Dat’s be some Lowdown Righteous Blues...... you can see da smoke rollin off da tone Bar....... You’s a Badd Mang Brutha....... ole Lowdown Slim Appreciate Ya Sharin wit us......
Hey Lowdown, thanks for the kudos. I appreciate feedback either way. Cant fix it if it aint broke. Check out my clip Slow Blues in Gm and give me your honest opinion. A buddy sent me me the track and I just turned on the camera and the track for the first time hearing it and played. I'm kinda strange that way. I love to get on stage and play songs I haven't heard. First time is freshest. Who are your fav players?
Thanks Kevin glad you liked it. You're on the right track. Absorb all you can from as many sources as you can to get your own style and feel of playing. Don't be afraid to think outside of the box either. Learn from different styles and genres of music and it will make you a more rounded player. Those lower licks I did in that clip are straight bluegrass Dobro licks and some of the higher stuff is Johnny Winter licks. Good luck in your journey and I hope to see some clips of your own on here soon. Keep on pickin brother
Love what your doing, thank you for sharing, I don't get enough good blues out here in the burbs of UK, doing nmy best, you are giving me motivation to do more, great playing.
Thanks Peter. It helps to live in the deep south where the blues originated. When the blues made it over there ya'll did some wonderful things with it. Keep on pickin it brother
Great licks, great intonation. Way better than most lap steelers. Yes, that's a standard Dobro tuning, derived from banjo tuning, but also great for blues. Thanks for showing how it's done.
@@slydeman1 That my brother was the perfect reply! Our precious Lord is perfect Love and all He wants is for us to love Him as He manifest through His creation! I have two lap guitars and at 60 i am trying to learn a few riffs.
@@karlcasias1043 Thank God for His grace and forgiveness. I need it daily. And the gift of music is an awesome gift. More like an obsession with me all my life. Music is all around us in the smallest things like water dripping from a roof in rhythm to the drone of my airboat when I'm cruising. I can only imagine what the music in heaven will be like. Sometimes it feels heavenly when it comes pouring out of you. Keep on pickin my brother
@@slydeman1 I play piano/keyboards and sing. My brother is the guitarist. However I bought a cheap lap steel recently. I just haven't had the time to play around with it yet. Your tone made me research the possibility of swapping my lap steel pickup for a humbucker.
Hey Steve, The pickup in the guitar in the clip is a seymour duncan antiquity. They run at a hundred bucks. I've built a lot of steels and try different pickups for different sounds. Most of the ones I use now are Fleor brand humbuckers and are dirt cheap but sound amazing. Better than some of the name brand expensive ones. I get em on Amazon.
@@slydeman1 Thanks for the info on the pickups! I was looking at a Seymour Duncan yesterday as a matter of fact. The current slot would only fit a single coil unless I modify. I may modify if I can't get a better sound from Seymour's single coil Humbucker.
Thanks blindowl. I appreciate the feedback. I used cypress to build that one and used a seymour duncan antiquity pickup. I'm playing thru a Blackstar tube amp with just a little bit of gain to get a little growl
@@slydeman1 I do play, I've been playing for a long time since I was 9, I decided that's what I wanted to do for a living and still do... I'm trying to really hone in my slide skills and am enjoying people like yourself for the pearls... thank you 💯🤘🎼🎵🎶🎸🪕🎤
As far as music I write my own which would be considered Rock and Roll, but I play Country, Blue Grass, Blue's, Rock and Roll, Motown, Contemporary, Southern Rock, Oldies but goodies, whatever the gig requires. I've never been able to climb on board with Rap or Hip Hop, not bashing just not in me. I do solo acoustic show's, Rock show's, and I hire in for Country show's often, and get into Blue Grass circle's every chance I get, and I hire in for studio sessions, then last but not least I teach guitar and drum lessons
Thanks, glad you liked it. It's a combo of the wood I used to build it (Cypress),the pickup (single coil Seymour Duncan Antiquity for a tele ), a 22 capacitor on the tone control, and a Blackstar all tube amp. I started with a clean sound and turned the volume up to where the pickup was just starting to break up a little then did the same with the amp. Sometimes the tone is better getting the crunch from the amp and other times it's better with overdriving the pickup a little and backing off the gain on the amp. That works best for me whatever guitar or amp I'm playing or what type of music also. I rarely set the guitar volume to 10. Give it a shot and see how it works for you. Everyone is different and likes a sound of their own so you may find another way to get what's sweet for you. Let me know if you find it. And keep on pickin
I've seen a lot of young players that are taking music to a new level. We did that in our day too. It's great cause the music never stagnates. It just keep progressing
@@slydeman1 Hello, wonderful and soulful Playing. Thank you so much for that. Negative comments and often Thumbs Down are from people, which have no Balance in their own Life. Best Wishes and keep on Playing!!! (Sorry for my English)🙂
@@saiteninstrumente-and-music Thanks I'm glad you liked the clip. I understand you perfectly. Positive comments are great to hear and yes there are people who just have a negative outlook on life. I feel bad for them because they have no joy. But I welcome comments that are critical in a positive way. Sometimes we learn how to grow and learn more from them. If I'm playing off key or my timing is off I need to know that so I know what to work on more. That applies to music and life. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 Hello and thank you for your reply. Yes, I play all my life long. I built my first steel-string guitar when I was 13 years old and with 16 I had a little Band and we played on several gigs. To build, repair or modify Instruments and to play them was always an important thing for me. In building and playing, I had no education, it was learning by doing. Constructive Criticism is a good thing, but the anonymous dislikes are a problem for me. I play my Instruments on my Channel only to show interestet people, how their sound is and not, how good I can play them. Now I`m 72 years old and I like the Blues , because over a long distance, my life was like a Blues with cancer and several other bad things. But beside this, I like you and your playing and I´m glad that I´ve found your Channel. Over my selfmade acoustic lapsteel guitar I came to you and your electric lapsteel guitar. All the best wishes for you!!! (Sorry for my English, School is long, long ago🙂)
My stage name is slydeman but my given name is Tim. I'd love to see your channel and the instruments you build. I'm guessing you're in Germany? My father was a great woodworker/leather crafter and taught me how to work with wood. Building guitars keeps me in touch with him even though he passed away long ago. His teaching is still with me every step of the way. I just ignore the anonymous dislikes. They show up on some of the great musician's clips as well. Some people listen only with their ears and not with their heart and soul. I have felt music deeply since I was a young child. It seems that you have too. What types of music speak to you the most?
