Post by robn on Dec 10, 2006 17:44:56 GMT
Look at my new toy ;D
A (virtually) silent dobro. At least that was the initial purpose of building this lap steel. Now I can practice at home instead of having to face the westerly gales sitting on the sea front
(much of which has been washed away over the last week!)
It has been made from a solid mahogany lintel taken out of my friend Ron’s cottage during a refurbishment. The fret board and bridge riser plate are make of oak. Ron did all the tooling as I’m not allowed near sharp objects unsupervised. So a big thank you to him! It sounds just great. The tele bridge pickup sounds like – well a tele ! ! ! And the neck humbucker just growls. The mix between to two really rocks. Both pickups have enough poke to overdrive whatever I’ve plugged the beast into – so I’m using the on-board volume and tone controls if I want warm and clean sounds (country/acoustic style). The nut is brass and the scale length 24.75. It is strung through the body (Newtone 15-56 Nickels) and the sustain from this solid mahogany lump is substantial. I’ve tried to get the set-up as close to my dobro’s dimensions as possible so the switch between to two is pretty straightforward.
It has been a really fun project. Ron and I have learnt a lot along the way – and a second is currently in production. If you fancy a go at building a lap steel I think the best bit of advice I can give was that given to me by Chickenbone John – buy all the hardware first (bridge, pickups, tuners, fret wire, pots, switches, sockets) then work out your design and building sequence once you’ve got the parts in your hands. We didn’t work from a drawing, just the possibilities within the piece of timber we had available.
I'll try and post some sound clips - but it may take a while for me to work out how!
Robn
A (virtually) silent dobro. At least that was the initial purpose of building this lap steel. Now I can practice at home instead of having to face the westerly gales sitting on the sea front
(much of which has been washed away over the last week!)It has been made from a solid mahogany lintel taken out of my friend Ron’s cottage during a refurbishment. The fret board and bridge riser plate are make of oak. Ron did all the tooling as I’m not allowed near sharp objects unsupervised. So a big thank you to him! It sounds just great. The tele bridge pickup sounds like – well a tele ! ! ! And the neck humbucker just growls. The mix between to two really rocks. Both pickups have enough poke to overdrive whatever I’ve plugged the beast into – so I’m using the on-board volume and tone controls if I want warm and clean sounds (country/acoustic style). The nut is brass and the scale length 24.75. It is strung through the body (Newtone 15-56 Nickels) and the sustain from this solid mahogany lump is substantial. I’ve tried to get the set-up as close to my dobro’s dimensions as possible so the switch between to two is pretty straightforward.
It has been a really fun project. Ron and I have learnt a lot along the way – and a second is currently in production. If you fancy a go at building a lap steel I think the best bit of advice I can give was that given to me by Chickenbone John – buy all the hardware first (bridge, pickups, tuners, fret wire, pots, switches, sockets) then work out your design and building sequence once you’ve got the parts in your hands. We didn’t work from a drawing, just the possibilities within the piece of timber we had available.
I'll try and post some sound clips - but it may take a while for me to work out how!
Robn
