Best Lap Steel Guitar (2024 Update)

While Ive been a professional musician for over 35 years as a guitarist, Ive never played lap steel, so I wanted a good first guitar that was solid yet affordable. This is it! Easy to play, sounds good, stays in tune. A great learning instrument that can also gig when Im proficient enough to do so. Thanks Rhonda Music!allerando

Be aware this will need some work. Raised pickup with more foam, leveled saddles, re-cut grooves, lowered bridge with pan head machine screws in place of adjustable posts. After all of that, it works great.melody1876

I have been a pedal steel player for many years. In my old age, I have become interested in the lap steel. It is a much more complex instrument than I expected. The Gretsch Electromatic is probably the nicest looking steel in it's price range, but there are some problems right out of the box. Keep in mind that I am talking only about my instrument. I cannot speak for others. First, the fretboard is plastic, and held in place with screws. The intonation is off slightly, (which can easily be compensated for by bar adjustment) and the fretboard, not being glued down, was bowed up off the base approx. 1/4 of an inch. This condition was easily taken care of with a little Super Glue. Next, the bridge cover had to be removed in order for me to hand block the strings. The bridge is very simple, but it looks okay, so that's not a big thing. And then there is the issue of the volume and tone knobs being too close to the position my right hand naturally takes when I play. This also interferes with string blocking. I am playing this instrument through a Boss ME-80 and into a Peavey Classic 50 2X12. I am very pleased and surprised at the wide range of sounds this little steel makes. The finish is blemish free and beautiful. It weighs less than I expected, but it stays nicely in place on my lap. All said, I am looking forward to the journey ahead, and learning to play the Lap Steel. The volume and tone both are responsive, and it sounds great. I can live with a few imperfections for what the Electromatic costs. I learned long ago that steak costs more than hamburger. I think it was a good buy.J Lindley

There are a gazillion of these everywhere on line. I bought one long ago for around $299 and that was too much I sent it back. The fret board is the cheapest PVC plastic. The looks is pretty good. That is about it. Five hundred bucks is way out of line. Recording Kings are a better instrument for half the price.wy03bay

It has nice tone with a few limitations. The tuners are very poor quality, it is Chinese made. The bridge is fixed, so there is no chance of fine tuning intonation or string height. If you lay the bar on the strings on the higher registers, the second and third lowest strings don't touch the bar without placing pressure on the bar, adding to the intonation problem. The finish is absolutely beautiful, high gloss and nice color. That being said, it could use moleskin or felt to keep it from sliding around on you lap. I used black adhesive backed felt, worked perfectly.cheswinster

Nicely built lap steel. Great sound. Way too much fun. If you are going to play country or Hawaiian you will need C6 strings made for that tuning. These wont work at all.wy03bay

Bought this for my wife as a second lap steel. I have bought the Recording King products before. This unit was not set up. The strings were floppy loose, that is okay as I restrung it. While putting new strings on I noticed the tuning machine were loose. All of the screws were stripped out and would not tighten. Started to send it back and decided to repair if and was successful. If we had not wanted to use it immediately, it would have gone back. Overall we like it and will continue to shop Musicians Friend.GWF

I bought this steel because friends decided to play Dark Side Of The Moon in it's entirety. I got to play all of the overdub parts and lap steel is featured on 2 songs. Fortunately for everybody David Gilmour's steel parts are simple to play. I took it right out of the box to rehearsal and was pleased as punch with the tone. It looks sharp, too. Just the perfect axe for that gig.Grey Haired Punk

Sounds Great. Balanced and not overly heavy, so it's very comfortable to play on lap. Beautiful to look at and stays consistently in tune.Ed

It's a great sounding lap. I've had many. Best 7 string I ever had. The price is very reasonable. It seems durable. Haven't had it out yet. But I really am attached to it.ridgely

Nicely built lap steel. Great sound. Way too much fun. If you are going to play country or Hawaiian you will need C6 strings made for that tuning. These wont work at all.wy03bay

