8 String Lap Steel

 

I usually tune my steel guitars to D6 with G bass (G B D F# A B D F#). The Bohlen-Pierce tuning below uses the same string gauges with a BP fretboard designed by Andy DePaule.  I simply place the fretboard over the standard one and retune to play in BP.

If you use a Peterson Strobe HD tuner, you can install the BP tuning table from the “Uncategorized” list at petersontuners.com/sweeteners/shared.  That’s a lot easier than eyeballing the cents numbers on a traditional electronic tuner.

BP note 12 EDO Tuning
H F -39
G Eb +14
F C +22
Db Ab -17
C Gb +37
A D -2
H Bb -41
F F +20

 

 

Here’s some ambient music played on it:

“Blessed Peace”

2 Comments

  1. Hi Bob,
    Looks interesting. Do you remember the string gauges you used for this?
    Might be a good idea to publish the drawing of the fretboard so others can print it out to try?
    I’ll send you those files when I wake up a little more.
    Is that lap steel a 24.25″ scale?
    The lap steel I made my own fretboard for is a 22.5″ scale.
    Best wishes,
    Andy

  2. My string gauges for this lap steel are .013 .015 .018 .020 .026 .034 .038 .050.

    Yes, it is a 24.25″ scale.

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