Thanks Martin I really appreciate the positive comment. Especially about my guitar idol Johnny Winter. I "borrowed" some of his licks in my lap steel and dobro playing. He was my #1 most of my life till I heard Gary Moore play with such power and emotion. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 i do, I'm putting in the hours to achieve some semblance of a tone. A friend of mine made a lap slide out of a board of ash. I'm presently making shapes on that thing, riddled with optimism i am, and a Bob Brozman instructional. I'm 60 in Dec, loads of time. I saw Johnny play a couple of times. One time with Dr John. Mighty stuff but id be more fond of our Rory Gallagher, similar format. Im Irish you see. The current pool of available talent is insane. Some amazing players here. Don't forget to boogie.
Another great slide player Rory was. It was so sad to see him go. I have some roots in Ireland. I've always wanted to go there to see where one of my ancestors was shipwrecked off of the old head of Kinsale. He was the captain of the Albion. There are some good instructional videos on youtube by Troy Brenningmeyer if you haven't seen them already. I learned a lot of my chops from playing Dobro in a bluegrass band and then on to pedal steel from there. Good luck in your tone journey. There are so many variables to explore to get the sound you want. I build lap steel so I have a bit of control over what sounds I want to get from each guitar. Do you have any videos posted? I'd love to hear you play
@@slydeman1 Now that's an amazing corner of the island, that coast is forever gorgeous. As soon as you can, do, in earnest. The Beara Peninsula, breathtaking, i was down on me bike a couple of weeks ago mighty craic. I learned how to use some of that Adobe suite. I made a video of one of my songs with illustrator. I'm playing an acoustic and singing with a buddy on a 5string banjo. I got the words of the song come onto the screen, I'm an analog mechanical type. The digital world has great tool at the touch of a button. I'm not confident or proficient enough yet, to post any sliding. I will. I'll find the url for ya.
Yeah lap steels are awesome and you can play lots of different kinds of music on em. I played pedal steel for years and got tired of hauling it to the gigs that didn't pay much so I got a lap steel. It was an 8 string and the strings were much closer together than my dobros and decided to change the bridge and nut to make it a 6 string but made a new steel instead and have been building them ever since. What tuning are you using?
I've just recently been learning D since getting a couple of Weissenborn guitars. It's hard to go from playing in G for over 30 yrs cause my mind thinks in G. Old dog new tricks. My pedal steel is E9th. You ever think of posting any clips on here?
Thanks for the video Tim. Great playing. I've been looking for different ideas for making my first lap steel. I might copy your shape if that is all right, or something similar.
Glad you liked it. I play around with different shapes, colors, finishes, and pickup configurations. The pu on that guitar is a Seymour Duncan single coil antiquity with 250K pots and a 22 capacitor. I found pu that sound great and are super cheap. Fleor humbuckers. I'm using them in most of my builds now. Let me know what you come up with and post a vid
@@slydeman1 Thank you for the insight. I will definitely try out the Fleor's on my first set of builds. Are you using the double coil bridge model, with the 250K pots and 22uF cap with those as well? I have been making cajons for fun. Improved on my cutting, gluing and staining skills in the process and I liked it. Now, I've made a batch of them to sell at festivals whenever they are allowed to start up again. But I play(beat on) the guitar. So, lap steel seems like a great addition.
@@tjmski Yes I use the double coil humbuckers. Generally you use a 47 cap for humbuckers but you can experiment with different ones. Neck pu's are lower output and warmer than a bridge pu. I've used a neck pu in the bridge position for a warmer tone and overdrive it with a pedal if I need to. but I also use a bridge pu in the bridge position for a good grunge sound and just roll off the volume to get a warm cleaner tone. I also stick with a top load tele style hardtail bridge. I don't care for the string thru the body bridges cause the strings take a turn at the bridge and make for more breakage possibilities. With top loaders the strings have a straight shot to the nut. The hardtails have more contact with the body than the 2 pole bridges also which gives some nice sustain. I don't use stain anymore either. I use a wood dye which soaks deep into the wood unlike stains that are on the surface. With the dyes you get more of the grain showing through and on wood with a nice burl you can do a trace coat or two and really make the grain pop. A lot to digest huh. Hope some of it is useful for you.
@@slydeman1 I wish you lived closer so that we could really catch up and talk, and I really appreciate all of the insight that you are giving me/us. I really like Captain General's stain. I can really pull out the grain with their stain. I can make birch wood really pop out with swirls and grain. When I want to make my own colors I use Keda dye. Tone and sustain are my search for goals.
Must be nice to live where you can get birch. I'm in florida and the only hardwood I can get is Poplar and oak and oak isn't a good tonewood. I can get cypress which is great tonewood but soft and tricky to work with. Same with Cedar. The strat style guitar I'm playing in my other clips on here is cypress. I use Keda dye also. I tried a bunch of different finishes and really like the spraymax 2K and Rustoleum Autobody clear. Nitro lacquer is good but the humidity here makes it hard to spray without getting blushing. If you wanna connect by email and share pics it's slideman1@embarqmail.com
I'm looking at the Morrell plus series (low end model $149). Do you have any thoughts on that as a blues instrument? I admire your style. I'll be starting trying to cop Hop Wilson. I have learned a bit on an 8 string C6, but I want the blusier sound of open D or E.