Bought this for my wife as a second lap steel. I have bought the Recording King products before. This unit was not set up. The strings were floppy loose, that is okay as I restrung it. While putting new strings on I noticed the tuning machine were loose. All of the screws were stripped out and would not tighten. Started to send it back and decided to repair if and was successful. If we had not wanted to use it immediately, it would have gone back. Overall we like it and will continue to shop Musicians Friend.GWF

I'm also a dobro player. Had issues with getting the dobro loud enough for church praise band without feedback so I bought the Asher lap steel. Same scale length and string spacing as dobro and came with strings suitable for dobro tuning, Perfect fit. The tone is great with the neck pickup and neck/bridge pickups on but to my ears the bridge pickup alone is very thin and tinny sounding. Quality control issues: First thing I noticed right out of the box was that two of the tuner buttons rattled when I played it. Should be an easy fix by tightening the screws on the tuner buttons but these don't have any at all. Not sure how the buttons actually stay on. Anyway I used a little super glue on the two rattlers and that fixed the problem. I'll probably upgrade the tuners at some point but for $900+ after taxes I shouldn't have to. Also the plate around the output jack was loose and I had to tighten that up. No big deal but still…. Re stringing is a puzzler with the wrap around bridge. On the lower strings the ball end of the string wedges up against the plastic ring around the pickup making them difficult to change. There suggestion is to take the provided allen wrench and rais the bridge to make the strings easier to remove. Really? Raise and lower the bridge everytime you re string? Why not move the bridge pickup 1/8 up away from the bridge? It certainly isn't going to hurt the bridge pickup tone any…. Anyway, it is a good instrument that I plan on keeping forever, just keep in mind that it won't be perfect. Oh, the gig bag is very nice. Sturdy and nicely padded.cb56

Honestly… This instrument is very nice for someone learning to play lap steel. Drop the conservative amount now and as time prevails upgrades can be made to make this guitar road worthy. The tuners are cheap and are not going to withstand someone who is gigging. And of course… The pickups aren't going to give you that HOT sound most desire. These are an easy fix and you will be left with a great steel that will withstand many great performances. I would highly recommend the Junior to anyone that is still developing technique and style. Hope this helps…TOE

good solid feel. Decent tuners well worth. the price paid. I wish it shipped with the hard case…even if it added to the price. Being a dobroplayer, bluegrass style, the feel is very close to the same. this works out well with a gospel group im now helping out. where behind the barn dobro sound just don't fit. my guitar is teamed up with a Fender mustang 3…. man what a pair! 🙂 I am sure this guitar will handle the road just fine! 🙂Jerry Douglas want to be....

Pros; fairly well made from a nice piece of American swamp ash, it sounds good, and plays as it should, great price. Cons; I don't like the set of the bridge posts. Worst part; made in China…slytone1

Nicely made. I did change strings as suggested by instructor. Has a nice case and everything went together well. Will be a challenge to learn…a lot to concentrate on while playing…good fun for an old man's brain..records1320

After waiting seven days for this instrument, and having been very pleased with the Recording King banjo I'd received from another online retailer-since MF is still out of stock on that item- I was excited about the impending arrival. After retrieving the instrument from where the UPS driver left it in the 100 degree sun without calling me (I was home) to pick it up (or even honking), I unpacked the hot box, tuned up the steel, plugged it in and…NOTHING!! Turned out to be a loose/unsoldered wire. BOO!! I shall be slow, if ever, to order again.CWolf1966

first issue: the guitar you receive will have a solid head, not the slotted head in the photo. I have been playing mine on gigs for around 3 years. I recently replaced the pickup with a Rick style toaster p'up, new cts pots, a .033 mfd p.i.o. capacitor. Best sounding lap steel around.Red Buddy

This guitar comes with a gig bag and legs. It has a sweet tone that will gives you the enjoyment and fun of playing a steel guitar.quane

