Steeldays 2000

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Vroege invloeden
Zoals vele van de gevestigde gitaristen van deze tijd is Johan Jansen ook verleid tot een muzikale carriére door het geluid van een vroege jaren-60 instrumentale groep, de Shadows. Hun leadgitarist, Hank Marvin, had een vloeiende, als een stem klinkende toon, die hem overhaalde voor het instrument te kiezen dat deze kwaliteiten nog meer in zich had: de steelguitar. Het klonk nog meer als Hank Marvin dan Hank Marvin zelf. In de tijd dat Johan begon, de vroege jaren 80, was er nauwelijks informatie in Nederland te krijgen over de steelguitar. Wat er aan informatie was, kwam van een blaadje dat gemaakt werd door een paar Nederlandse muziekfanaten die het instrument al iets eerder dan Johan ontdekt hadden en van de radio-programma's die wat Amerikaanse country & western platen draaiden. Het is moeilijk voor te stellen in deze tijd van grote informatiestromen, maar het lijkt alsof de geheimzinnige waas die om het exotische instrument hing de grote passie ervoor aanwakkerde.

De invloed van Hawaii op de ontwikkeling van de steelguitar

Voordat de steelguitar zijn verbondenheid kreeg met de country-muziek was Hawaii en haar muzikale cultuur de bakermat van de vroege ontwikkeling van het instrument. De techniek van het bespelen van het instrument met een metalen staaf, waarbij het instrument bij de speler op schoot ligt met de snaren naar boven gekeerd, wordt toegeschreven aan de Hawaiiaanse muzikant Joseph Kekuku rond het jaar 1890. Deze sound had zo'n impact op de Amerikaanse muziek van de vroege twintigste eeuw dat het gretig werd opgenomen in de opkomende vormen van cowboy-ballades die zich later zouden ontwikkelen tot country-muziek. Ook werd het geadopteerd door de eerste blues-muzikanten in een stijl die we nu bottleneck slide-guitar noemen. Door heel Amerika, over de hele wereld, in India, Afrika en in Europa ontstond er een gekte voor hawaii-muziek die zijn hoogtepunt had in de jaren 50. Je hoort bij vele hedendaagse steelguitaristen de hawaii-invloed nog terug. Gaan we nog verder naar de roots terug, zouden we het dan bij Hawaii al bereikt hebben? Of had het instrument nog een voorloper in de Vichitra Veena uit Noord-India en de Gottuvadyam uit Zuid-India? De Hawaiianen zijn meer dan 200 jaar geleden waarschijnlijk ook beinvloed door deze instrumenten.

De steelguitar in de country-muziek

In de voorstelling van het grote publiek is de steelguitar synoniem voor de Amerikaanse country-muziek. Haar glijdende tonen zijn het meest vergelijkbaar met het geluid van de menselijke stem en spelen een vraag- en antwoord spel met de no-nonsense teksten die sinds de vroege vormen van country muziek, al vanaf 1920, ontstaan zijn. Zeker, de laatste 50 jaar heeft de steelguitar zich vooral ontwikkeld in de country-muziek. De meest geavanceerde vorm van het instrument, de pedal-steelguitar, is uitgevonden in de 40-er jaren en vanaf 1953 tot heden in mindere of meerdere mate soundbepaler in deze muziekvorm. Tijdens deze lange associatie hebben country-muzikanten constant pogingen gedaan om uit te breken uit de cliché-matige vormen van country-muziek. In de jaren 30 creeerde de invloed van de Big Band-swing en jazz een hybride vorm die men Western swing noemde en in de jaren 60 leidden experimenten van Westcoast-rockbands als The Byrds en The Flying Burrito Brothers tot een vorm die men country-rock noemt. Beide vormen genereerden nieuwe stylisten en virtuozen van het instrument die een grote invloed uitoefenden op het verder ontwikkelen van het instrument. Maar genoeg over de geschiedenis, de beste manier om een idee te krijgen over de rol van de steelguitar is het bezoeken van een band die een steelguitarist in hun midden heeft.

Hoe werkt een pedal-steelgitaar?
(Verschenen in Country Gazette, nr. 263, april 1997)

Een steelgitaar is een plank met snaren, die met een ijzeren staaf (steel bar) en vingerplectrums (fingerpicks) bespeeld wordt. De snaren zijn verbonden d.m.v. een mechanisme met assen, veren en stangen met voet- en kniepedalen. Wanneer een snaar, doordat je een pedaal intrapt aangetrokken wordt, gaat de toon van die snaar omhoog.

