My First, But Not Last

[Paul Lafountaine]

OK guys don't laugh to hard eh! This is my first build and it was done with a minimum of materials and tools. I choose a 23.5" scale and 8 strings. The body is made of a chunk of fir, the fretboard is poplar, and the bridge and nut were made out of some pieces of aluminum I had lying around. The pickups came off of an old electric guitar I had and I staggered them for the 8 strings. The only items I purchased were the tuners and strings. The pickups are wired directly to the output as I did not use a volume and tone control till I could see how it sounds.

I am quite pleased with the sound. I had a bit of a tinny wound on the second string, but after cleaning up the groves on the nut and bridge it seems to have cleared up. The sustain is really good and seems to go on forever.

I intend to wait until the weather is warmer and I can get into my shed were I have access to more tools and a work bench. I must admit the pool table in the wreck room didn't work to bad though.

Here are a few pictures. If the fretboard and pickups look a little crocked they are. I have not mounted the solidly as I still have some finish to do.

[azureskys]

Congradulations on your first , i think it looks great , keep up the good work . Russ

[Paul Lafountaine]

Thanks for the kind words Russ. If it wasn't winter time I think I could have done better with access to a few more tools. I was really getting anxious to do something. I'm surprised, it actually sounds better than I thought for something quickly slapped together.

[Dave-M]

Nice job, Paul. What tuning are you using?

Can anyone tell me why PSGs have no tone and volume controls, but practically all the lap steels one sees seem to have them?

[Paul Lafountaine]

Thanks Dave, I am using a C6 tuning. From highest to lowest G,E,C,A,G,E,C,A. It's to bad my playing sucks or I would have included a sound sample. I currently have the pickups wired directly to the jack input with out the tone and volume control. The way it sounds I may not even wire them up. I have a volume pedal and the tone can be handled by the amp, just set it and forget it.

Paul

[Dave-M]

Thanks for the info, Paul.

I think Jr. Brown uses almost the same tuning, but with an A# on the eighth to supply dominant 7th. Only half a step higher! Maybe you could try it and let me know if you like it.

I am in the process of making a console from scrap wood and aluminum, and will try Jr's tuning too.

Did you ground the strings to the pickup jack?

I have Don Helm's book, "Your Cheatin' Heart" by DeWitt Scott, that gives an interesting perspective on ECAGEC six string. Actually it is on E13th, which is similar, but tuned higher.

[Paul Lafountaine]

Hi Dave, I'll have to try the Jr. Brown tuning just to see what it is like. As I said earlier on the forum, I purchased my first lap steel last November so I am still pretty new to this. It is a 6 string and the tuning I am using is E, C, A, G, E, C from high to low the same as Don Helms. The 8 string that I built pretty much has the same tuning except for the first and eighth strings. This allows me to play what little I know on the middle six strings and gives me a little more range I guess. I have no formal musical training and can't read music other than tabs.

I really wish you luck with the build of your console. However, it strikes me you have a lot more experience at this than I have from what I have read on the forum. The idea of using what is readily available for materials is what I like.

Paul

[Paul Lafountaine]

Hi Dave me again. I did ground the the strings to the ground on the jack. It is funny that with the strings, bridge or nut not making contact with the pickup, it still needs to be grounded.

Paul

[Georg]

It is funny that with the strings, bridge or nut not making contact with the pickup, it still needs to be grounded.

That is why, as free-floating metal parts will act as "antennas" and transfer ambient noise unhindered to the PU coil. The PU do pick up all variations in the EM field the strings are in, or else you wouldn't have a signal to amplify.

Best to ground the strings only at the bridge-end to prevent ground-loops, but usually not a problem to ground all as you have.

[Dave-M]

Hi Paul:
I am not a pro, nor a good player, but I have found that I can convert tunes from piano music into numerics. Then with aid of a neck layout in numerics, I play in one key (C) with relative offsets the same for any key. Just start at a different fret for other keys.

You know that the major C scale is
C . D . E F . G . A . B C
1 . 2 . 3 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 1
where the dots are sharps or flats.
None between E & F or B & C.

The lower line on the treble clef is E and on the bass clef is G. Count up lines and spaces in whole steps. They tell you if notes are sharped or flatted from normal with # and b signs.
If you check out key signatures (online maybe) you can tell which location is #1, or root note.