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Chandler electric lap steel guitar, a modern solid body with the classic Weissenborn profile.
Chandler electric lap steel guitar, a modern solid body with the classic Weissenborn profile. A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying Weissenborn or H Weissenborn is a brand of Lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles

The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, from which other types developed. Steel guitar is A method of playing Slide guitar using a steel.

There are three main types of lap steel guitar:

Lap slide and resonator guitars may also be fitted with pickups, but do not depend on electrical amplification to produce their sound. A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar

Contents

Description

The distinguishing feature of a lap steel guitar is that the strings are raised at both the nut and bridge ends of the fingerboard, typically to about half an inch. This makes the frets unusable, and they may be replaced by markers on some guitars. Other lap steel guitars are designed to be adapted between lap and conventional playing, or are modified versions of conventional guitars, and the only difference may be the action height. Round-necked resonator guitars set up for steel playing fall into this category. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( Resonators ' instead of the

Guitars designed exclusively for lap playing typically have modified necks that make conventional playing impossible. The hollow neck acoustic lap steel, developed by Chris Knutsen and popularized by Hermann C. Weissenborn, extends the body cavity behind the neck all the way to the head. Weissenborn or H Weissenborn is a brand of Lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles The square-necked resonator guitar has a strengthened square profile neck, allowing heavier string gauges and/or higher tunings that would normally be considered impossible (or certainly ill-advised) on a conventional guitar. The electric lap steel guitar typically incorporates the entire neck into the solid body of the guitar, again providing extra strength to allow a greater variety of string gauges and tunings.

Steel guitars with more than six strings and/or with multiple necks are rarely played in lap steel fashion, but are also referred to as lap steel guitars by many makers and authorities. See table steel guitar. The table steel guitar is a type of electric Steel guitar intermediate between the Lap steel guitar and the Pedal steel guitar.

Playing

The lap steel guitar is typically placed on the player's lap, or on a stool in front of the player, who is seated.

The strings are not pressed to a fret when sounding a note, rather, the player holds a metal slide called a steel in the left hand, which is moved along the strings to change the instrument's pitch while the right hand plucks or picks the strings. A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.

This method of playing greatly restricts the number of chords available, so lap steel music often features a restricted set of harmonies (such as in blues). This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Alternatively, the lap steel guitar player can play the melody or another single part. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or

The steel guitar, when played in Hawaiian, Country, Bluegrass, or Western Swing styles, is almost always plucked using a plastic thumbpick affixed to the right hand's thumb, and metal or plastic "fingerpicks" fitted to the first 2, 3, or even all 4 fingers of the right hand. This allows the player greater control when picking sets of notes on non-adjacent strings. Some Blues players, especially those who use a round-neck resonator guitar played upright, conventional-guitar-style, with a bottleneck or hollow metal slide on one left-hand finger, forego the fingerpicks and thumbpicks, and use their bare fingers and thumb instead. On the other hand, a minority of Blues players, and many Rock players, use a conventional flatpick. Tut Taylor is one of the extremely few Dobro players that uses a flatpick.

History

The lap steel probably began in La'ie, Hawai'i in the late 1800s. Lāie is a community and a Census-designated place (CDP located in the Koolauloa District on the Island of O{{okina}}ahu, City & County of Honolulu. Various people have been credited with the innovation. [1]. The instrument was hugely popular - a major fad - in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It was electrified in the early Thirties by Bob Dunn, a musician in Houston,Texas (who played in the Western swing band Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies; Dunn had his own self-titled music store in the Houston area. Robert Lee "Bob" Dunn was a jazz trombonist and a pioneer Western swing steel guitarist This article is about the Musical genre. For the popular western swing Steel guitar tuning see E9 tuning. Milton Brown ( 8 September 1903 Stephenville Texas - 13 April 1936 Crystal Falls Stephens County ) This made the so-called "Hawaiian" guitar the first electric instrument (just a few years before Les Paul and Charlie Christian modified their instruments).

