Horseshoes from lap steel -> bass?

[Zentner]

Having a little trouble finding which will work and which will not...





Were the pickups put into lap steels EVER the same as they put into the basses?

Is the one above suitable to fit a ric bass, and is it in fact the same pickup they would have put into a bass, or are just the shoes similar and the rest of the pieces all different?

Any suggestions as to a fair price for this piece, and whether it's worth tearing apart, or better to leave as is?

Thanks!

Kevin

[rickfan60]

That one will work but it is one of the less common models. I would be inclined to let it live. Just my $.02

The magnets and base plate are the same as the ones used in the bass horseshoe pickup. The only thing different is the 4 pole bobbin.

[johnallg]

If you need magnetic shoes, and have to use a lap, this one is way too rare to alter. Look for a student model lap, like an Electro from the early 60s. But somewhere there will be a lap player wailing when you do....

When I took the shoes off my Electro, I put a bridge higain magnet under the coil and it sounds so close to the sound with the shoes that I kept it and am *trying* to learn to play good lap steel guitar. So far it is questionable....

Check out the Lap Steel forum: http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=26

[rickfan60]

I can only make whale sounds with mine.

[johnallg]

I can only make whale sounds with mine.

I can sorta sound like a really bad and drunk blues player.

[byu]

Spare the lap steels. Say no to cannibalism.

[johnallg]

Spare the lap steels. Say no to cannibalism.

Bill, I have to agree, and I also espoused that philosophy, but when I bought a '62 Electro student model and found out I had a LOT to learn to be proficient, the temptation to take the shoes was too great. It made a bass I had never bonded with one of my favorite two. And putting a bridge higain magnet under the lap coil made the lap sound almost as good - a bass plastic cover completed the "illusion" of originality. Since I am keeping the lap (ever the optimist!) I do not feel I have hurt anything.

But I cannot justify harvesting magnetic shoes from Rickenbacker steels at all, or even Electros that will be flipped after the shoe-ectomy.