Bluestem Strings FAQs

The obligatory "Frequently Asked Questions" page.

Bluestem Strings frequently asked questions
OK, so here's the obligatory frequently asked questions area. I have e-mailed answers to some of these questions multiple times, so the answer to your question may just be found here.

How do I order an instrument?
First thing is to decide what you want. You can look through this site for examples of some of the designs and options available on my lap steels.
After you have decided on exactly what you desire, you can e-mail me by using the contact information located at the bottom of this page. I'll outline the purchase process and provide an estimate as to when the instrument will be ready to ship. After your lap steel is completed, I'll send a link to photos of the finished instrument. If it meets your satisfaction, you send payment in the form of bank check, Postal money order, or personal check. I send instruments out as soon as payment is received, if personal check is used as soon as payment clears my bank.

How long is the wait for a new instrument?
Generally instruments take around 4 weeks once an order has been placed. This can be a little shorter or longer depending where I'm at in my current work load.

Why do your instruments lack tone controls?
The tone control is generally omitted from my lap steels for a number of reasons. First, most people tend to never use them. They take up space on the guard and are often in the way when the volume knob is used for swells. All of the players I know and many I’ve conversed with prefer to have all of the tone that a pickup generates available to the amp, where they can choose to adjust the tonality if desired. The normal tone control is subtractive, in that you can only remove some of the highs, so nothing is added. It also adds to the cost. I’m attempting to put out an instrument that is a solid value at an affordable price, so it’s a balancing act between “nice to have” items and features that I truly think make a quality instrument, not superfluous bells and whistles. They can be added at an additional cost if you really think you need one, but just like you decided that 6" riser blocks really weren’t the right thing for your AMC Pacer, reconsider if you think you need a tone control.

What pickup should I use?
Pickup selection is dependant on a number of factors. Desired sound is obviously #1, but number of strings, string spacing, and the desire for a hum cancelling type of pickup are also contributing factors in the selection process. If 2" string spacing is used at the bridge, the strings will be more or less centered over the pole pieces of "standard" guitar pickups. This will allow less expensive off-the-shelf pickups to be used for 6 string lap steel, with many single coil and hum cancelling pickups to choose from.
My standard model lap steel is equipped with my own 6 pole split single hum cancelling pickup. It is simply the best sounding pickup I've heard, but without the noise of a single coil. I also offer standard off-the-shelf pickups at a slightly reduced cost.

Players who desire wider string spacing at the bridge will need to have a custom pickup installed, and if you desire more than six strings then you will need a pickup with the appropriate number of poles. These are available from many fine custom makers such as Jason Lollar or Jerry Wallace, and are also available from my own series of 6 and 8 pole split single hum cancelling pickups.

Single coil designs
Most single coil pickups fall within two basic design styles. These are the P-90 design as first produced by Gibson and the standard single coil pickups seen on most Fender guitar models. Standard Fender style pickups are too brash for me as a general rule, and I prefer not to use them on my lap steels. All single coil pickups (unless they are specifically designed as "noiseless" single coils) have the possibility of picking up 60 cycle hum from power lines and other RF noise from computer monitors, etc. Normally this is not a problem, and only becomes an issue if you like lots of gain in the preamp stages of your amplifier. This would normally be done to give the classic distorted rock or blues sound. There are many variations within the single coil genre, mostly having to do with magnets used and/or coil construction. The standard Fender style single coil pickup is tall and narrow which normally contributes to lots of aggressive high end. As coils become shorter and wider there is correspondingly less high end with mid-range and bottom end become more pronounced. This is exactly the configuration of the P-90, and is why I think it produces such a pleasing tonality when used on the lap steel.