The lap steel, dobro and pedal steel guitar are associated most closely with Hawaiian music, country music and bluegrass, though some players have used them in rock music, jazz, blues, and other musical genres. Dobro is a Trade name now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of Resonator guitar. The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of Country music. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other The round neck, metal-bodied resonator guitar, on the other hand, is used almost exclusively by Blues, Rock, or Blues-Rock musicians.

Notable lap steel/table steel/Hawaiian steel guitar players

Tunings

The Lap steel guitar is not tuned in standard guitar tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E, low to high). Al Perkins (Born January 18, 1944) is a Texas -born American Guitarist. Sonny Rhodes (born Clarence Edward Smith November 3, 1940 in Smithville Texas) is an American Blues Singer and Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American Musician. Bob Brozman (born 1954 is an American Guitarist and Ethnomusicologist. Cindy Cashdollar (born May 25, 1956) is a master Steel guitar and Dobro artist Daniel Lanois (born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian Record producer and Singer-songwriter David Jon Gilmour CBE (born 6 March 1946 is an English Musician, best known as the Lead guitarist one of the lead Singers Pink Floyd are David Lindley (born 1944 in San Marino California) is an American Guitarist and Multi-instrumentalist (his instruments include a variety Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is a Grammy Award - nominated American Guitarist. Jamieson "Junior" Brown (b June 12 1952, Kirksville Indiana) is an American country Guitarist and singer from John Butler (born 1 April 1975) is an Australian Musician. He is the leader of the John Butler Trio, a band that has John Fahey (February 28 1939 – February 22 2001 was an American Fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string guitar as a solo Jerry Byrd (born in Lima Ohio on March 9, 1920; died April 11, 2005) was a musician who played Lap steel guitar in country Jerry Douglas (born as Gerald Calvin Douglas on May 28, 1956 in Warren Ohio) is an American Dobro player John Paul Jones (born John Baldwin on January 3, 1946) is an English Musician, Composer, arranger, Record Led Zeppelin were John Hellyar Rickard (born 27 January 1940) is a former Chief Economic Advisor to the British Government. Jeff Lang (born Nov 9 1969 is an Australian songwriter singer and Virtuoso Slide guitarist A leading performer in the Australian roots style which James Michael Thompson is the co-designer and sole player of the world first Ellis 8 string baritone tricone Resonator guitar. Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is a Grammy Award -winning American Country music Singer-songwriter, record producer and Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Rudes on November 4, 1956) is a Progressive rock Keyboardist best known as a member of the Progressive Dream Theater is an American Progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name " Majesty " by John Myung, John Petrucci Kaki King (born August 24, 1979 as Katherine Elizabeth King) is an American Guitar player and singer-songwriter from Atlanta Kelly Joe Phelps (born 5 October 1959, Sumner, Washington) is an American Musician and Songwriter. King Bennie Nawahi ( Benjamin Keakahiawa Nawahi) was an American steel guitar master from Hawaii, well-known throughout the country in the 1920s and 30s Mike Mogis is a Nebraskan producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who along with his brother A Bright Eyes is an American band consisting of Singer-songwriter / Guitarist Conor Oberst, Multi-instrumentalist / producer Marc Ford (born April 13, 1966 in Los Angeles CA) is the former lead guitarist of the Rock and roll jam band The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American, blues -oriented Hard rock Jam band that has sold over 20 million albums Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American Musician. Nels Cline (born in Los Angeles in 1956 is an American Guitarist and Composer. Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of Alternative country group Robert Randolph & The Family Band is a Multicultural American Funk and soul band composed of Robert Randolph Marcus Randolph (drums Rich Robinson (born May 24 1969) is a musician and a founding member of the rock group The Black Crowes. The Black Crowes are an American, blues -oriented Hard rock Jam band that has sold over 20 million albums Robert Rich is an Ambient musician and Composer based in California, United States. Augustana is an American Rock band from San Diego, California who are signed to the Epic Records record label and are best known Enter Shikari (ɛntɜr ʃɪkɑriː is a British band formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire where all four members are from Enter Shikari (ɛntɜr ʃɪkɑriː is a British band formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire where all four members are from Rusty Young Gifted Guitarist, vocalist and song writer Born in 1946, in Long Beach California; Rusty was raised in Colorado. For a similarly named band see Six by Seven. The Six Parts Seven are an American Post-rock band formerly based in Kent Sunil Ganguly (died June 14, 1999) was an Indian musician who played the Hawaiian electric guitar. Sol Ho`opi`i (pronouncedapproximately Ho-oh-pee-ee, the `okina is a glottal stop consonant( 1902 - November 16, 1953) was perhaps the most Stephen James "Steve" Howe (born April 8, 1947 in Holloway, North London, England) is an English Guitarist Yes are an English Progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968. Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970 in Los Angeles California) is an American Guitarist who currently plays Lap steel guitar Queens of the Stone Age (also known as QOTSA or simply Queens) are a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States A Perfect Circle ( APC) is an Alternative rock supergroup formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (b Rajasthan, India, 1952 is an exponent of Hindustani music (North Indian classical music Xavier Rudd is an Australian Singer, Songwriter and Multi-instrumentalist. George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood (born 1 June 1947 in Hillingdon London) is an English rock Guitarist and Bassist best known Faces (sometimes known as The Faces) were a Rock band formed in 1969 by members of the Small Faces after Steve Marriott left that group Rather, it is usually tuned to an open chord, often an extended chord like a 6th, 7th, or 9th.