Er zijn ook pedalen, waarmee je de snaar iets kunt laten vieren, zodat de toon van die snaar omlaag gaat. Door verschillende knie en voetpedalen tegelijk of na elkaar in te drukken of los te laten, krijg je allerhande akkoordcombinaties, want je hebt 10 snaren tot je beschikking.

Meestel sla je maar 2 of 3 snaren tegelijk aan. Dit aanslaan doe je met de fingerpicks die aan de duim, wijs- en middelvinger van je rechterhand zitten. Verder verander je de toonhoogte van de snaren door met de steelbar over de snaren te glijden, hiermee maak je de snaar die in trilling is langer of korter dus je krijgt ook lagere en hogere tonen. vergelijk het maar met de fretten op een gitaar. De steelgitarist houdt dus eigenlijk een glijdende fret in zijn handen!

Hoe een steelguitar precies werkt kun je terugvinden op: www.steelguitar.com/steelmap/steelmap.htm.

Een steelgitaar leren bespelen is niet moeilijker dan gitaar, piano of drums etc. Vroeger (ongeveer 25 jaar geleden) was het een probleem voor de Nederlandse pioniers, dat er alleen maar Engelstalig lesmateriaal te koop was. Je moest dus alles leren uit een boek en als je dat niet goed snapte was er niemand die je verder kon helpen. Er zijn toen ook veel mensen begonnen en teleurgesteld gestopt. Een steelgitaar kun je in Nederland heel moeilijk kopen bij een normale muziekhandel. Als je vraagt om zo'n instrument weten ze in negen van de tien gevallen echt niet, of niet echt, waar je het over hebt. De Nederlandse specialisten die je wel verder kunnen helpen zijn aanwezig op Steeldays 2000.

Artikelen over aanverwante instrumenten:

De Dobro

It started out as a search for a louder guitar -- a guitar to stand up to the trumpets, saxophones and banjos that dominated popular music in the 1920s. George Beauchamp, a Los Angeles guitarist, took his vision of a mechanically amplified instrument to John Dopyera and his brother Rudy, Slovakian immigrants who had already patented several improvements for banjos. John Dopyera perfected a design utilizing three aluminum cones, Rudy suggested a metal body to enhance amplification, and the National tri-cone resonator guitar debuted in 1927. John Dopyera left National in 1928 and began developing a more affordable woodbody guitar with a single cone and a spiderlike bridge base. He introduced his new invention by the end of 1928 under the name DOBRO(r) -- a combination of Dopyera and Brothers (brothers John, Rudy, Emile, Robert and Louis would play various roles in the production and financing of the company).

National responded with its own single-cone guitar, featuring a biscuitlike bridge base. After each side sued the other, they merged in 1932 to form the National-Dobro company. Although resonator guitars were initially well-received, the company quickly shifted its focus to the emerging electric guitar. National made no DOBRO(r) guitars after World War II, but several of the Dopyera brothers revived the spider-bridge resonator guitars under the DB Original brand. Family members formed the Original Musical Instrument company in 1967 and made resonator guitars under the Hound Dog brand until 1970, when they finally reacquired the DOBRO(r) name. Gibson Musical Instruments acquired O.M.I. in 1993, and since then O.M.I. has brought together all the best qualities of the original woodbody and metalbody resonator instruments, plus new models designed for slide guitar playing, into a modern line that offers a DOBRO(r) guitar or bass for every musical style and taste.

Today's DOBRO(r) guitars produce a wide range of sounds, depending on their body style and resonator type: BODIES Three-ply wood -- maple is standard but mahogany, walnut and other exotic woods are used for custom instruments -- recreates the original DOBRO(r) sound. Painted steel produces a crisp, cutting tone. Chrome-plated bell brass emits a sweet, ringing sound. RESONATORS The original DOBRO(r) spider bridge rests on the edge of a 10 1/2" cone, with the cone opening toward the top of the guitar. The biscuit bridge sits on the peak of a 10 1/2" or 9 1/2" cone, with the cone opening toward the back of the guitar.
Today's DOBRO(r) guitars reflect the preferences of working musicians for those combinations of features that look and sound best. The squareneck woodbodies (60 series) typically have screen holes, while the roundneck models have f-holes. Squarenecks have the spider bridge, while bottlenecks (90 series) have the biscuit bridge with a 9 1/2" cone and models with a radiused fingerboard (33 series and engraved series) have the biscuit bridge with 10 1/2" cone.

