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You can use metal fingerpicks, but it creates more of a harsh sound. The general technique is pretty similar for lap steel, although you don't use fingerpicks on the index and middle finger. You can hear that the lap steel has a different tone than Dobro, it's less bright and you can also get a bit of distortion going which makes it a more familiar sound for blues and rock music. If you really want to cut through and rock out, playing lap steel takes a lot less physical effort than playing Dobro.
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Because of this, it can cut through in a mix quite a bit - which makes it better for louder situation. A lap steel guitar can get louder before anything feeds back and has a more clear, direct tone. In lap steel however, you can just adjust the volume for a lighter or louder sound.Īlso because it's plugged in you can give it more volume with the turn of a dial, which may be better if you're playing in a band with drums for example. In Dobro a lot of your volume comes from your hands and how hard you're hitting the strings. Lap steel guitar has a plugged in electric sound, which also gives it a more sustained tone for playing single notes or chords. As Andy explains, some music lends itself better to playing lap steel vs. As you'll see, they relate quite a bit but there are some key differences and similarities. One of the first lessons he recorded was on comparing the differences between playing Dobro and lap steel guitar. Andy Hall was in the ArtistWorks studios recently recording a new section for his online students on lap steel guitar.