I had a Duesenberg unit which kept breaking the strings that were being bent, I tried many different brands of strings ,my cure was to slide 2 used ball ends over the strings which kept the wrapped part of the string next to the ball end away from point of bend. IT REALLY WORKS, No more breaks.
They make a plastic liquid for coating screwdriver handles, etc. I use if on tone bars, which prevents them from slipping in my hand, and I dip the Duesenberg levers in it.
Troy: Have you every tried the Fender Bullet strings? The reason I ask is because when I heard that players were having problems with their benders, partially due to the 'excess wrap-around ' at the string ball, which that adds over a half inch of coarse crap to scuff up the bender arm, the Bullet Strings have ONLY the little bullet crimped on the end that eliminates this issue. There is none of that other junk. Just the little 1/4 inch 'bullet' and the rest is clean. I had some of those Fender Bullets from years ago in my string box and they worked great on the Dussie bender! No breaks and no scuffs on my benders. Just a thought. Again, your videos are wonderful and you are such a talented player. I know I speak for all of us when I say this. Thanks again for all you do to inspire the rest of us.
You are a wealth of useful information... I can't afford to buy a Duesenburg... But I think I can build a close reproduction. This video answered many questions. 🙌
Is the Gretsch lap steel the closest thing to a Duesenberg style lapsteel? I like the layout and the larger bridge area on the Duesenberg. That price though.
The Gretsch has a single pickup and a shorter scale 21-22 1/2". The Duesenburg has a 25 1/2" scale and two humbuckers in the "Fairytale" model. The Gretsch is still a good unit though.. and about $2500 cheaper.
Depends on two things : What's your context of affordable? How much are you concerned about the shape ? The Asher Electro Hawaiian Jr ( import made to Asher specs ) is 25 inch scale , and dual humbucker . But the shape is based off of the Gibson EH family . List price is $1200 -ish . Used ones can be $700 -ish . Not cheap - cheap , but substantially less than Duesenberg . Not a lot of budget 25 inch scale instruments out there . Changes were made in 2017 . In context of this video, the post '17 pickups are better , and if buying new you can get up graded pickups . On my pre '17 , the pickups probably would have worked for Rock , or Heavy Blues , but not cutting it for Traditional Country or Western Swing . I have replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan '59 , and * to Me * , sounds great . But doesn't play well with the OEM Neck pickup , so for now at least , it's a default singe PU instrument . Eventually I'm figure out what I want in the neck, but not yet .
Troy I am considering getting a Fairytail...I want to be able to stand while I play. Do you know if there is a strap for it and how does it work? Thanks.
Hi. I’m interested in the intonation of these lap steels. Your bridge looks like it’s all in the same spot, but on my electric guitars, as you know, the saddles are staggered to be in tune at the 12th fret. Is there a process you use for intonating? Thanks. -Curt.
The screws on the bender are just common button head allen screws that have been drilled and tapped for the smaller screws that pass through them. Any machinist should be able to make these.
Hi. I'm building a 25" scale lap steel and I don't know what gauge strings I need to use. Do you know what gauge I need? I prefer them to be tight and not slinky
Great video as always, thank you. I am still getting some string breakage on 2 and 3, although not nearly as often as when the guitar was new. How often are you breaking strings using the ones shown in the video?
I get at most about 10 hours from the 2 and 3 depending on how much I'm pushing benders. I use the same strings as Troy mentions in the video. I do tend to use benders a lot when I play.
Great videos but it kind of turned me off on the fairytale. $2800 is a lot of money for a lap steel needing all those mods. I would hope it sounds great out of the box for that kind of money.
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I had a Duesenberg unit which kept breaking the strings that were being bent, I tried many different brands of strings ,my cure was to slide 2 used ball ends over the strings which kept the wrapped part of the string next to the ball end away from point of bend. IT REALLY WORKS, No more breaks.
can you please elaborate on how you did this? i have the same issue but just having trouble visualizing your workaround
They make a plastic liquid for coating screwdriver handles, etc. I use if on tone bars, which prevents them from slipping in my hand, and I dip the Duesenberg levers in it.
Been learning lap steel with benders for about a year and pedal steel for a couple months. Your videos are super helpful
Thanks man!!!
@@LessonsWithTroy Thank you! Keep at it!
Thanks for this vid Troy! Nothing like experience when it comes to advice.....