Whether the music is blues, Hawaiian, country, bluegrass, or a style of the future, DOBRO(r) guitars have the right sound.

Brought to you by Gibson Musical Instruments and the Gibson Internet Services Department. Copyright 1996 Gibson Guitar Corp. 1818 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, Tennessee 37210 USA. All rights reserved.

De Slide-guitar

Anyone who has ever played in a band knows the often overwhelming desire a guitar player has to be heard -- and heard well. I've played guitar for 30 years now, and there are mysterious forces at work in terms of a guitar player and volume. One or all of these are usually involved.

First, most guitar players are functionally deaf by age 30. Secondly, it seems a guitar CANNOT be heard by the person playing it unless it is at least three times louder and possessed of roughly 8.5 times more treble than any other instrument within a six block radius. Third, the world revolves around guitar players, although anyone who believes that one has obviously never worked with a guy holding a saxophone. A fourth possibility is that the guitar player is able to hear quite well but just doesn't give a damn.

Whatever the reason or blend of reasons, this situation was evident even back in the 1920's when acoustic guitars could not get up above other instruments in a band. Whether it was jazz or blues or even the Hawaiian sound, the problem was to be able to be heard in a club. This was also the time of street musicians (before cities started passing ordinances restricting free speech) and being heard meant being tipped. There were frequently contests for an audience, and being able to be heard was a major advantage.

Charles Beauchamp, an LA musician, appears to have had the basic idea for coming up with a way to make a guitar louder, a design that might use some mechanical means to amplify the sound. Beauchamp hooked up with John and Rudy Dopyera, two brothers who had made some improvement in banjo design. According to the legend, it was John who suggested the use of three metal cones as part of a resonating chamber and Rudy who came up with the idea of constructing the body of the guitar out of metal. The theory - which worked - depended on the metal cones to vibrate and amplify the sound, forming a kind of speaker cabinet.

Basically, over a period of time there were two types of design. The first had a single cone, while the other used a system of three smaller cones, known as tricones.

Single: The single features a convex 9.5" diameter cone with a maple "biscuit" on top of the cone. Much like a regular guitar, the saddle on the biscuit is used to support the strings. The concept of a "resonator" guitar comes from this design, which causes the speaker cone to resonate with the vibrations. The use of one cone which can amplify as a single piece means that the single cone models are definitely louder than tricones.

Tricone: The tricone classically makes use of three cones, each one six inches, positioned in a triangle formation. The bass side has two of the cones while the treble has one. There are other differences as well, notably in the design of the bridge. While the single cone uses a biscuit bridge, the tricone has a more complex system featuring a "T" bridge made from aluminum. This bridge manages to connect to the center of each cone and sound is carried from the saddle which is on the T-bridge. As mentioned earlier, the tricones are not as loud since the vibrations are split between three cones. At the same time, the tricones have a sweeter, less treble sound and have far more sustain.

In 1928, John Dopyera deft National and began work on a wood body guitar that would use a single cone and bridge base that was spider-like in design. He called this the DOBRO(r) -- the name being a meeting of the name Dopyera and the word "brothers.

There were differences between the two designs, National and Dobro. While the cones in Nationals were more volcano shaped, those in Dobros were dish shaped. Until recently, Dobro's only excursion into metal bodied resonators took place from 1935 to 1940.

All of this technology and artistic design came to fruition in the 1930's, just before the electric guitar came into play - so to speak. There were other problems - National and Dobro sued each other over designs and, finally, in 1932 the companies merged and the result was the National-Dobro Company. The guitars remained popular in country music and bluegrass (although the amplification problems were immense).

National stopped making DOBRO(r) guitars by the end of World War II, but the Dopyera brothers came up with the DB (or Dopera) Original brand and marketed spider-bridge resonator guitars. During this time there was a sidestep - the Dobro name was purchased by Mosrite which began building them until bankruptcy in the sixties. By 1967, the family created the Original Music Instrument Company and made Hound Dog guitars. Three years later, the DOBRO(r) name was reacquired and production continued. More recently, Gibson Musical Instruments bought O.M.I. in 1993. As of July 1997, the company was in limbo as it moved its operations and manufacturing to the Gibson plant in Tennessee.