My first lap steel was a Morrell 8 string. It sounded good but the string spacing was really crowded and switching from Dobro to the steel when playing out I had to hold back due to the tight spacing. So I built a 6 string and kept going from there. I don't know how the Morrells sound now. Rogue makes a pretty good sounding one real cheap. It's pretty much about your personal preference as to the sound you want to get for your style of playing. I try a different pickup in every one I build and my favorite for blues is the Dimarzio Antiquity that's in the one on this clip, and a cheap 6 dollar humbucker from China that's in a another one. Great overdrive and rolling off the volume gives a nice clean sound. Hope you find the one that you like
The simplest approach is to just string up your 8 string as a 6 string in Open D or E . The Morrells I've tried all played ok , but I've seen internet reports that in the last cpl of years the QC can be variable . The student and Plus models have the typical short scale . The Pro line is available with 25 inch scale . If you're starting our Lap Style playing either will be fine . But many Dobro players prefer the 25 inch scale to match their Resos . I lucked into finding a used Asher at about the price point of a Morrell Pro , and snatched it up ( current new price is about $1,200 for the Asher Jr ) .
What string gauges do you use ?????? I know I'm real late to the conversation but I only recently bought a lap steel and you play decent music as opposed to the Country stuff most play !
Hey Nikoli, I tune to open G and use GHS custom shop lap steel strings. 16, 18, and 26 plain and 40, 50, and 58 wound. To me music is music and I don't limit myself to any specific style of music on any instrument I play. Always think outside of the box
I'm currently building the last one before I move. I'll be shutting down till I get my shop built and set up. That one in the vid would cost around $400.00 but it depends on what pickups and other components a customer wants. What are you playing now?
Hey!!! Nice playing! I'm wanting to try out a lap steel. If I can get my hands to cooperate! I was born with Arthrogryposis. Tell Taj I said hey and wondering when he's going to put more videos for us to watch!? He's an awesome kid! Thanks!
Hey Paul thanks for the comment. And don't let anything or anyone stand in the way of your passion to play. Do what you can even if you have limitations. I was bit by a pygmy rattlesnake on my left hand 1st finger and was told that finger wouldn't come back enough to play guitar. Don't tell me what I cant do. Let me show you what I can do. It's stiff from the tendon damage but I constantly work it to get it to move. Let me know how your journey goes. Get a lap steel and feel the music flow out of you. Be blessed my friend
@@slydeman1 Thank you for your words of encouragement! I've overcome a lot of obstacles in my life as well. When I was born I was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis, a joint stiffness and muscle disorder. Dr's told my parents I would never walk or live much past 14! Well, I'm walking and age 58! I'm going to vet set up when I get the long awaited stimulus check! Be the only time I could afford it! Thanks again for reaching out to me! That helped!! ✌😎
Well I'm glad you proved the dr wrong and persevered through your trials. Feels good doesn't it. Do you play any instruments? Rondo makes a pretty decent lap steel and Amazon has it for $115.00. It's the SX LAP 3 Black Lap Steel Guitar. Of course you'll need an amp if you don't have one. What kinds of music do you listen to?
@@slydeman1 That's the lap steel I had in mind, SX LAP3. I listen to Steve Vai, Gary Moore, Pink Floyd, a lot of what Taj plays!! When I first saw his video my chin hit the floor! Then he breaks out a Bucket head tune and I was so impressed! An 11yr old blowing my mind!!! But, yeah, music I like kinda hard rock you know!? I dig what I've heard you play! Glad to have connection with you! Oh, do you know Rob Chapman? Clockwork Wolf & Co.? He's sounding awesome!! I wish I could move to Australia! From what I've seen it's beautiful! I'm in Raleigh, NC. USA. Take care, stay healthy! Keep in touch! ✌😎💨
Hey Paul. Happy Easter. We listen to the same people. Gary Moore knocked Johnny Winter down to my 2nd fav guitarist. He plays with more feeling than anyone I've ever heard. I play country, bluegrass, Rock, blues, and Christian music. The diversity really helps to develop your own style. You just steal a little from them all and make it your own. NC is a nice place to live. I live in central FL but plan to move to northeast Alabama. Too many people and it's way too hot for too long. Not much of a music scene here too. How is it where you are?
check out the slight slant on the bar like a bottleneck angle on standard...I tell you, that so helps when you are going for that blues tone. Great job man, I just want to stand you up with a Melobar :)
Thanks Ted. My first steel was a melobar 8 string. That's how I got into building them myself. The strings were real close together cause they crowded 8 strings on a 6 string neck and when I looked at it to see what it would take to make it a 6 string I decided to just build a 6 string and I never stopped building new ones
Hey ! I have one of those Melobar 8 . The pickup is very weak on strings 1 and 8 , to the point of not really being usable as an 8 . It's an interesting piece of history , but rarely gets played .
Thanks for the positive comment. I build my own lap steels but the Recording King RG-32 is a good one for country, blues, and rock. It sells for around $169.00. Rogue makes a really cheap one that's best for country sounds but you could probably overdrive it and get passable blues and rock sounds. The RLS-1 is around $85.00. You can search through reviews on RUclips to find the sounds that best suit the music you want to play and then goggle it to find the best price. Good luck and I hope you find one you like.
@@slydeman1 I just picked up a Rogue. Not a bad buy for the buck. Georgeboards sells a kit to improve it with a new nut and saddle and an inch longer scale length. I'm switching out the pickup for a Benson 63 Strat. Should be an improvement. Love the scorched earth tone you're getting with that Duncan pickup.
