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Post by clarke111 on Dec 10, 2008 19:20:31 GMT
Hey guys and girls,
Was just putting this out there to see if anyone else has done the same thing.
I play in a band where I play mostly lap steel guitar on my Busker Chattanooga, which is a wonderful instrument. Its just me and a drummer playing buesy indie rock ish stuff (I'll try to get a myspace page with some clips on at some point...) Any how changing between tunings was becoming a bit of a hassle so I tuned my MM blues to open G and stuck it on my lap and WOW... These guitars do anything! Even with its normal hybrid action you could play it 'on the lap', my steel scheehorn was a bit clumsy to use with a low action, but a diamond ultimate slide, with a bullet nose and bluetack stuck in it for extra weight sounded great! Have gigged with this set up and it worked a treat. The guitar sits so comfortably on your lap as well, almost as if it is meant to be there.
Anyway, I just wondered if other people played there reso's in this manner, and also to try and get some more people to try lap slide, playing in this way you don't need a specialist instument, or to alter your guitar (whay put me off at first), and it opens up a whole new world of guitar playing... Just get onto ian at DB's then get the bluetac out!!
Keep sliding,
Chris
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Post by melp on Dec 10, 2008 20:29:17 GMT
Chris,
I am also having a go at lap style. I have converted my Squire Telecaster custom II for lap. Just made a new raised nut. Takes a bit of work but I am starting to play some simple things. The slide I am using is a Dunlop 919 bullet type. Get nice notes but I do drop it quite a lot. Also have a bit of trouble getting it onto and taking it off the strings smoothly.
Hope that practice while not make me perfect will at least get a bit better.
As you say I can also use both my MM Blues and Busker Canon with regular set-up for lap style if you are careful.
Cheers
Mel
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Post by clarke111 on Dec 10, 2008 22:44:11 GMT
Hey Mel,
Good to hear, and I'm sure the practice will help! I've been playing for a few months now and its begining to sound a bit better! I used that bar for a while but appear to have misplaced it! Holding onto it can be a problem, I prefer the bigger bullets made by Diamond Bottlenecks.
As for the smoothness, I think the damping is a big part of that, I find that you get the best tone by using both hands to dampen the strings, (useing the ring finger of the left hand, and the palm of the picking hand) just before the slide is placed on the strings, and as its released, takes some getting used to though.
I bet the tele works well, not got around to elecric lap slide yet, sounds like my next project!!
Chris
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Post by robn on Dec 10, 2008 23:29:33 GMT
Well,
It is great to see others discovering this style for themselves ;D
I flip my MM Blues (standard action) onto my lap regularly during pub sessions and just use my DB "Mike Dowling" green glass bottleneck held like a steel.
It is a great and comfortable way to play - particularly if you are accompanying a ballad where you want to control the volume of the slide fills a bit.
Robin
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Post by jackstrat on Dec 11, 2008 9:47:26 GMT
Hiya lads,
Yep, I often find myself playing my Delta lapsteel-style also...I find it a really comfortable way to play, and the better view of the fretboard etc. can't be a bad thing I reckon.
However, the real clincher for me when it comes to playing like this is the fact that when the guitar is on my lap faced upwards, the cone is pointing straight at my head and as a result I can hear every tiny little nuance and detail in the sound. Without being too 'hippy' ( ;D) about it, I think it can make for a very measured and intimate playing experience, especially in the more controlled environment of a studio or such-like. Brilliant! I want to go home and play now!!
Regards,
Niall
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Post by Michael Messer on Dec 11, 2008 10:49:29 GMT
I have played both my BLUES and LIGHTNING MM guitars as lap steels. I have done this with and without a nut-raiser.
I learnt to play lap steel on a regular round neck National with a 4 ounce Hawaiian bullet without a nut-raiser. Long before I knew about square neck guitars I played this way and I believe it contributed to my light and accurate touch when playing lap steel.
There is a review in this month's JAZZWISE magazine that discusses this very thing. The journalist, David Gallant, plays Hawaiian guitar and reviewed the MM LIGHTNING as a lap stel instrument. (See the MM Resonators guitar page on my website to read the review).
When I fly to gigs I am only able to travel with one guitar and I play everything on a round neck regular action instrument - both bottleneck & lap steel styles.
You are right about being able to hear when you play a resonator guitar lap style - the sound goes staraight up your nose!
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by clarke111 on Dec 11, 2008 23:05:51 GMT
Its great to see I'm not the only one!!
You are right Niall, and not to 'hippy' at all(!), its fantastic to have he soung coiming straight back at you, and there guitars do sound great...
I can also see what youmean Michael, my touch on my square neck has become much lighter and more precise having played lap slide on a roung neck, and it solves that travelling to gigs with 1 guitar dilema... perfect!
That said, I still wouldn't swap my busker!!
Chris
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Post by Gerry C on Dec 12, 2008 15:38:52 GMT
Yep, me too! I was at my pal Chris Anderson's 60th birthday party a couple of weeks ago and a bunch of us were playing in the kitchen doing all sorts of party stuff (yes, including imbibing!) and as there were three other guitar players and a bass (plus a mandolin and mouthharp) I flipped my Lightning over to play slide licks on a lady friend's version of Nanci Griffiths' Love at the Five and Dime. I just used my home-made brass slide (4 oz) and it felt and sounded really good. It was great to be able to get up past the 15th fret without too many contortions! ;D
Cheerily,
Gerry C
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Post by fredkinbom on Dec 19, 2008 20:26:56 GMT
I bought my MM Blues a week ago, and although I play lap slide 99% of the time (Weissenborn and electric lap steel), I bought this guitar to explore the biscuit reso sound in fingerstyle playing. But of course I ended up playing it lap style as well, without a nut riser works fine (and makes it a versatile instrument for both lap and "Spanish" playing). And, a good thing: The weight of the metal body enables me to have it flat across the lap, and not having the guitar at a downward angle as one has with a wooden acoustic lap guitar (except Weissenborns), as they need to rest with the neck on the left thigh to be balanced. This is really a big bonus, in addition to the fascinating sound of this guitar.
Fred
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