I am getting on my feet financially again and have decided to learn new skills and have liked to sounds of the lap steel for a while. After doing some searching I’ve decided on a Recording King RG-31. It looks to be a decent guitar for a more than decent price.
I will be working in very remote Alaska for at least 6 weeks at a time so lessons and the internet will not be available. I have a tablet that I can download lessons though.
I have no musical training. I like the sounds of blues and country, basically making the guitar cry to me.
Any insights and help is much appreciated.
Get some of these.
Read this and follow some of the links. Also this.
Some good lessons here.
Strongly consider getting an 8 string, not a 6. If you ever want to make the jump to pedal it will help a lot. The tunings commonly used are a bit different.
The most useful overall 6 string tuning is C6. Here’s a great primer. This is the best book I’ve found for it. This is the second best.
Open G is mostly used for rock. Open E or D is mostly for bluesy stuff. To play the cryin’ singin’ swingin’ and island you really need that C6 tuning. *
*you can play all the styles with a variety of tunings. But they’re different tunings for a reason.
Are there any recommendations for a beginner 8 string? I haven’t found recent raves about a good blend of affordable and quality.
When I get back into town it will be for a limited time so e-bay or craigslist isn’t a sure thing.
picker knows this stuff better than me; all I can say is best of luck.
I don’t play lap steel; I play a standard guitar in Open G - I avoid multiple open tunings, use Open G for Stones tunes, and well - there ya go. For me, when I was just starting with slide, questions about C6 vs. 8-string were over my head (again, listen to picker before me, okay). I just would tune to Open G, play some Stones rhythm riffs (no slide), and then cautiously pull out my slide and go from open strings to 5th fret, then 12th fret, then 7th - a standard rock/blues I, IV, V chord structure (if you don’t know this jargon, don’t worry, you’ll hear it when you play it).
Sticking with that approach kept things simple and got me moving towards better slide technique - muting strings with my non-slide fingers and picking palm, etc…
Again - best of luck.
Honestly, for getting started the Rogue lap steel is pretty good. And you can’t beat the price. I’ve got 3 in my studio.
This is a nice 8 string. This is even nicer.
Don’t forget you will need an amp. A small combo with built in reverb will be fine.
You might want to look into a volume pedal. If you want to start cryin’, a volume pedal is a must. A nice digital delay helps too, but not as important.
And don’t forget, you want a bullet bar, not a dobro style or glass/metal slide. I often keep a Pearse (half round/half dobro style) around as well.
What is a good tuner for an 8 string? Surprisingly we have the net up here, not fast or reliable but far better than nothing!
Well, since it’s a lap steel, a chromatic tuner would be the most useful. Lots of people make chromatic tuners, I use a Boss TU-3. It’s not the greatest tuner in the world, but it’s easy to use, fairly clear to read, and durable. My only complaint is it’s notation. To indicate a sharp, it puts a dot next to the note name, which isn’t the most obvious method of indicating that. (e.g. “C#” becomes “C.”)