Hum cancelling designs
Hum cancelling pickups are a different animal altogether. The humbucker is made from 2 coils, generally arranged one in front of the other. The pickup is magnetically and electrically designed to reproduce string vibrations, but also cancel out any induced hum or RF interference. To accomplish this, both coils are connected together electrically. Without delving into the details, suffice it to say the down side of this is some degradation of the sonic texture of the guitar. A variation of this design referred to as a split humbucker allows one of the coils to be bypassed with a switch to simulate a single coil sound. It can sound close to a single coil pickup, but by nature of the individual coil design it does not produce the tone or output of a good single coil design. When used in its hum cancelling mode it does cancel 60 cycle hum and most RFI, but also somewhat reduces the harmonic structure of the signal.

Another option are hum cancelling pickups that look like single coils. Many of these are "stacked" coil designs that can be used in hum cancelling or single coil mode. A step forward, but there's a substantial tradeoff in the tone department. It's still true that you don't get something for nothing, but you can use them in hum cancelling mode when the beer sign is just too close for comfort or switch to single coil mode if you like hum and noise.

Another possibility is to use two individual single coil pickups in a hum cancelling arrangement with one of the pickups magnetically and electrically reversed. This is the same arrangement that permits the humbucker to do its thing, the only difference being that the pickups can be physically further apart from each other. An example is the classic Stringmaster pickup arrangement. The shorter scale lap steels have a limited amount of room between the fretboard end and the bridge pickup with little room for an additional pickup at the neck position. This really isn't much of an issue with the 22-1/2" scale instruments, as I prefer to pick in the open area between the fretboard and the bridge pickup and don't want a second pickup by the fretboard getting in my way.

To complicate the issue further, occasionally the specialized "split single coil" design is utilized. Two shorter coils are used, each acting as a pickup for 1/2 of the total number of strings. Since two coils are used, they can be wired in a hum cancelling configuration while still retaining most of the qualities of a good single coil design. Most of these are built to be contained in a standard single coil form factor cover and the nature of their design forces compromise in the tone.
I am winding my own version of the split single coil hum cancelling design utilizing two staggered coils as standard equipment on my guitars. I'm very much impressed with the sound of this combination which yields a very nice cross between the overwound single coil and P-90 tone, but without the noise. The individual coils are wider and shorter and utilize Alnico 5 pole pieces in a through the coil configuration. These pickups have high output, slightly reduced high end, increased bass and mids, and increased tonal complexity.
You can hear this pickup demonstrated in the MP3 file found HERE .
The MP3 just doesn't do it proper justice, but you can get a general idea, especially if you listen compared to other pickup types in the longer demonstration MP3 at the end of this section.

My suggestion at present?
If cost is an issue, I'd say go for a P-90 set approximately 2" from the bridge position as a good overall solution to the pickup dilemma. Plenty of output to your amp and loads of tone, but hum can be a problem under certain conditions. If hum cancelling is of prime importance due to using your lap steel in a electrically noisy environment and using high gain or overdrive, I'd say go for a standard overwound high output humbucker with a coil cut switch to have the single coil sound option available to use if you so desire. It's not very "single coil sounding", but it's a fair approximation in most cases.

Me personally? After using the split single coil hum cancelling design, I've seen the light and ain't going back! Great tone, high output, and very little to no hum. What more could you ask for?

An MP3 pickup demonstration found HERE includes all of the following:

Overwound single coil at start of play

Split single humbucker at 13 seconds (See lap steel #6463 for an example of this pickup)

Series connected humbucker at 26 seconds

Parallel connected humbucker at 40 seconds

Coil cut humbucker at 54 seconds

P-90 at 1 minute 7 seconds

What does the split single hum cancelling pickup sound like?
The true sound of an instrument can be judged a little more accurately when it is heard in relation to other instruments, so here's a quick "my Dad's version" of Blue Hawaii with background guitar and bass thrown in. It was done sitting right in front of my computer (NO hum, totally quiet) with only a splash of reverb, no equalization. It opens with a strum to demo the entire lap, and is played bare finger with a Stevens steel.
Click HERE for Blue Hawaii.
I’m confused! What's the consensus on string spacing?
In regard to string spacing at the bridge, the standard 2” spacing as found on most off-the-shelf pickups works out nicely for 6 string lap steels and allows plenty of picking room for the right hand. String spacing at the bridge becomes more of an issue when going to 8 strings or more, with opinions on bridge spacing all over the place. Some folks prefer the wider spacing as found on many vintage lap steels while others prefer narrower spacing, most likely due to already being comfortable with pedal steel guitar spacing.