@@gutbucket260ounds like you go it goin on. Let me know how it sounds when you get it done. Yeah I love that Antiquity pickup. When you roll off on the volume control it gets a lot cleaner. I can use my volume pedal to keep the levels constant and play clean fill notes with the volume pot turned low and then roll it up for some crunchy leads
Great playing and song. Building one similar myself :-) What are you using for a nut? Can't seem to find anything that suits my eye, you're looks like a keeper but too far away. What tuning do you use? Also thinking of only using a volume and play with the tone using pedals/amp, your thoughts? Really liking the style/sound. Maybe for my 65th I'll grow out my hair and play some blues :-)
Thanks Jeff. I used brass for my other builds but tried aluminum angle 1 x 1/8 and cut it down to size. I like it better than the brass. My normal tuning is open G but I set one up to open D since I got a weissenborn which is tuned open D. I like having a tone pot for the convenience of having it right at my fingertips when playing out. What kind of pickup are you gonna put in yours? I used a Seymour Duncan Antiquity for this one and I got a P90 for the one I'm building now. What kind of wood are you using?
Thanks for the info...........as far as the pickups I've got a couple of humbuckers left over from a low end LP and some Tex Mex pickups from a strat. I have an Epiphone Dot, all black (including the hardware) that I'm going to swap out from the old LP and build a White with Black (and all of the black hardware) accents with one of the humbuckers. Will probably use both Tone and Volume for this one. Then I'm going to build 3 more from the strat, which is why I want'ed to know about the Volume only. Wanted to split the tone/volume POTS up from the strat and the pickups for the other three Lap Steel guitars. I'm more into blues so want to build one with that in mind (suggestions welcomed), and one to send my cousin who's into bluegrass/country (again suggestions welcomed). Haven't seen him in forever but I've seen him playing on FB etc and wanted to send some love out his way. That leaves me 1 humbucker left. What to do? Haven't settled on the wood yet. I've been getting everything together, drew up some plans, but just haven't nailed the bridge/nut yet. I've started taking all of the parts off of the other two guitars and I'm repainting the back of the DOT. AFTER I finish airbrushing my Grandson's ice hockey goalie helmet. Thanks for getting back to me so soon and I've been enjoying your videos :-)
@@slydeman1 What I meant was you sound like Duane Allman killing it on lap steel. :-) Thanks for the reply. That's a different open G. Nice, I'll have to try that. I've always used D,G,D,G,B,D but that's on regular guitar.
Yes it's open G tuning which is a standard for Dobro tuning and I use it on my lap steels as well. GBDGBD. There many others but open G is the most common
I'll shoot any man that says anything negative about this performance! I just bought a Gretsch G5700 and I want to pay blues lead. I know the fretboard as I play bass and some rhythm guitar. I need some lessons. Anyways. Good onya!
I'll supply the ammo. Just kidding. I welcome negative comments as well. Did you get the palm benders on your steel? Looking forward to seeing you post some clips killin it
Thanks for the tip Will. I appreciate it. All feedback is welcome for me. You're right, in a band setting I never just play all the way through but this was just a jam. Thanks again
Dat’s be some Lowdown Righteous Blues...... you can see da smoke rollin off da tone Bar....... You’s a Badd Mang Brutha....... ole Lowdown Slim Appreciate Ya Sharin wit us......
Hey Lowdown, thanks for the kudos. I appreciate feedback either way. Cant fix it if it aint broke. Check out my clip Slow Blues in Gm and give me your honest opinion. A buddy sent me me the track and I just turned on the camera and the track for the first time hearing it and played. I'm kinda strange that way. I love to get on stage and play songs I haven't heard. First time is freshest. Who are your fav players?
I'm the same way. Great stuff man. Sincerely
Damn!! Slide is King. Thanks for posting
Im a budding lap steel player.. im saving this video to copy some of those great licks. love the stuff you did on the lower notes!
Thanks Kevin glad you liked it. You're on the right track. Absorb all you can from as many sources as you can to get your own style and feel of playing. Don't be afraid to think outside of the box either. Learn from different styles and genres of music and it will make you a more rounded player. Those lower licks I did in that clip are straight bluegrass Dobro licks and some of the higher stuff is Johnny Winter licks. Good luck in your journey and I hope to see some clips of your own on here soon. Keep on pickin brother
@@slydeman1 I can listen to that all night. Love slide!!!
Love what your doing, thank you for sharing, I don't get enough good blues out here in the burbs of UK, doing nmy best, you are giving me motivation to do more, great playing.
Thanks Peter. It helps to live in the deep south where the blues originated. When the blues made it over there ya'll did some wonderful things with it. Keep on pickin it brother
*you're
Wow !!!!
You seriously just inspired me to get a lap steel. Great video. Thanks
Hey George, glad you liked it. Hope you find a steel you can play the kinds of music you want to play. Happy pickin
Nice love them lap steel blues
Great player
Amazing to watch and listen to...
Great licks, great intonation. Way better than most lap steelers. Yes, that's a standard Dobro tuning, derived from banjo tuning, but also great for blues. Thanks for showing how it's done.
Thanks Dawg. I love the sound the Seymour Duncan antiquity single coil pickup puts out. Most steels I build I use humbuckers. What do you play?
That was absolutely amazing! And love your t-shirt.
!
Thanks Karl. Do you play? Faith hope and love keep me going when times are tough. He's the one that gave the gift. We all have em.
@@slydeman1 That my brother was the perfect reply! Our precious Lord is perfect Love and all He wants is for us to love Him as He manifest through His creation! I have two lap guitars and at 60 i am trying to learn a few riffs.
