10 String Lapsteel - New Yorker Style

[Mark G]

Hello all,
I know mainly acoustic instruments appear here but I thought I'd share my latest completed instrument, a custom 10 string electric lapsteel guitar in the style of a National New Yorker. The brief was to create a travel capable instrument for a pedal steel player that he could easily cart around as he works interstate and beyond. I was asked to build it compact, to include a bottle opener and perhaps a cavity to store the slide and the rest was up to me. I have always loved the deco style of the old New Yorker guitars so thought it might suit this to a tea. The body and neck is made from 1 piece of quartersawn Tasmanian Blackwood, the fretboard is ebony as are the cavity plates which are recessed into the top of the guitar. The two front cavity plates are held in place by magnets. It has an aluminium nut and custom machined polished aluminium bridge - a really top gent at a Sydney tool shop offered to make this for me at a very reasonable rate rather tahn use my drill press as a mill. (I can share his details if anyone needs something done.) The pickup is made by Mick Brierly in South Australia - a real pleasure to do business with. Wired with a standard tone and volume pot, cloth pushback wiring with sprague orange drop caps. Inlays are split parallelogram mother of pearl and paua with the logo from MOP as well with typography with the help of my kids helping daddy design the guitars - I think their ideas look just perfect. Tuners are Grovers. Finish is 851 Durobond Nitrocellulose lacquer. Case is an aluminium gun case with custom cut foam and satin lining. Hope you like it.

[Kamusur]

Uhh yeah, that looks mighty damned fine Mark. So many nice things to comment on, you don't see too many of these.
Very nice

Steve

[Nick]

"to include a bottle opener" Now there's a request you don't usually hear when building stringed instruments
Nice, I like this build and the inlays fit well within the New Yorker theme

[Allen]

Damn.....I like that.

[DarwinStrings]

Nice!

Jim

[colburge]

Wow, man that is cool!

Col

[kiwigeo]

Unfortunately there's a sad end to this story: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6415

I hope this beautiful instrument turns up Mark.

[Mark G]

Just wanted to make sure that everyone knows this guitar did finally make it to it's new owner. Not sure how many Auspost workers had a play while it was missing but it arrived safely in the end.

[Woodsy23]

Is it too late to see a picture of the bottle opener that was included?
Nice lap steel.

[Hard Road]

Beautiful work, among the best I have ever seen

[Kamusur]

Glad to hear that it was located and finally made it to its rightful and surely relieved owner.

Steve

[Mark G]

Here is the brilliant bottle opener. Let the buyer beware (as I wasn't) it was made of hardened stainless steel. I started trying to dill holes for mounting screws and failed, ended up taking to the machinist who did the bridge and he did it - had to buy a set of fancy bits to do the job though which he did for nothing - top guy.