The National style guitar was resurrected in the 1980's by Don Young and McGregor Gaines with the formation of National Reso-Phonic Guitars. It's the one I own, and for me it's the Holy Grail of guitars.

c 1999, 2000 Brian Robertson, all rights reserved

De Lapsteel

The National Steel Guitar Part One: An Introduction

By Al Handa

Each era of music has it's share of definitive guitars. In the 70's, for example, the Les Paul electric became THE heavy metal and hard rock guitar. In the 60's, Jim Hendrix made the Fender Stratocaster the definitive rock instrument. Both of those had one advantage that the 20's bluesmen didn't have. That was electrical amplification of sound. Back then, however, Blues guitarists had the next best thing; the National Resonator type guitar, which was three to five times as loud as any made of wood, and impervious to the often instrument-unfriendly environments of the tent shows and juke joints. This was because the guitar was made of metal, which is what makes it instantly recognizable to even the newest Blues fan.
Back then, in the tent shows and hot, sweaty juke joints, the blues artists had to make themselves heard over the normal noise of an often severely chemically impaired crowd (some things never change). It was worse for women singers, who often fronted large jazz bands.
Legends like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were not just talented vocalists. They were freaking LOUD talented vocalists whose vocal chords could cut through a ten piece band and be heard in the back rows of a tent (which was probably the worst acoustic environment for sound).
It was a bit better for those who played in juke joints, which were often simply convenient rooms to sell bootleg liquor. Most who entertained in such places were solo artists, accompanied by guitar, and maybe a second person playing harp (unless you had a jug or string band). There were also street musicians who played on corners, but that's been overemphasized in the quest to present a more sanitized version of the early Blues. Back then, you played on street corners for fun, some pocket change, and if you didn't have a paying gig or recording contract.
The acoustics in a juke were better, but the proximity to the crowd (this is pre-bouncers in T-shirts era stuff) made the preservation of one's instrument a real concern. Also, most guitars couldn't stop a stray bullet either, which was one occupational hazard of the era. Luckily, most guitars back then were catalog types like the Stella, which were as sturdy as wood could get back then.
In any case, you had to be one LOUD sucker. Which in 1928 had an added benefit; which was that due to the recording technology of the era, only those who could project their music could make that steel needle shake and jive enough to produce a decent 78 rpm master disc.

TAMPA RED
In 1928, Tampa Red became the first Black Blues artist to record with a National steel resonator-type guitar, which eventually became one of the classic blues instruments. Shortly afterwards, a parade of National players followed on 78, all of whom are among the early Blues elite. That group included Tampa Red, Son House, Bukka White, Bo Carter, Blind Boy Fuller, Walter Vincent (who was with the Chatmon Brothers), Peetie Wheatstraw, Scrapper Blackwell, Bumble Bee Slim, and Black Ace.
Oddly enough, Tampa Red didn't play the type of music most Blues fans associate with the National Steel bodied guitar. His music was smooth and sophisticated, using playing techniques (such as string damping) which were quite advanced for the era. Lyrically, he often did novelty numbers that contained double-entrendres, which can make his music seem slight at times to the modern listener. However, a fairer statement would be that the blues songs of today are often lyrically narrow, and artists avoid the risque sense of humor that a generation of young Black males and females enjoyed back then. In other words, you're not going to hear many Blues artists singing about putting their juicy wieners into hot buns these days. Which is sad in a way. In contrast to the smooth stylings of a Tampa Red were the harder Delta sounds of Son House and Bukka White. Both were artists who didn't do well commercially in the 20's, but created music that 60's folk and rock audiences related to. Powerful rhythmns and vocals, with intense slide work adding a second voice. In the case of Bukka, a definite precursor to the later Bo Diddley Beat.
The interesting thing is that all of the above played the same type of guitar, but with some important differences. The model Tampa used was called a "tricone" and Son's was called a "single resonator" type. Each had a distinctive characteristic (aside from being incredibly loud) that suited each particular player.