@@karlcasias1043 Thank God for His grace and forgiveness. I need it daily. And the gift of music is an awesome gift. More like an obsession with me all my life. Music is all around us in the smallest things like water dripping from a roof in rhythm to the drone of my airboat when I'm cruising. I can only imagine what the music in heaven will be like. Sometimes it feels heavenly when it comes pouring out of you. Keep on pickin my brother
@@slydeman1 I know what you mean! Thanks for sharing. Music is such a gift from God.
Before you started playing i knew you where gonna be great because of your long white hair, wonderful
I guess to get that good, you have to practice alot and don't have time to go to the barber shop. ;)
Glad I stumbled across this! You can REALLY play!!😎
Thanks Steve. I'm glad you liked it. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 I play piano/keyboards and sing. My brother is the guitarist. However I bought a cheap lap steel recently. I just haven't had the time to play around with it yet. Your tone made me research the possibility of swapping my lap steel pickup for a humbucker.
Hey Steve, The pickup in the guitar in the clip is a seymour duncan antiquity. They run at a hundred bucks. I've built a lot of steels and try different pickups for different sounds. Most of the ones I use now are Fleor brand humbuckers and are dirt cheap but sound amazing. Better than some of the name brand expensive ones. I get em on Amazon.
@@slydeman1 Thanks for the info on the pickups! I was looking at a Seymour Duncan yesterday as a matter of fact. The current slot would only fit a single coil unless I modify. I may modify if I can't get a better sound from Seymour's single coil Humbucker.
Hey Steve. Let me know how it sounds. I'm putting a Musiclilly hot rails single coil humbucker pickup in the acoustic Tele guitar I'm building
Guitar sounds good
Wow, very good played!
It's a wonderful, soulful blues! Is tuning open tuning?
Yes, it's standard open G tuning
This is f*ckin' good! And that tone...
Thanks blindowl. I appreciate the feedback. I used cypress to build that one and used a seymour duncan antiquity pickup. I'm playing thru a Blackstar tube amp with just a little bit of gain to get a little growl
NOW THATS PLAYING!!!!!!!!
Awesome!
I love to play The Blues on my Guitar but The Steel Lap Guitar is Awesome. I 've got to start using my slide more often.
You might wanna check out slide players Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher, and Derek Trucks for some inspiration. Just a few of the many.
Damn,,,that was sweet.
Thanks George, I'm glad you liked it. Do you play?
Sounds Great !
Awesome playing!
sounds great
Exelente en que tonalidad usas? felicitaciones
Very cool, nice playing....do you have any lessons on this?
Right on!
Now that was sweet 💯🤘
Glad you liked it Britt. Thanks. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 I do play, I've been playing for a long time since I was 9, I decided that's what I wanted to do for a living and still do... I'm trying to really hone in my slide skills and am enjoying people like yourself for the pearls... thank you 💯🤘🎼🎵🎶🎸🪕🎤
@@brittblack9857 What instruments do you play, and what kind of music? Any clips?
@@slydeman1 I play a Gretch Boxcar resonator, Yamaha 12 string, Breedlove 6string ECO collection, Schecter 4string bass, Washburn 6string banjo, 3string cigar box "G", 3string cigar box "D", Ukulele... and more 6strings with different tuning's , drop D, half step down, ect..
As far as music I write my own which would be considered Rock and Roll, but I play Country, Blue Grass, Blue's, Rock and Roll, Motown, Contemporary, Southern Rock, Oldies but goodies, whatever the gig requires. I've never been able to climb on board with Rap or Hip Hop, not bashing just not in me. I do solo acoustic show's, Rock show's, and I hire in for Country show's often, and get into Blue Grass circle's every chance I get, and I hire in for studio sessions, then last but not least I teach guitar and drum lessons
Great playing Tim! It's brad from Boost! Haha you weren't kidding.
Nice !
Enjoyed very much
Thanks I'm glad you liked it
How long did it take you to dial in that tone, man? It sounds golden! I wish my guitar would sound like that
Thanks, glad you liked it. It's a combo of the wood I used to build it (Cypress),the pickup (single coil Seymour Duncan Antiquity for a tele ), a 22 capacitor on the tone control, and a Blackstar all tube amp. I started with a clean sound and turned the volume up to where the pickup was just starting to break up a little then did the same with the amp. Sometimes the tone is better getting the crunch from the amp and other times it's better with overdriving the pickup a little and backing off the gain on the amp. That works best for me whatever guitar or amp I'm playing or what type of music also. I rarely set the guitar volume to 10. Give it a shot and see how it works for you. Everyone is different and likes a sound of their own so you may find another way to get what's sweet for you. Let me know if you find it. And keep on pickin
@@slydeman1 Thank you so much, sir. A lot of respect to you guitar veterans to teach us younger shredders how to do it!
I've seen a lot of young players that are taking music to a new level. We did that in our day too. It's great cause the music never stagnates. It just keep progressing
Wonderfully played! Kudos! Really enjoyed this clip posting. Rock on!
Thank you for your positive comment. I welcome the negative ones also.
@@slydeman1 Hello, wonderful and soulful Playing. Thank you so much for that. Negative comments and often Thumbs Down are from people, which have no Balance in their own Life. Best Wishes and keep on Playing!!! (Sorry for my English)🙂
@@saiteninstrumente-and-music Thanks I'm glad you liked the clip. I understand you perfectly. Positive comments are great to hear and yes there are people who just have a negative outlook on life. I feel bad for them because they have no joy. But I welcome comments that are critical in a positive way. Sometimes we learn how to grow and learn more from them. If I'm playing off key or my timing is off I need to know that so I know what to work on more. That applies to music and life. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 Hello and thank you for your reply. Yes, I play all my life long. I built my first steel-string guitar when I was 13 years old and with 16 I had a little Band and we played on several gigs. To build, repair or modify Instruments and to play them was always an important thing for me. In building and playing, I had no education, it was learning by doing. Constructive Criticism is a good thing, but the anonymous dislikes are a problem for me. I play my Instruments on my Channel only to show interestet people, how their sound is and not, how good I can play them. Now I`m 72 years old and I like the Blues , because over a long distance, my life was like a Blues with cancer and several other bad things.