Troy: Have you every tried the Fender Bullet strings? The reason I ask is because when I heard that players were having problems with their benders, partially due to the 'excess wrap-around ' at the string ball, which that adds over a half inch of coarse crap to scuff up the bender arm, the Bullet Strings have ONLY the little bullet crimped on the end that eliminates this issue. There is none of that other junk. Just the little 1/4 inch 'bullet' and the rest is clean. I had some of those Fender Bullets from years ago in my string box and they worked great on the Dussie bender! No breaks and no scuffs on my benders. Just a thought.
Again, your videos are wonderful and you are such a talented player. I know I speak for all of us when I say this. Thanks again for all you do to inspire the rest of us.
I’ll have to look into it
Thank you for your insight. I'm about to buy myself a Duesenberg lapsteel........
Where did you buy your Duesenberg? For the stripped screws you might want to talk to a local machine shop. Machinists are modern day Alchemists
Ha! I totally agree
Could you please respond to his first question? I can’t find one anywhere in the USA.
You are a wealth of useful information... I can't afford to buy a Duesenburg... But I think I can build a close reproduction. This video answered many questions. 🙌
Ever thought about using Silicone Bicycle Brake Lever covers on the bender levers ?
Troy, you have mentioned the amp modeler that you use in a couple of your videos. What is that again please?
Hey Troy What is your tuning on this guitar?
Is the Gretsch lap steel the closest thing to a Duesenberg style lapsteel? I like the layout and the larger bridge area on the Duesenberg. That price though.
The Gretsch has a single pickup and a shorter scale 21-22 1/2". The Duesenburg has a 25 1/2" scale and two humbuckers in the "Fairytale" model. The Gretsch is still a good unit though.. and about $2500 cheaper.
Depends on two things :
What's your context of affordable?
How much are you concerned about the shape ?
The Asher Electro Hawaiian Jr ( import made to Asher specs ) is 25 inch scale , and dual humbucker . But the shape is based off of the Gibson EH family . List price is $1200 -ish . Used ones can be $700 -ish . Not cheap - cheap , but substantially less than Duesenberg . Not a lot of budget 25 inch scale instruments out there .
Changes were made in 2017 . In context of this video, the post '17 pickups are better , and if buying new you can get up graded pickups .
On my pre '17 , the pickups probably would have worked for Rock , or Heavy Blues , but not cutting it for Traditional Country or Western Swing .
I have replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan '59 , and * to Me * , sounds great .
But doesn't play well with the OEM Neck pickup , so for now at least , it's a default singe PU instrument . Eventually I'm figure out what I want in the neck, but not yet .
Troy I am considering getting a Fairytail...I want to be able to stand while I play. Do you know if there is a strap for it and how does it work? Thanks.
I was told you could add up to 5 levers with the multi bender system. Do you plan to do that?
I’ve thought about adding one more, but not sure how it would affect the feel. Right now it plays and feels great.
Hi.
I’m interested in the intonation of these lap steels. Your bridge looks like it’s all in the same spot, but on my electric guitars, as you know, the saddles are staggered to be in tune at the 12th fret. Is there a process you use for intonating?
Thanks. -Curt.
I also snapped the large bender screw when trying to tighten my lever to stay in the same spot. Thanks for talking about this.
The screws on the bender are just common button head allen screws that have been drilled and tapped for the smaller screws that pass through them. Any machinist should be able to make these.
How much difference is the deucenberg compared to others like the Epiphone? And is it worth all that extra money?
Been learning lap steel on C6 tuning what do you think changing the strings on a Duesenberg to C6 can the benders be used on C6 tuning ?
Why have benders when you have a slide?
Hi. I'm building a 25" scale lap steel and I don't know what gauge strings I need to use. Do you know what gauge I need? I prefer them to be tight and not slinky
Also forgot to ask for all the guages of your stings on this one.
Great video as always, thank you. I am still getting some string breakage on 2 and 3, although not nearly as often as when the guitar was new. How often are you breaking strings using the ones shown in the video?
Not too often, but it depends how much I’m bending too
I get at most about 10 hours from the 2 and 3 depending on how much I'm pushing benders. I use the same strings as Troy mentions in the video. I do tend to use benders a lot when I play.
Great videos but it kind of turned me off on the fairytale. $2800 is a lot of money for a lap steel needing all those mods. I would hope it sounds great out of the box for that kind of money.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic out of the box. These are my own changes I made after years of playing it.
@@LessonsWithTroy 👍
nice mods
Thanks Phil!
For the price of these this is all a little disappointing.