etc are already tooled up for round necked guitars so to put this style of fingerboard on is no big deal.
A lot of the electric steel manufacturers were geared up to keep the cost down so a picture of a fret or inlay is sufficient.
Hope this helps,some people will argue frets also offer added strength & stability but this is less of an issue on a square neck.
Regards
Lee.
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 27, 2008 10:25:42 GMT
There you have it! I prefer very early electric lap steels because they were still building them like proper guitars; long scale with frets & wood fretboard.
There is really no need at all for frets on a lap steel guitar of any kind.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by Mark Makin on Sept 27, 2008 14:10:27 GMT
An interesting historical fact - the earliest known Style 2 square neck tricone #133, one of Rudy Dopyeras original handbuilt prototypes does not have real frets - only maple strips inset into the rosewood fingerboard.
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