So I bought an old Airline lap steel...now what do I do?

[kelnet]

Yes, you COULD just tune it to an open chord and "go" as some say, and wank away and slide up and down with some heavily overdriven tunes in a wannabee bottleneck rock/blues 12 bar progression ...

...

Hey, isn't that what most of us do with our regular guitars?

 

[milocj]

Sorry it took so long to get back to this thread. My modem gave out about 2 hours after the TDPRI went down on Sunday and it took a couple of days to get a replacement and get everything hooked back up and connected.

I like you're Vibrolux and Reverb Tank very much! look like the Airline has a good plane for takeoff...

Thanks. That amp is probably my favorite and I'm really lucky to have managed to get my hands on it.

Check out the videos from Cindy Cashdollar. She's the Best!!!

Actually, I think seeing her perform in some NAAM videos is what really started me thinking that I might like to try playing a lap steel.

Yes, you COULD just tune it to an open chord and "go" as some say, and wank away and slide up and down with some heavily overdriven tunes in a wannabee bottleneck rock/blues 12 bar progression ...

....OR you COULD explore the rich history of the instrument, the many tunings, the role it had in early western swing and country music, the huge and beautiful cannon of Hawaiian music and learn to really play it....

Unfortunately most people choose the first option, untill they get bored and then tuck the instrument away in a closet for eight years..

Actually, I'm kind of afraid that this is what will happen if I don't try to sit down and learn it "properly". I've been gassing for a lap steel for a couple of years and always managed not to buy one since I figured I might not dedicate the time to one. This one was for sale locally for about three weeks and I finally couldn't stand not going to look at it.

Does anybody know where I might find a volume knob for it? I suppose I'll have to get a repro that is close because it's pretty small in diameter, has a little bit different shape to it, and has a little crescent moon on it for the indicator.

If it has a Valco pickup does that mean that it was made by Valco? Would some other brands possibly use the same knob if I can find a parts steel?

 

[voodoo_idol]

If it has a Valco pickup does that mean that it was made by Valco? Would some other brands possibly use the same knob if I can find a parts steel?

Yes, the whole guitar was made by Valco for Montgomery Ward (Airline).

http://www.well.com/~wellvis/gitinfo.html

Scroll down to the National/Supro/Valco section for information on the various Valco brand names, and photos of some of the models. See also the sections for Alkire, Gretsch and Norman English. They also made some models for Oahu, Bronson, Dwight, and many others. The Gretsch Electromatic Standard has the same pickup as yours, but the control layout is different. Also, see the Supro Studio De Luxe and Studio Four models, which are more similar to your Airline.

Lollar has a lap steel pickup based on the Valco pickup:
http://www.lollarguitars.com/blog/tag/valco-lap-steel/

More images:
http://images.google.com/images?q=valco%20lap%20steel&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

 

[RomanS]

Congrats on your new old lap steel - I've got a Supro Supreme from 1952 with the same pickup - it's a screamer...

Unless you only want to play blues rock (--> open E) or bluegrass (--> open G), C6 is really the most versatile tuning for a 6-string lap steel, if only for the fact that unlike with open tunings you can play both full 3-note major and minor chords with a straight bar (with open tunings there's no way to do that!); true, C6 is really useful for Western Swing or Hawaiian sounds - but just don't play that string with the 6th of the scale, and it will be perfect for rock, blues, folk, whatever...

Those Cindy Cahsdollar-DVDs are great, but for an absolute beginner the Rob Haines "Anyone Can Play Lap Steel" DVD from Melbay is even better. Oh, and save your money and do NOT get the DeWitt Scott "Basic C6th Lap Steel Method" book - not really a "method" that will teach you how to play along with a band or back up a singer, it will only show you how to play the melody of a few old-fashioned songs!

As for strings, you can order specialised C6 sets from www.steelguitarforum.com .

Do you already have a bar? Lots of lap steel players favor bullet bars, I personally prefer the Shubb SP2, which is like a Stevens/dobro bar with a grip, but has a bullet nose for easier slanting and single-note playing.
Most people use fingerpicks for playing lap steel (though there are a few bare-fingered players, too...) - if you are not used to them, they will feel a bit uncomortable at first; I tried pretty much every finger pick type in existence (Dunlop, National, ProPik, brass, steel, nickel-silver, plastic, etc.) - and BY FAR the best ones are these made by a guy on the SGF: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=155067&start=250 - they don't slip on your fingers, and feel very comfortable, no pinching!

 

[Mojohand40]

---
Those Cindy Cahsdollar-DVDs are great, but for an absolute beginner the Rob Haines "Anyone Can Play Lap Steel" DVD from Melbay is even better.

Rob Haines DVD is too simplistic, in my opinion. It teaches the very, very basics of the instrument. Things like guitar cables, bars, etc. Cindy's stuff is more challenging, but she does show scales, blocking etc. as well as scale exercises. I would say there is nothing in the Haines DVD that ISN'T covered in Cashdollar's.

---
Oh, and save your money and do NOT get the DeWitt Scott "Basic C6th Lap Steel Method" book - not really a "method" that will teach you how to play along with a band or back up a singer, it will only show you how to play the melody of a few old-fashioned songs!

I HIGHLY disagree. Scotts' book shows scales, string pairs,music theory as it applies to c6, riffs, harmonics etc. Definitely a good book that does more then teach the melody of a few old fashioned songs.


Everything else you posted I agree with.

