|
Home > Lap Steels > Available
Alligator Lap Steel #3 - sold
Modeled on the Fender 8-string Stringmaster and Deluxe steels featuring 2 pickups with volume, tone, and blend for dialing in the perfect tone for any mix. The pickups are handwound with reverse polarity on one to create a humbucking effect when both are balanced. These are very sweet sounding instruments and great looking as well. Gotoh tuners for smooth and accurate tuning.
This #3 is an 8 string model with Gotoh tuners, a set of reverse-wound-reverse polarity pickups from United Luthierie. Stanless steel nut and aluminum bridge/tailpiece. Volume, tone, and blend controls. Carved from 3 pieces of Douglas fur for light weight and rich tone. Hand-painted fingerboard. 
Builder's Notes: Alligator Lap Steel no. 3 (023-09-3) [sold]
I flipped for the Fender Stringmaster sound: 24 inch scale; 8 strings; 2 pickups with blend control. I’d doodled the design years ago and jumped to a challenge to build something from the old floorboards of the United Luthierie building in Jacksonville, Ohio. These were oak joists 2 inches thick, 12 inches wide and over 100 years old. There were some problems working around the wet-rot, the nails, etc. but a challenge is a challenge and all worked out great in the end. I built the first 2 gators from that stash of wood. This third one was built from Douglas fir and sings just great. If I can dig out some cleaner boards from the United Luthierie stash, I’ll work with that again. I discovered the blend pot while putting these together and have now put into several 6 strings. It lets you find the tone you need for any mix. I had to fabricate the hardware for these beasts myself. I cut the nuts out of a rod of stainless steel I scavenged from an old computer printer and the bridges out of an aluminum door frame. Tedious work, but good results. |