Stand for lap steels?

[Joseph Lazo]

Anyone have a recommendation for a stand that accommodates the neck of a lap steel? The neck cradle of guitar stands is too narrow for lap steels. I hate leaning them on things and, worse, laying them on the floor.

[Glenn Stanfield]

Have you looked at the "A" style stands? They cradle the base and back, don't touch the neck. I've got one for my standard 6-string guitar and it works great.

"A"Style Stand

[Mark Evans]

I have a couple three of these for my laps. They work well, portable, fold up.
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Fol ... B018FCZKR2

[Joseph Lazo]

Good suggestions! But...I had one of those A-frame stands and didn't like how vulnerable the guitar was to getting knocked off the stand. One inadvertent bump is all it takes. Although I'm toddler-free, I have a zoomies-prone dog who can't be trusted to not run into such a setup.

The safest stand is a hanger style stand, but it seems no one makes them with a neck cradle wide enough for lap steels. I wonder if there's some sort of stand designed for a non-guitar use that might work for hanging a lap steel.

[Brooks Montgomery]

I’ve had good use of the On-Stage small instrument stand from Sweetwater=$26

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ment-stand

[Joseph Lazo]

Brooks...thanks for that recommendation. I didn't even know there was an A-frame designed for smaller instruments! This looks like the best solution so far, even though a lap steel could still get knocked over.

[Brooks Montgomery]

Brooks...thanks for that recommendation. I didn't even know there was an A-frame designed for smaller instruments! This looks like the best solution so far, even though a lap steel could still get knocked over.

Yeh, guitars on little stands like that are kinda set up like a bowling pin. I strategically place it out of the way of kids, dogs, and my imbibed buddies

[Bill Sinclair]

As far as hanging stands go, I've had pretty good luck bending the hanger posts outwards to accommodate the wider neck of a lap steel (using a couple pairs of vise grip pliers). Not all lap steels have enough protrusion at the headstock to work with a hanger though.

[Lee Rider]

I've been using a Hamilton stand for my '52 Gibson Century. Works great and is stable.

https://hamiltonstands.com/products/kb3000g/

[Joseph Lazo]

Bending the yoke open to fit is a great idea. But the only stands I have now are Fender stands, and the welded aluminum doesn't look conducive to bending.

Lee, the Hamilton stand you mentioned looks to have a too-narrow yoke for a lap steel's neck. Do you put your steel in it sideways or "normal" ways?

At one point I had a couple cheapo stands with, as I recall, pretty wide yokes. I gave them away pre-lap steel obsession when I discovered hanging stands.

[Lee Rider]

Joseph: Mine is about 25 years old and chrome so it is a bit different than the newer ones. I'll take a picture and post it when I go over to the rehearsal studio next time.

Here is an image of one like mine. You can find them on Reverb. Mando guys love them.

hamilton stand.jpg

I use it just like it is pictured. My Century does have a little bump at the headstock that helps hold it in. The yoke at the top on the Hamilton is different than the newer ones.

century lap steel.jpeg

Thanks

Lee Rider

[Mark Evans]

The ones I use can be adjusted to be narrow enough to ably hold small lower bouts. The National new yorkerish one I had had a pretty narrow lower bouts, could choose a setting to hold it. The rubber surface hold the axes well. Short lap steels = low center of gravity.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Joseph,

Billy Cooper has a couple of nice steels, both Pedal and lap, mounted on the wall in his shop.

For the lap steels, he uses a leather strap to hang them, mounted as so.

You could likely do the same with nylon string like 550 cord, or nylon rope, along with any type of guitar wall mount.

Enjoy!w

[Joel Meginsky]

I use a walker. You can get one in a thrift store. Just take the wheels in the front off. It’s height adjustable for standing or sitting and you can put hanger in the side for small instruments like the mandolin or violin.
Light and foldable as well. If you have a problem with the look you can drape something over the top.

Joel Meginsky