WHAT MAKES A NATIONAL A NATIONAL?
Which of course, leads us to the question, just what is a National Steel guitar? We've all seen the metal body which is the hallmark of the type. However, it's what's under all that metal that makes it different than any wood guitar. To understand what a National is all about, you have to understand that the purpose of the tricone and single resonator is to amplify sound. The basic principle is fairly simple, and best explained by Bob Brozman in his classic book, "The History & Artistry of National Resonator Instruments" (which was written by Bob with Dr. John Dopyera, Jr., Richard R. Smith, and Gary Atkinson).
Bob states that "later efforts to amplify stringed instruments were inspired by the technology of Edison and Victrola phonographs. The principle component of these early non-electric phonographs was a pickup head that transmitted sound from the stylus to a small mica disc. The disc acted like a banjo skin or the paper in a kazoo. It amplified the sound."
This sound was transmitted to the listener using a long horn, or megaphone. The first instruments using this principle were violins made in 1910 (or thereabouts). Those used a cone shaped disc made of thin aluminum, with a horn that stuck out of the instrument. Some guitars using this device were also made.

THE TRICONE MODEL IS BORN
In the 1920's, two Los Angeles men came together, originally to make a new type of guitar using the horn principle, who would together create the National Resonator guitar as we know it. The amount of responsibility each had in creating it is, as Brozman describes in his book, is disputed by the various parties. However, there's no doubt that both were important to the creation of the first tricone guitar. George Beauchamp's first idea was to create a "wild looking" Hawaiian guitar which sat on a stand and had a horn attached to the bottom. John Dopyera built it, as Brozman relates, "against his better judgement--he knew George's idea wouldn't work before it was made." Beauchamp did use this eccentric gizmo of a guitar on the vaudeville circuit, but abandoned it. It was a perfect stage guitar with unusual looks, but it sounded terrible. George then suggested to John that he build one based on the same principle as the mica disc on a Victrola. John experimented with various other materials, such as pressed fibre, glass, tin and other metals. He settled on a very thin, conical shaped aluminum resonator design, used in a set of three connected with a T-bar inside an all metal body.
Dopyera used three as it mellowed the sound, as opposed to using one large cone which was louder, but harsher in tone and with less sustain. He applied for a patent on this tricone guitar in 1927, which was finally granted in 1930. Beauchamp found some investors, and in a short time, the National String Instrument Company was formed. Factory production of this remarkable new guitar began in 1927, and by the next year, the company was producing hundreds a week.

THE SINGLE RESONATOR MODEL IS BORN
It was then when the first problems between the two founders emerged. Dopyera had rejected the single resonator idea earlier, but in Beauchamp's mind, it was the perfect design for a lower cost instrument. The tricone was more expensive, and mainly bought by professionals, and that market couldn't last forever. In fact, during the Great Depression, it was the single cone type (which was patented by George in 1929) that as the author Brozman puts it, "not only became a good seller, saving the company from the Great Depression, but a sizable part of the National legacy."
One could also add, that while the National was originally intended for Hawaiian and Jazz work, the adoption of the instrument by blues artists also contributed to the company's survival. This wasn't Dopyera's intent, as he probably didn't even know what the Blues were. However, as Marie Gaines quotes Don Young of National Reso-Phonic, "It was the creativity and ingenuity of those early musicians that caused the National guitar to find its niche in the blues, and that is why we are in business today. Blues is now considered a classical American music style and the National guitar is the classical guitar of that genre." However, Beauchamp's patent was the cause of the schism between the two. Dopyera left National afterwards, which cost him his original patents, and his partner continued to run the company. Dopyera doesn't disappear from history though. He then formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company, which created a single cone resonator guitar with a new design (and a guitar that still bears the name). Later, after some rather complicated moves, National merged with Dobro, and we'll cover that in a later installment of this series. Simply put, all these events resulted in two major designs, the tricone and the single resonator. As stated earlier, the tricone has a smoother sound that sustains (the notes last longer), and the latter a sharper, and clearer sound. Which is better is really a moot point, as one could say it is like choosing between Tampa Red and Son House.

End of Part One.
-By Al Handa

Special Thanks:
This article, and the series that will follow it rely heavily on the classic book, "The History and Artistry of NATIONAL Resonator Instruments" by Bob Brozman. Brozman is also one of the foremost National Steel Guitar players in the world. Check out Bob Brozman's web site. Also, a series of this depth wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of the National Reso-Phonic Guitars company, who have provided advice and materials in the research phases. The photos used in this piece are courtesy of National Reso-Phonic. Special thanks to Peter Bachner, Don Young, and Marie Gaines of National Reso-Phonic for their help and cooperation in creating this series.

About the writer:
Al Handa is the Editor and Publisher of the Delta Snake Daily Blues, and the Delta Snake Review.