But beside this, I like you and your playing and I´m glad that I´ve found your Channel. Over my selfmade acoustic lapsteel guitar I came to you and your electric lapsteel guitar. All the best wishes for you!!! (Sorry for my English, School is long, long ago🙂)
My stage name is slydeman but my given name is Tim. I'd love to see your channel and the instruments you build. I'm guessing you're in Germany? My father was a great woodworker/leather crafter and taught me how to work with wood. Building guitars keeps me in touch with him even though he passed away long ago. His teaching is still with me every step of the way. I just ignore the anonymous dislikes. They show up on some of the great musician's clips as well. Some people listen only with their ears and not with their heart and soul. I have felt music deeply since I was a young child. It seems that you have too. What types of music speak to you the most?
That very sweet I'll keep on trying
Play every day and try out different styles and you'll get there if you're not there already
Johnny Winter is listening, he's not saying a word, very good sir.
Thanks Martin I really appreciate the positive comment. Especially about my guitar idol Johnny Winter. I "borrowed" some of his licks in my lap steel and dobro playing. He was my #1 most of my life till I heard Gary Moore play with such power and emotion. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 i do, I'm putting in the hours to achieve some semblance of a tone. A friend of mine made a lap slide out of a board of ash. I'm presently making shapes on that thing, riddled with optimism i am, and a Bob Brozman instructional. I'm 60 in Dec, loads of time. I saw Johnny play a couple of times. One time with Dr John. Mighty stuff but id be more fond of our Rory Gallagher, similar format. Im Irish you see. The current pool of available talent is insane. Some amazing players here. Don't forget to boogie.
Another great slide player Rory was. It was so sad to see him go. I have some roots in Ireland. I've always wanted to go there to see where one of my ancestors was shipwrecked off of the old head of Kinsale. He was the captain of the Albion. There are some good instructional videos on youtube by Troy Brenningmeyer if you haven't seen them already. I learned a lot of my chops from playing Dobro in a bluegrass band and then on to pedal steel from there. Good luck in your tone journey. There are so many variables to explore to get the sound you want. I build lap steel so I have a bit of control over what sounds I want to get from each guitar. Do you have any videos posted? I'd love to hear you play
@@slydeman1 Now that's an amazing corner of the island, that coast is forever gorgeous. As soon as you can, do, in earnest. The Beara Peninsula, breathtaking, i was down on me bike a couple of weeks ago mighty craic.
I learned how to use some of that Adobe suite. I made a video of one of my songs with illustrator. I'm playing an acoustic and singing with a buddy on a 5string banjo. I got the words of the song come onto the screen, I'm an analog mechanical type. The digital world has great tool at the touch of a button.
I'm not confident or proficient enough yet, to post any sliding. I will. I'll find the url for ya.
One of the lads on the media course
Some of your passages reminds me of Roy Buchanan. Great chops and expression!
Thanks Paul. I appreciate the kind words. I stole a few licks from Johnny Winter as well. Do you play?
@@slydeman1 Picked up a lap steel in April...can't get enough of it! Been playing gtr since 1974...wish I had picked up a lap steel back then :)
Yeah lap steels are awesome and you can play lots of different kinds of music on em. I played pedal steel for years and got tired of hauling it to the gigs that didn't pay much so I got a lap steel. It was an 8 string and the strings were much closer together than my dobros and decided to change the bridge and nut to make it a 6 string but made a new steel instead and have been building them ever since. What tuning are you using?
@@slydeman1 Great adventure! I'm been working with D6. Dig anything in the key of D Maj or D Minor.
I've just recently been learning D since getting a couple of Weissenborn guitars. It's hard to go from playing in G for over 30 yrs cause my mind thinks in G. Old dog new tricks. My pedal steel is E9th. You ever think of posting any clips on here?
Thanks for the video Tim. Great playing. I've been looking for different ideas for making my first lap steel. I might copy your shape if that is all right, or something similar.
Glad you liked it. I play around with different shapes, colors, finishes, and pickup configurations. The pu on that guitar is a Seymour Duncan single coil antiquity with 250K pots and a 22 capacitor. I found pu that sound great and are super cheap. Fleor humbuckers. I'm using them in most of my builds now. Let me know what you come up with and post a vid
@@slydeman1 Thank you for the insight. I will definitely try out the Fleor's on my first set of builds. Are you using the double coil bridge model, with the 250K pots and 22uF cap with those as well? I have been making cajons for fun. Improved on my cutting, gluing and staining skills in the process and I liked it. Now, I've made a batch of them to sell at festivals whenever they are allowed to start up again. But I play(beat on) the guitar. So, lap steel seems like a great addition.
@@tjmski Yes I use the double coil humbuckers. Generally you use a 47 cap for humbuckers but you can experiment with different ones. Neck pu's are lower output and warmer than a bridge pu. I've used a neck pu in the bridge position for a warmer tone and overdrive it with a pedal if I need to. but I also use a bridge pu in the bridge position for a good grunge sound and just roll off the volume to get a warm cleaner tone. I also stick with a top load tele style hardtail bridge. I don't care for the string thru the body bridges cause the strings take a turn at the bridge and make for more breakage possibilities. With top loaders the strings have a straight shot to the nut. The hardtails have more contact with the body than the 2 pole bridges also which gives some nice sustain. I don't use stain anymore either. I use a wood dye which soaks deep into the wood unlike stains that are on the surface. With the dyes you get more of the grain showing through and on wood with a nice burl you can do a trace coat or two and really make the grain pop. A lot to digest huh. Hope some of it is useful for you.
