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Post by harleyman on Jun 11, 2020 19:45:39 GMT
Greetings all.
As per title; never played a guitar in my life, always fancied learning lap steel. On Michael's kind recommendation (through Dave King, a mutual friend) I've obtained a Recording King lap steel and a Roland Mobile Cube.
Few questions if I may please; firstly, could somebody please recommend a decent and ideally free app for tuning? Secondly, there seems to be a bewildering number of online tutorials, are there any that particularly stand out? And thirdly, picks; haven't ordered any yet, would somebody kindly recommend me a decent set please?
I'm not a complete musical dummy BTW (though people who've heard my singing may beg to differ) as I can read a treble line and used to play brass and a bit of keyboards.
I'll probably have more dumb questions as we go on but that'll do for now.
Thanks in anticipation
Kev
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jun 11, 2020 20:05:08 GMT
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Post by harleyman on Jun 11, 2020 21:53:35 GMT
Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
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Post by Dessery on Jun 12, 2020 5:18:44 GMT
Hi Kev I have got a couple of lessons off this site before and was pretty impressed: www.lessonswithtroy.com/There are a few different categories for different lap steel tunings but it might also be worth browsing the dobro section for the basics courses. No affiliation etc... All the best David
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Post by leeophonic on Jun 12, 2020 6:15:35 GMT
Kev welcome to the slippery slope, there are a lot of things to consider, cannot advise on App as am mobile free, clip on tuners (inexpensive work for me) Have a think about the songs that interest you and that may guide you with the tuning as it is varied. I personally have a box full of picks and tend to not use any, it is a personal thing. There is a wealth of stuff also on you tube. Good starting instrument the lap steel and they are affordable even for vintage ones as compared to acoustics and resonators. Regards Lee
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Post by pete1951 on Jun 12, 2020 7:12:48 GMT
Hi Kev, there are lots of players of all standards and styles here so you should be able to get lots of good advice. One thing you don’t mention is musical style. What sort of stuff do you want to play? This lap steel has a load of different tunings, and some are more suitable for some types of music than others ( the HighG for example which most Bluegrass Dobro players use). Pete
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Post by slidefever on Jun 12, 2020 8:16:07 GMT
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Post by Michael Messer on Jun 12, 2020 8:26:13 GMT
Hi Kev,
Welcome to our forum.
I have received your private message and will reply to that too.
You have started on a wonderful journey and I am pleased that you found a nice guitar and amp, and that you have joined this forum.
There are some good tips coming your way from forum members. I think my advice is to listen to as much lap steel and slide as you can and to keep a regular practice schedule so you have some focus on how you teach yourself. Don't try and learn everything at once, take it one step at a time.
Now I have three questions - What got you interested in learning lap steel. Why that particular instrument. What music do you listen to?
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on Jun 12, 2020 8:35:54 GMT
Oh...one extra thing, you asked about tuning apps. Well the one that most professional musicians use is called Cleartune and is very good. I have used it for a few years and it is well worth the money. Each to their own, but of all the tuners I have put on my iPhone, this is the only one I have kept. I also think you should also get a clip-on the headstock tuner - The most popular ones around right now are made by Snark. Get the Snark ST-2. Shine On Michael
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Post by harleyman on Jun 12, 2020 19:51:19 GMT
Hi Michael
I'm a man of fairly eclectic tastes where music is concerned, it's probably easier to say that I detest rap and high opera.This might surprise you, but I'm one biker who is not a great fan of heavy metal as a genre; that having been said I've seen a few good 'uns, was at Donington in 1980 for the first Monsters, saw Motorhead on the Ace of Spades tour and Van Halen too. I guess I kind of grew out of it, these days more into bluegrass, country, Irish etc but essentially if it's a good tune and I like it , it goes on my playlist. Love Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison, greatest regret is not seeing the latter in concert when I had the chance. Spotify has been my saviour, introducing me to so much stuff i'd never heard of.
As to why the lap steel; well, I'd love to do pedal steel but the complexity of it kinda scares me. Lap not only looks more do-able , but it's also more compact. I'm a lorry driver by trade so the thought that I have a practise room available when I'm on nights away appeals. I did a bit of keyboards (love a well played B3) so maybe the lap is a progression from that. It just looked like a guitar that I could perhaps play.
I'd tried a 5-string banjo some years ago but couldn't get into it. This looks like something i could get a tune out of.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2020 21:58:53 GMT
I would also endorse the Cleartune app but if you watch the needle intently while listening to the note going into tune,unless you are tone deaf,then you will quite quickly learn to tune by ear,an art which I fear is being lost.It's very satisfying to play a chord knowing that you have tuned it perfectly without any electronic help. By the way harleyman I think you'll find a lap steel easier to play in the cab of a truck than a Hammond B3. (Even if it's split)
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Post by leeophonic on Jun 13, 2020 5:36:29 GMT
open G may be a good starting point looking at your musical tastes, Dobro & Bluegrass = GBDGBD Bass to Treble & Low G =DGDGBD again bass to treble. Then start playing picking & strumming, make as much noise as you want in the cab, maybe the next question is headphone amp or not and slides (that is another minefield)
Regards
Lee
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Post by harleyman on Jun 15, 2020 20:26:04 GMT
Update; I now have Cleartune, picks, a slide and I've hunted down a Snark..... Lewis Carroll had it all wrong, found mine in the Amazon!
Noises being made as of tonight, will try to arrange them into some sort of coherent order over the next few days, weeks, months or however long it takes.
Many thanks to all for the sage advice so far.
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Post by pete1951 on Jun 15, 2020 21:18:42 GMT
Kev, have you committed to one particular tuning yet? The standard Dobro tuning is great for Bluegrass licks but the C6th tuning used by many I think is more versatile. You have the major chord , relative minor, and the 4th( just a bi-chord) all without moving the slide. Pete
You did say you started playing banjo, you have probably noticed the top 4 strings of a G banjo are the same as both high and low G tuning so this might be a place to start, though some sort of 6th tuning would be my recommendation if you didn’t get too familiar with banjo tuning.
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Post by leeophonic on Jun 15, 2020 21:20:15 GMT
Quick lesson,
Tune to open G
slide from an open strum then 5th fret to 3rd then open strum and then up to 12th
Back to to the 12th via a descending 15th-14th-13th-12th
Loosely this is the basis for little red rooster.
Hopefully clear as mud
Enjoy
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