Lap Steels in Singapore

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

Anyone seen lap steels on sale? So far I think this instrument is pretty rare in singapore (even rarer than banjos or mandolins) and I've yet to stumble across one in our local stores.

Country music is knocking on my door once again :?

 

[Gr3y]

http://www.sagamusic.com/catalog/details.asp?ProductID=FHD-100S

check that bro~ maestro excelsior branch have it..

 

[atee]

Yea, I've seen one or two of those around one of the shops at excelsior if i remember right.

 

[62jaguar]

wow...a lap steel??
cool.. 8) 8)
how to play one?

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

Haha I seen that in many places... it's not a lap steel, but a dobro / resonator guitar.

The one I'm talking about is this:

The sounds produced on this thing can be really wicked :twisted:

 

[Gr3y]

y dun you build 1 yourself?
those things dun even really need e frets to b there coz e strings are basically floating way high up n no way it can reach e fingerboard..

you'll need:
wood
wood glue
a decen saw
nut and saddle
humbucker or single coil pup
pup electronics
tuning machine
bridge cover
a decent painting skill

i doubt its easy to find them in singapore actually, thats y i'm suggesting you to build 1.. just tell me.. how many singaporeans will really play a lapsteel? rare? yes.. so which shop will b willing to bring something that rots in their shop? nahz.. rare too.. haha...

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

I seriously contemplated your recommendation like 2 months back? I went to Ikea and my fingers were damn itchy to buy a plank and go home and start sawing away.

It's true about the whole lack of demand, which I think is mainly due to a lack of exposure by our local musicians about such an instrument.

Of course with a current generation which generally kind of ignores country music, one can't expect them to even bother about what instruments are used in countyr music apart from 'acoustics and telecasters'.

 

[Gr3y]

haha.. dun b sad about it.. its in our culture.. and needless to say.. our gov-something..

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

I feel that we can't blame the gahmen for this man, because country music CDs are in the shops, it's just the percentage of musicians who take the genre seriously which is lacking.

IMO lah.

 

[jasonbruce]

Crawldaddy,

Agree with you there. The lap steel is definitely something worth picking up.

Plus, its not just country music either. Lotsa other guys have used the lap steel quite intensively on their records. James Iha, for instance on his solo outing. And Matthew Sweet. Check out Greg Leisz's session work. There's a voice that just can't be replicated, even on regular slide/bottleneck guitar.

Let me know if you're getting one...

:wink:

 

[popland]

Interesting topic but what I wanna know is - are there good lap steel/pedal steel guitar players here in Singapore?

If so, I would be interested in hooking up as we do the odd country rock stuff now and then - y'know Gram, Neil Young, Gene Clark etc etc

Would be a gas to add a lap steel to the sonic mix

www.myspace.com/popland

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

haha, I'm only a fair slide player... nothing much to shout about. However I used to know a fella who was pretty nifty with a slide and he sold off his Rickenbacker lap steel. He's gone back to England now.

Actually, if I do intend to have a lap steel, it'll probably be DIY since it has fewer complications compared to your average electric guitar.

And I might not even intend to give it a lacquer coat.

 

[Gr3y]

cool Crawldaddy! I love ppl that D.I.Y.
Will b anxiously waiting for you to complete yours!Infact i'm a little tempted to do one for myself! Juz for that fun~ Maybe i'll use a few crate wood~ haha

 

[hay88]

wonder if there are any chapman stick players ard here ahha...i remember one guy was selling an old lapsteel for $200 some time ago on luther...

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

haha.. I'm pretty DIY... I kind of "fixed" an old acoustic of mine which had a broken neck heel.

But the job is frickin fugly, man.