@@slydeman1 I wish you lived closer so that we could really catch up and talk, and I really appreciate all of the insight that you are giving me/us. I really like Captain General's stain. I can really pull out the grain with their stain. I can make birch wood really pop out with swirls and grain. When I want to make my own colors I use Keda dye. Tone and sustain are my search for goals.
Must be nice to live where you can get birch. I'm in florida and the only hardwood I can get is Poplar and oak and oak isn't a good tonewood. I can get cypress which is great tonewood but soft and tricky to work with. Same with Cedar. The strat style guitar I'm playing in my other clips on here is cypress. I use Keda dye also. I tried a bunch of different finishes and really like the spraymax 2K and Rustoleum Autobody clear. Nitro lacquer is good but the humidity here makes it hard to spray without getting blushing. If you wanna connect by email and share pics it's slideman1@embarqmail.com
I just found your video. Very nice work. What tuning did you have?
Hey Charles, glad you like it. I used an open G tuning. GBDGBD
I'm looking at the Morrell plus series (low end model $149). Do you have any thoughts on that as a blues instrument? I admire your style. I'll be starting trying to cop Hop Wilson. I have learned a bit on an 8 string C6, but I want the blusier sound of open D or E.
My first lap steel was a Morrell 8 string. It sounded good but the string spacing was really crowded and switching from Dobro to the steel when playing out I had to hold back due to the tight spacing. So I built a 6 string and kept going from there. I don't know how the Morrells sound now. Rogue makes a pretty good sounding one real cheap. It's pretty much about your personal preference as to the sound you want to get for your style of playing. I try a different pickup in every one I build and my favorite for blues is the Dimarzio Antiquity that's in the one on this clip, and a cheap 6 dollar humbucker from China that's in a another one. Great overdrive and rolling off the volume gives a nice clean sound. Hope you find the one that you like
The simplest approach is to just string up your 8 string as a 6 string in Open D or E .
The Morrells I've tried all played ok , but I've seen internet reports that in the last cpl of years the QC can be variable .
The student and Plus models have the typical short scale . The Pro line is available with 25 inch scale .
If you're starting our Lap Style playing either will be fine . But many Dobro players prefer the 25 inch scale to match their Resos .
I lucked into finding a used Asher at about the price point of a Morrell Pro , and snatched it up ( current new price is about $1,200 for the Asher Jr ) .
What string gauges do you use ?????? I know I'm real late to the conversation but I only recently bought a lap steel and you play decent music as opposed to the Country stuff most play !
Hey Nikoli, I tune to open G and use GHS custom shop lap steel strings. 16, 18, and 26 plain and 40, 50, and 58 wound. To me music is music and I don't limit myself to any specific style of music on any instrument I play. Always think outside of the box
Can I pay you to make me one just like that? What would something like that cost?
I'm currently building the last one before I move. I'll be shutting down till I get my shop built and set up. That one in the vid would cost around $400.00 but it depends on what pickups and other components a customer wants. What are you playing now?
Hey!!! Nice playing! I'm wanting to try out a lap steel. If I can get my hands to cooperate! I was born with Arthrogryposis. Tell Taj I said hey and wondering when he's going to put more videos for us to watch!? He's an awesome kid! Thanks!
Hey Paul thanks for the comment. And don't let anything or anyone stand in the way of your passion to play. Do what you can even if you have limitations. I was bit by a pygmy rattlesnake on my left hand 1st finger and was told that finger wouldn't come back enough to play guitar. Don't tell me what I cant do. Let me show you what I can do. It's stiff from the tendon damage but I constantly work it to get it to move. Let me know how your journey goes. Get a lap steel and feel the music flow out of you. Be blessed my friend
@@slydeman1 Thank you for your words of encouragement! I've overcome a lot of obstacles in my life as well. When I was born I was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis, a joint stiffness and muscle disorder. Dr's told my parents I would never walk or live much past 14! Well, I'm walking and age 58! I'm going to vet set up when I get the long awaited stimulus check! Be the only time I could afford it! Thanks again for reaching out to me! That helped!! ✌😎
Well I'm glad you proved the dr wrong and persevered through your trials. Feels good doesn't it. Do you play any instruments? Rondo makes a pretty decent lap steel and Amazon has it for $115.00. It's the SX LAP 3 Black Lap Steel Guitar. Of course you'll need an amp if you don't have one. What kinds of music do you listen to?
@@slydeman1 That's the lap steel I had in mind, SX LAP3. I listen to Steve Vai, Gary Moore, Pink Floyd, a lot of what Taj plays!! When I first saw his video my chin hit the floor! Then he breaks out a Bucket head tune and I was so impressed! An 11yr old blowing my mind!!! But, yeah, music I like kinda hard rock you know!? I dig what I've heard you play! Glad to have connection with you! Oh, do you know Rob Chapman? Clockwork Wolf & Co.? He's sounding awesome!! I wish I could move to Australia! From what I've seen it's beautiful! I'm in Raleigh, NC. USA. Take care, stay healthy! Keep in touch! ✌😎💨
Hey Paul. Happy Easter. We listen to the same people. Gary Moore knocked Johnny Winter down to my 2nd fav guitarist. He plays with more feeling than anyone I've ever heard. I play country, bluegrass, Rock, blues, and Christian music. The diversity really helps to develop your own style. You just steal a little from them all and make it your own. NC is a nice place to live. I live in central FL but plan to move to northeast Alabama. Too many people and it's way too hot for too long. Not much of a music scene here too. How is it where you are?
check out the slight slant on the bar like a bottleneck angle on standard...I tell you, that so helps when you are going for that blues tone. Great job man, I just want to stand you up with a Melobar :)
Thanks Ted. My first steel was a melobar 8 string. That's how I got into building them myself. The strings were real close together cause they crowded 8 strings on a 6 string neck and when I looked at it to see what it would take to make it a 6 string I decided to just build a 6 string and I never stopped building new ones
@@slydeman1 I prefer the 6 string spacing too, keep rippin' it, sounds awesome!