Beautiful looking instrument well designed and easy to play ,with or without with the ashtray cover .Lovely warm tone made all the better with a little reverb.Is a nice weight to play on the lap rather than on a stand.A very classy lap steel.brianbarke

needed it to get in touch with my "da kine" roots. mahalo. sounds great, stays in tune, a pleasure to play and easy on my makas.Leighton

The hard part is finding one of these. I have had about every lap steel up to this price. But the Gold Tones have a really nice clean sound. I prefer Hawaiian and country sound. These are beautiful for that. It sits nicely on you lap and easy to play with the string spacing.walt

Beautiful looking instrument well designed and easy to play ,with or without with the ashtray cover .Lovely warm tone made all the better with a little reverb.Is a nice weight to play on the lap rather than on a stand.A very classy lap steel.brianbarke

needed it to get in touch with my "da kine" roots. mahalo. sounds great, stays in tune, a pleasure to play and easy on my makas.Leighton

The hard part is finding one of these. I have had about every lap steel up to this price. But the Gold Tones have a really nice clean sound. I prefer Hawaiian and country sound. These are beautiful for that. It sits nicely on you lap and easy to play with the string spacing.walt

I bought this as a Stupid Deal of the Day. I wasn't expecting great quality — just a serviceable instrument. Alas, even there I was disappointed. There were minor annoyances like absolutely no documentation — no manual in the box; no manual on-line; nothing. I still don't know what the little allen wrench that came with it is for. When I picked up one of the legs it fell apart. There is a press-to-fit collar that holds the screw which allows adjusting the length of the leg. It wasn't actually pressed onto the shaft it was supposed to be attached to. A little brute force (before I attached the leg) solved that one. The real problem, however, came when I managed to assemble it anyway in spite of these minor glitches. Within moments of me setting it up on it's legs, one of the legs fell off. Actually the metal plate into which the leg screwed fell off. Luckily I still had all the packing material because I hadn't actually managed to completely unpack it. I called Musicians Friend. They were very helpful and immediately sent a RMA and a return label. Back it went.Bill, W.

Excellent product, I found it to hold tune and appears fairly sturdy. Strings are adequate for practice will experiment with others later, but not bad. I ran this through my Fender Deluxe reverb and found very little hum. Practically none and this surprised me as it is a single coil pickup. My only grip is the legs, I could not even get them to screw in, but then I didn't plan to use them in the first place, this instrument is best in your lap. The legs will come in handy if there is a noisy cat in the alley, or I need something to sink a boat (they are fairly heavy and seem decent, except, they are impossible to screw into the dang guitar!) Overall I would highly recommend as a first lap steel for sure.Mike

I've played electric/acoustic/bass for over 25 years, but got curious to try a lap steel because I've always loved the sound; I know what a quality instrument should feel like, and this definitely met or exceeded my expectations. I tuned up to C6 easily, and the single-coil pickup gives a nice bright tone that is consistent in volume from string-to-string. I haven't noticed any hum from the pickup at normal practice volume, and no grounding problems. I expect I'll change the strings soon, but that's a personal preference. A few people mentioned tuning problems; the tuners aren't the best, but I'd suggest pulling on each string when you first get it, to get any extra slack out of them. After that, mine holds tune perfectly fine. It packs up really neatly in the included gig bag, which does hold the detachable legs as well. The gig bag doesn't have much padding, but should be perfectly fine for storing the guitar when not in use. If you need to gig with the instrument professionally, I'd suggest getting something more solid, but this is a fantastic option for someone looking to learn on, or for studio use where you're looking for some different tones.Sam A

Beautiful looking instrument well designed and easy to play ,with or without with the ashtray cover .Lovely warm tone made all the better with a little reverb.Is a nice weight to play on the lap rather than on a stand.A very classy lap steel.brianbarke

needed it to get in touch with my "da kine" roots. mahalo. sounds great, stays in tune, a pleasure to play and easy on my makas.Leighton

The hard part is finding one of these. I have had about every lap steel up to this price. But the Gold Tones have a really nice clean sound. I prefer Hawaiian and country sound. These are beautiful for that. It sits nicely on you lap and easy to play with the string spacing.walt