String spacing at the nut is more of an issue with most folks preferring 3/8" spacing. The 3/8” spacing on six string lap steels allow the strings to have more or less uniform spacing along the entire string length which many believe makes for easier bar slants. Narrower spacing at both the nut and the bridge are more acceptable to pedal steel players as wider spacing becomes rather unwieldy when there are 10 or more strings involved. Since I don't use many bar slant techniques, I actually prefer slightly narrower 11/32" spacing at the nut. I believe this makes for a "faster" feel for styles that require lots of single note playing combined with lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs. Narrower string spacing at the nut also contributes to more of the regular guitar look, which I find to be more aesthetically pleasing. But that's just me...YMMV.
Occasionally I do build instruments with narrower spacing at the nut as it feels more natural for those who are coming from a standard guitar background and isn’t an issue if playing style doesn’t dictate the use of lots of bar slants over multiple strings.

To sum up the spacing issue:
I generally build my guitars with 3/8” string spacing at the nut because that’s what most folks seem to prefer. In practice I find it takes very little time to adjust to narrower string spacing at the nut.
Most of my steels are built with 13/32" string spacing at the bridge to accommodate commercial off-the-shelf pickups.
The difference of 1/32" between the nut and the bridge spacing is really quite imperceptible to most people, so these spacings really are a good basis for a standardized instrument.

There are so many lap steels to choose from..."What's a poor mother to do?
OK, so I haven't been asked that question in exactly that way, but the answer is still the same.

Your choices are generally to purchase a used instrument or put your dollars toward a new one. The type of music you ultimately want to play also influences your choice of instrument.

USED:
Many fine lap steels are available on the used market but be aware of the maintenance issues before purchasing, especially at a too good to be true price. Things to watch for are crumbling tuner buttons, worn gears, defective pickup, control pots, wiring, cracked or split body, etc. As long as you're willing to address these issues then an older instrument may suit your needs. Resale value will probably continue to increase with time if you care for your instrument.

NEW:
The availability of new lap steels today is quite broad in its scope, with instruments selling for anywhere from $50.00 to well over $1000.00. Many new players purchase one of the very inexpensive off-shore produced lap steels and somewhere there's a shop foreman saying "Only 1000 more guitars and you get the other ankle shackle removed and go back to your family!" Well, maybe not; but you get the picture. The cheap off-shore guitars are little more than tensioned strings stretched across a really cheap pickup. That also unfortunately describes the sound. You DO get what you pay for, with some being better than others. You can purchase one of these to test the waters, but you'll soon desire a better instrument if you're bitten by the steel bug.

Why consider a Bluestem lap steel?
Bluestem lap steels are built in my own shop using as many US sourced materials and parts as possible. The thing that ultimately sets any lap steel apart from the rest is tone, quality construction using the finest materials, and attention to detail.
My standard laps use my own split coil hum cancelling pickups to produce the ultimate in tone. They are my own design and I personally manufacture each set because I feel that is the best choice to produce the ultimate tone at an acceptable price. They have a rich (but not edgy) sound with lots of harmonic complexity, high output, and are at the same time very quiet.
I also use quality import pickups to produce excellent tone at a reasonable price point if cost is an issue.

Seriously, it is hard to produce an instrument in the U.S. when you can make more money per hour flipping burgers. The difference is one fills my stomach and the other fills my soul, and that's why I do it.

Laps are nice
The sound is great
Play one today
Don't hesitate
Burma Shave

More to come...
As time permits I'll continue to add information here as it pertains to Bluestem lap steels.
Thanks for stopping by!

Please visit my other website designed to provide information on musical instrument construction. There are free plans as well as construction tips and techniques available at the present time.

Rudy's Sketchbook of Musical Instrument Plans, Ideas, and Inspiration

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