Hey ! I have one of those Melobar 8 .
The pickup is very weak on strings 1 and 8 , to the point of not really being usable as an 8 .
It's an interesting piece of history , but rarely gets played .
Can you recommend a lap steel to buy for a beginner? by the way this is badass and makes me want one even more now
Thanks for the positive comment. I build my own lap steels but the Recording King RG-32 is a good one for country, blues, and rock. It sells for around $169.00. Rogue makes a really cheap one that's best for country sounds but you could probably overdrive it and get passable blues and rock sounds. The RLS-1 is around $85.00. You can search through reviews on RUclips to find the sounds that best suit the music you want to play and then goggle it to find the best price. Good luck and I hope you find one you like.
thank you so much man have a wonderful day
I'm looking forward to seeing you post a vid of you playing lap steel
@@slydeman1 I just picked up a Rogue. Not a bad buy for the buck. Georgeboards sells a kit to improve it with a new nut and saddle and an inch longer scale length. I'm switching out the pickup for a Benson 63 Strat. Should be an improvement. Love the scorched earth tone you're getting with that Duncan pickup.
@@gutbucket260ounds like you go it goin on. Let me know how it sounds when you get it done. Yeah I love that Antiquity pickup. When you roll off on the volume control it gets a lot cleaner. I can use my volume pedal to keep the levels constant and play clean fill notes with the volume pot turned low and then roll it up for some crunchy leads
Are you Paul Adams? If not you're his twin. AWESOME playing BTW... very nice
Great playing and song. Building one similar myself :-) What are you using for a nut? Can't seem to find anything that suits my eye, you're looks like a keeper but too far away. What tuning do you use? Also thinking of only using a volume and play with the tone using pedals/amp, your thoughts? Really liking the style/sound. Maybe for my 65th I'll grow out my hair and play some blues :-)
Thanks Jeff. I used brass for my other builds but tried aluminum angle 1 x 1/8 and cut it down to size. I like it better than the brass. My normal tuning is open G but I set one up to open D since I got a weissenborn which is tuned open D. I like having a tone pot for the convenience of having it right at my fingertips when playing out. What kind of pickup are you gonna put in yours? I used a Seymour Duncan Antiquity for this one and I got a P90 for the one I'm building now. What kind of wood are you using?
Thanks for the info...........as far as the pickups I've got a couple of humbuckers left over from a low end LP and some Tex Mex pickups from a strat.
I have an Epiphone Dot, all black (including the hardware) that I'm going to swap out from the old LP and build a White with Black (and all of the black hardware) accents with one of the humbuckers. Will probably use both Tone and Volume for this one.
Then I'm going to build 3 more from the strat, which is why I want'ed to know about the Volume only. Wanted to split the tone/volume POTS up from the strat and the pickups for the other three Lap Steel guitars.
I'm more into blues so want to build one with that in mind (suggestions welcomed), and one to send my cousin who's into bluegrass/country (again suggestions welcomed). Haven't seen him in forever but I've seen him playing on FB etc and wanted to send some love out his way.
That leaves me 1 humbucker left. What to do?
Haven't settled on the wood yet. I've been getting everything together, drew up some plans, but just haven't nailed the bridge/nut yet. I've started taking all of the parts off of the other two guitars and I'm repainting the back of the DOT. AFTER I finish airbrushing my Grandson's ice hockey goalie helmet.
Thanks for getting back to me so soon and I've been enjoying your videos :-)
If you ever need parts or tools for building I get most of mine at stewmac.com
What are the strings tuned to?
Hey KD, it's tuned to open G. GBDGBD
прям гусляр)))) круто!
👍🏻
If Duane Allman had played the lap steel. Love it.
What tuning?
Yeah He'd kill it alright. I tune mine to open G. G,B,D,G,B,D. My Weissenborns I tune to open D.
@@slydeman1 What I meant was you sound like Duane Allman killing it on lap steel. :-)
Thanks for the reply.
That's a different open G. Nice, I'll have to try that. I've always used D,G,D,G,B,D but that's on regular guitar.
Oh wow. Thanks for the kudos. That G tuning is common for dobro. I just use standard tuning on regular electric guitar
@@slydeman1 sounds very good your way of G-tuning. I use a G6-tuning for lap steel (GBDebg) btw
Yeah that's a good tuning as well. I use that G6 on my Weissenborns
Tuning?
It's open G. DGBDGB
@@slydeman1Finger slip there ? In the other comments you always referred to GBDGBD dobro tuning ?
Yes it's open G tuning which is a standard for Dobro tuning and I use it on my lap steels as well. GBDGBD. There many others but open G is the most common
I'll shoot any man that says anything negative about this performance! I just bought a Gretsch G5700 and I want to pay blues lead. I know the fretboard as I play bass and some rhythm guitar. I need some lessons. Anyways. Good onya!
I'll supply the ammo. Just kidding. I welcome negative comments as well. Did you get the palm benders on your steel? Looking forward to seeing you post some clips killin it
A little tip.. leave some gaps. Music's got to breathe.
Thanks for the tip Will. I appreciate it. All feedback is welcome for me. You're right, in a band setting I never just play all the way through but this was just a jam. Thanks again
Good shit man !!!! 👌🏼👌🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
so fkn sweet
Thanks buds