-

 

[Dennis Layne]

Everything that's been said is good advice. The world of non-pedal steel is very broad, just like the world of guitar. So, the first question that you need to ponder is: what style or sound do you want to tackle first? What is the steelin' that you hear in your mind? That will help you choose a starting point and a single tuning. You can't really get rolling until that decision has been made. If you've got the knack, other tunings will come. Or, maybe you'll be lucky and never need a 2nd tuning.

BTW, that should be a great-sounding steel. I've owned several of that model over the last 30 years.

 

[GopherTele]

Another tip--take the time to learn to use fingerpicks.

It sucks hard at first and you will feel like you can't play at all.

But stick with it.

I play in C6 for my rockabilly band and just got another lap steel for my more marketable rock/country band where I plan on wanking big-time in open E.

Another thing to remember is that for C6 tuning, you don't tune all of the strings to pitch. Some are tuned flat and some sharp. I don't have it in front of me, but Cindy mentions this in her video and it is crucial to playing in tune.

 

[Dave Hicks]

Rob Haines DVD is too simplistic, in my opinion. It teaches the very, very basics of the instrument. Things like guitar cables, bars, etc. ...-

I've got the Haines DVD and also found it rather frustrating. What worked better for me for C6 was the Georgeboards series. For open E and G, methods for slide guitar (or dobro, I suppose) are helpful. There's also a Bob Brozman video (Homespun) on open tunings for blues.

I will also second the Shubb bar with a grip. I feel even more clumsy than usual with a bullet bar. (But I don't use fingerpicks because I hate crawling under furniture, so my opinion on this might not be worth much.)

D.H.

 

[P-Zilla]

I am going to marry Cinday Cashdollar one day.

And if your pickup needs rewinding get Lollar to do it!

 

[Mojohand40]

I've got the Haines DVD and also found it rather frustrating. What worked better for me for C6 was the Georgeboards series. For open E and G, methods for slide guitar (or dobro, I suppose) are helpful. There's also a Bob Brozman video (Homespun) on open tunings for blues....

Yeah, I had one of the George Boards videos and it was surprisingly good. He presents his stuff simply, yet there is a lot to be learned from re watching it, especially when it comes to getting good tones. George Boards is a good one!

I have the first of the Brozman DVDs for blues. Very good stuff for blues there, especially acoustic.

-

 

[RomanS]

Yeah, I had one of the George Boards videos and it was surprisingly good. He presents his stuff simply, yet there is a lot to be learned from re watching it, especially when it comes to getting good tones. George Boards is a good one!

Well, seems that our preferences are polar opposites - I have the whole GeorgeBoard series, and found them completely useless... No tabs, and way too fast to follow without tabs; and that GeorgeBoards blues rock DVD with that terribly fizzy tone is still giving me nightmares once in a while...

 

[Poppatwang]

I use a modified E7. Low to high C#, D, E, G#, B, E. The 6 & 7 on the bottom are mainly
for chording & I do most melody work on the top 4. I get a lot of mileage out of this but
you have to use a lot of bar slants. You can do a I, VI, IV, V progression with slants
pivoting off of one (virtual) fret.

 

[SlideGuy123]

I prefer open G (actually I use Gsus4 - basically G with a C on top), but I'm coming from a banjo background. I've started to mess with open D.

In any case, there's lots of inspiration on YouTube - search for Jackson Browne and David Lindley for some cool stuff. You've got a decent instrument -- I have the same pickup on my Supro Jet Airliner, and it screams.

I agree with what others have said - pick a tuning, get a tone bar (I also like the Shubb SP2) and get 2 fingerpicks (I like Dunlop) and a thumbpick (Dunlop or National). Remember to let your fingers trail behind the bar. And join us on the Steel Guitar Forum in the Steel Without Pedals section.

 

[milocj]

The steel did come with a Stevens bar, but both ends are the same and kind of slanted...not what I would consider rounded. It still saved me some money out of the gate.

I don't do well with finger picks on a guitar, though I think I might be able to use them working over the top of the strings on the lap steel. I'll have to go out and grab a couple. I actually think I may have more trouble with a thumb pick since I use a flat pick and bare fingers if I have to when I play guitar.

The pickup sounds great with what little I have been able to do with it, especially with just a touch of the Xotic AC Booster in front of the amp.

 

[RomanS]

If you are not used to thumbpicks, maybe try the Fred Kelly Slick Pick - that one has a much smaller tip than most thumbpicks, which IMHO makes it easier to use for players who are used to flatpicks...

 

[m1bobby]

I bought the exact Airline Lap steel in Austin about 4 years ago and just recently have started playing it. I purchased a volume pedal (Ernie Ball VP passive, model 6180). I purchased the Lap steel for about $235. I don't know if I paid too much but I'm enjoying playing it. My lap steel is the same color and the wear is about the same. I also don't know which tuning to use. I like both rock/blues and country and I play in a band here in the DFW area and yes we play rock and country. So I need to decide what tuning to use.

 

[Chud]

If you're not too far from Pontiac,I've got some lesson material that might help.Coffee's always on..

Papa Joe's always the coolest.

 

[charlie chitlin]

Same pickup as my Supro.
Zzzzzzzzzzing!
VERY sensitive to pole height adjustments.

 

[Tidepoolbay]

I have the same one.
They are a lot of fun.

I play mine through a Fender Bronco with the distortion on. Great!

Woof!

 

[MrTwang]

Unless I've missed it, nobody has mentioned A6 as an alternative to C6. This is (low to high) C# E F# A C# E

If you are interested in old country or swing/jazz - even blues - I found it easier to relate to than C6. The basic chord is the same as if you were playing standard A shape, so it's a D on the 5th fret, an E on the 7th fret which I find easier to get my head round and not lose my place.

You can do everything on A6 that you can do on C6.