Steelguitar:
The steel guitar differs from a regular guitar in the way that it is played. The lap steel guitar is held in your lap facing toward you. The strings are raised above the fretboard; rather than pressing them to the fretboard, a steel bar is pressed against the strings. Typically the lap steel guitar is tuned in one of several "open" tunings rather than standard guitar tuning.

Origin
Steel guitars were originally invented and popularized in Hawaii. Legend has it that Joseph Kekuku, a Hawaiian schoolboy, discovered the sound while walking along a railroad track strumming his guitar. He picked up a bolt lying by the track and slid the metal along the strings of his guitar. Intrigued by the sound, he taught himself to play using the back of a knife blade.
Other persons who have been credited with the invention of the steel guitar include Gabriel Davion, an Indian sailor, around 1885, and James Hoa, a Hawaiian of Portuguese ancestry. Hawaiian groups were a big hit at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. From there the sound of the Hawaiian guitar spread throughout the United States. From about 1915 to 1930, a large number of Hawaiian guitar methods and songs were published by the major music publishers.
The sound of the Hawaiian guitar was picked up and incorporated into blues and country music. From there, the steel guitar slid its way into rock, pop, African and Indian music.
More information about Hawaiian steel guitar may be found on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association web site.

De Hawaiian guitar

A little history...
In the beginning... there was ki ho'alu or slack key, a style of guitar playing that originated in the islands of Hawaii. The style is characterized by open tunings such as taro patch (DGDGBD). It is these tunings that allowed (myth or not) Joseph Kekuku, by accident or design, to slide a jack knife across the strings and create a new sound. Regardless of the exact origins, the acoustic lap steel guitar came from Hawaii to San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915 . The steel, 'ukulele, and hula were an immediate hit. By the early 1920's, Hawaiian records were the biggest selling in the United States.
Up to this time players were using standard Spanish neck guitars with a high nut to raise the strings over the fingerboard. One of the first steel string guitars made by Martin was the 018-K Hawaiian, an all koa wood Spanish neck with flush fret markers. In the late teen's or early twenties Hermann C. Weissenborn and Chris Knutsen surface in Los Angeles. It is unclear who came first, but the result was an instrument designed solely for playing Hawaiian music. With its relatively thin body and hollow neck, the guitar fit comfortably on the lap, yet was still capable of good volume.
Knutsen was an innovator (he also developed the Dyer harp guitar) but apparently not much of a craftsman. Very few of his instruments have survived and the ones that have are generally in poor shape. Weissenborn had a great sense of style and form, and in my opinion was a good craftsman. His instruments slowly developed over the years with the most obvious changes being: bridge size and shape; internal bracing; and peghead size and shape. In 1926, John Dopyera developed the a metal body resonator guitar, the National Hawaiian. By late 1927, the National Company was formed and with Adolph Rickenbacker making the bodies, the mass (for the time) production of guitars began. Soon, always looking for greater volume, most professional players switched to National. At about this same time the Weissenborn imitators came along. Hilo, Mai Kai, Kona (made by Weissenborn for Los Angeles music teacher, C.S. Delano), Oahu, Columbia, Biltmore, etc. But the beginning of the end for acoustic lap steel came in 1929-30 with the advent of the first electrically amplified lap steels of National, Rickenbacker, Dobro and Gibson. Hermann Weissenborn continued production until his death in 1937. National ceased production in 1941, the start of WW II. Oahu and most of the other acoustic manufacturers either switched to electric or just disappeared. Gibson continued to make acoustic steels such as the HG-2 into the 1950's. Dobro, who merged with National in the 1930's, continued after the war in various incarnations and ownership up to present day. The Dobro style of resonator guitar, however, appealed mostly to country and bluegrass players. Almost all Hawaiian players adopted electric... the acoustic lap steel was, for all intents and purposes, dead. In the 1980's National was reformed as the National Reso-phonic Company. Weissenborn's were popularized by players such as David Lindley, Ben Harper, The Henrys, and others. A number of makers are now reproducing Weissenborns, even Dobro is experimenting with a line of non-resonator acoustic lap steels: A new age of acoustic steel is here.

Interessante links:

Steelguitar:
listen.to/johanjansen

Werking v/d pedal-steelguitar:
www.steelguitar.com/steelmap/steelmap.htm

Lapsteel:
www.well.com/user/wellvis

Hawaiian guitar:
www.hotspots.hawaii.com/hsga

Slide guitar:
www.slideguitar.com