There are nearly as many tunings for the Lap steel guitar as there are players, but a few are more common [all tunings are shown low-to-high; that is, thickest string to thinnest, or 6th string to 1st string].

Blues and Rock players tend to favor one of two tuning families: open G/open A, or open D/open E.

Open G is tuned D-G-D-G-B-D; open A raises each of those notes a whole-step (2 frets) to E-A-E-A-C#-E.

Open D is tuned D-A-D-F#-A-D, and open E is a whole-step higher: E-B-E-G#-B-E. Joe Perry of Aerosmith uses Open E on his electric lap steel. David Lindley is another player who uses enharmonic variations of these tunings.

Bluegrass and Country Dobro players using a square-neck instrument tend to favor an altered G tuning, often called "High-G", where the 6th string is tuned up to "G" instead of down to "D", and the 5th string is also tuned up, to B: G-B-D-G-B-D. They also sometimes raise it up to "High-A": A-C#-E-A-C#-E. These are examples of tunings possible on a lap steel that would cause serious damage if attempted on a round-neck resonator or standard guitar.

Dobro players also generally use a set of strings with different gauges than those used on standard electric or acoustic guitars to help them to project more sound and to achieve their higher tunings.

Many Western Swing steel players, and some Old-Time Country steel players, use a C6 tuning. There is no "standard" C6 tuning; one popular one is C-E-G-A-C-E. This tuning is a good one for copping Don Helms' steel licks off old Hank Williams records, although Helms used a steel with legs (a "table steel"), with two necks having 8 strings each; Helms actually used an E13 tuning, which adds the Dominant 7th (D) and the 13th (C#) to the E tuning, making it B-D-E-G#-B-C#-E-G#, low to high. C6 is also used by Western Swing pedal steel guitarists on their 10-string pedal steels. This tuning is difficult to achieve on the 6-string steel. A6 is a commonly-used alternate for C6.

The E7 tuning is used by many players, especially those who cut their teeth on the Mel Bay Steel Guitar Method instructional books. The E7 tuning in those books is spelled either B-D-E-G#-B-E or with the 6th string lowered to the tonic E: E-D-E-G#-B-E. Note the similarity of this second tuning to the open E tuning above: the only difference is the 5th string, which is lowered from the tonic E to the Dominant 7th note in the key of E, which is D.

There are many other tunings used by players. Pedal Steel guitarists switching over to lap steel often bring over a modified version of the 10-string E9 tuning that is the standard for Country pedal steel; pedal steels, and a few non-pedal "table steels" actually have multiple necks, each in a different tuning, and very often on a pedal steel the 2 main necks will be in E9 and C6 tunings. As noted under the C6 tuning, an A6 tuning is also used.

See the Links below for a list of additional tunings.

Manufacturers

This list is incomplete. Please add to it.

See also

External links

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