Overall: I ordered a from zZounds,received it super fast as usual,let it sit for a bit to get acclimated to the temp inside my house as I had ordered it in the winter. After playing it for over a year I’ve got to hand it to Epiphone for making sure they got it right. This thing rings forever and plays like butter,actually I could stand to bring the action up to make slide playing easier but I don’t want to mess with a good thing. You aren’t tied to one style of music with this guitar,yes it can very easily get that classic metal bodied sound but depending on your picking technique it gets a very decent folk sound and fingerpicking tone also. Intonation is right on the money and I’ve had no problems with build quality whatsoever. Yes it gets fingerprints super easy but it’s made to play,not just look at(although when shined up she’s pretty). I might try using heavier strings to play more slide but I love the tone it has already and I have a guitar already dedicated to slide anyways. Definitely a keeper,already won over some converts from the musicians who frequently visit my place.. I recommend it!Dave

I’m very happy with this resonator guitar, but there’s some initial work to do which any resonator owner needs to learn. All typical with any resonator unless buying very high end models and even then.,, After I made some tweaks my guitar is singing very nicely. I usually play in open tuning and play a lot of slide. You won’t find better for this price and you might find a guitar much lower quality for the same.If you seek a wood bodied reso with no electronics for under $800 you should consider. Oh and 13-56 strings should go on immediately after initial inspection/work. Your tone will immediately improve in open tunings like G, D, and C. I rated a 5 taking into consideration price and the fact it’s a resonator guitar. Rated as is for what it is.Mountain Rock

I spent a few months researching resonator guitars, and ultimately settled on the Dobro Hound Dog. I really like the simple, vintage look, as I really feel that it's the type of look that goes along with classic blues and slide guitar. Overall, I'm very happy with the look and feel of the instrument, and the sound is unique enough to be a welcome addition to my set of instruments. A few of the negatives: When I first received the guitar from MF, there were several rough spots in the finish, and what appeared to be some specks of glue that had hardened on the finish, and I was not able to remove them. I returned the guitar to MF for an exchange, and the experience was straightforward and hassle-free. Upon receieving the replacement guitar, I noticed a few of the same "rough patches" in the finish, although it had none of the same "glue specks". It's not really an issue; like I said, it is a vintage looking and feeling guitar, just don't go into it thinking that you'll be getting a 100% smooth, laminated-type finish. Again, not a big deal, I'm just overly particular, and I didn't know that was a fairly standard finish for this guitar. Like some others have stated on here, the stock strings are garbage. Just bank on throwing in some coated resonator strings in with your order. I was going to upgrade eventually; new guitars typically come with junky strings, so I wasn't too upset about it. Overall, it is a solid instrument with a great look and great sound. If it came with better strings, and would've been described as having a semi rough, "vintage finish", I would rate it 100%. In my opinion, it's hard to find a nice sounding acoustic in this price range, so this is a nice value, and a great addition to anyone's arsenal who is looking to throw in some slide guitar and unique twang.travis2013

I haven't yet built it, but it looks like it'll be a fun project. All parts included (except 2 x 4), and instructions seem pretty straight forward. I'll probably buy more of theses (to build & sell).jham8704

I haven't made it yet as I'm working on making a good body for it. But the instructions are in a large format making it super easy for someone my age to be able to read. Everything is well laid out. Will enjoy building it.derekkmartin

I upgraded the wooden parts with some shaping. Havent plugged it in to test it out. Great instructions that allow for customization.gonzo59870

I bought this book with my first lap steel guitar to steer me in the right direction. It taught me the basics, and a few songs. I did learn a lot from it. If you're beginner on lap steel, I recommend this book.Ray

I bought a Hal Leonard lap steel instruction book because the guy at the music store said his stuff was the best. I am solidly unimpressed! There is no discussion of c6 tuning, even though it is widely used. There are very few pages in the book, which to me was also unimpressive. I won't waste money on another Hal Leonard product!jerriemarie