Lap Steel Guitar, Okoume Body (sunburst)

I'm new to lap steel, but have been playing and working on guitars for a long time. I wanted to get a cheapy to try it out before spending hundred on a mid or pro level instrument. That said, I have no complaints about this guitar given the cost. Mine came with gig bag and cable. It's branded "Tario" not "Gstyle" but the exact same otherwise. Bridge feels solid. Vol and tone controls work smoothly with a good taper. They are the cheap tiny pots. There is a bit of hum, but it's to be expected with a single coil. It doesn't look like there is a ground wire going to the bridge. That would probably reduce hum a bit. The strings are trash and weren't put on correctly. No big deal. Get new strings. There's a slight gap between the neck and fretboard. I took it off and cleared out a little debris from the mfg process and it helped. The silver screws on the fretboard are ugly (imo). Easy fix. The fretboard itself is very nice, but I wish it had double dots at the 12th. I was thinking I'd have to do some filling on the nut. When I tuned to open G, before changing strings, I got a lot of buzzing. I'll chalk that up to crappy strings and poor technique. I put on a set of new strings for C6 Tuning, and spent of few minutes on YouTube learning what to do, and the buzz is gone. The turners do the job. All in all, I'm very happy. BTW I chose this one for the scale length and string spacing. This looks a lot like another model out there that cost about double.

I bought this lap steel primarily as a travel guitar, and it seems that it will do the job very well. Your expectations may be the same or different, but regardless, here are some things you might like to know.First, the brand on my instrument is TARIO, though it doesn’t show up when searching for TARIO guitars. Almost everything about the guitar - size, weight, color, features, etc. - is as shown in the description online. It is very well-made; the finish looks perfect and the tuners, electronics, nut and bridge are all solid and function as expected. I hear no hum from the electronics. The only cosmetic flaw in mine is that the fingerboard has a few spots that weren’t sanded completely smooth, but that is not a problem on a lap steel. The screws that hold the fretboard in place are kind of annoying but they can be painted or replaced with black screws.The only item that varies from the specs is that the string spacing at the nut is narrower than I expected. The nut measures 1-7/8” and the string spacing across the nut is a hair more than 1-5/8”. But, since the scale is 23” the frets are a little closer together, so slants aren’t much harder than I’m used to. The string height at the nut is about 1/4”, which may seem a bit low, but that isn’t a problem either. Also, there is no strap pin.The strings provided are light gauge electric guitar strings – not right for a lap steel. I tuned them to open E, but as expected, they were too light and floppy. On a 23” scale you need heavier strings to get good tension. Fortunately, the slots in the bridge and nut are made to handle the biggest strings you might need.When putting on my new strings I had a couple of issues.1. The ferules on the back of the guitar where the strings pass through the body fall out if there isn’t a string holding them in place. A drop of glue or silicone may be needed to keep them in place.2. My new strings have about 200 pounds of tension and they were pulling very hard on the bar above the nut that the strings go under. I was afraid the screws might pull out, so I unscrewed them just enough that the strings are barely bent. They are holding, but I’ll probably put in longer screws.After plugging the guitar into a Spark Go (my travel amp) I found that the volume wasn’t very loud. The Spark Go isn’t high output, but still the volume was too low. The fix, for me, was to raise the pole screws in the pickup. They come set very low, so bringing them up to about 1/8” from the strings made the volume acceptable. Note that because the pickup was made for a standard guitar, which has narrower string spacing at the bridge than this guitar (2-1/8”), the 1st and 6th strings are not directly over the poles. I raised those pole screws a bit more to even out the volume.Overall, the sound quality of the P90 pickup is quite good. The tone knob provides a wide range from bright to dark. The gig bag has adjustable shoulder straps and is well made with good padding. The zippered pouch doesn’t have much capacity, but it is big enough for the thin, 10’ guitar cable that came in the box, and a bar and picks, which are not included. A tuner might also fit in there, but it will be tight. Also in the box was a small allen wrench, but I have no idea what it is for.Bottomline, I’m really happy with this this guitar. The few issues I had were minor and easily addressed. For the money it seems like a great deal. I’m looking forward to some fun campfire picking.

Liked this. I have played lapsteel for 50+ years and wanted a cheap one for travel. This fills the bill. looks good (I got the sunburst) and sounds good.The string spacing is nice and wide, even though the slot for the 3rd string might be a tiny bit off. It's fine at the bridge where it really matters. The strings are a good height off the fretboard, making it easy to play in tune. (For a lapsteel LOL). The fret markers seem fairly accurate. Harmonics are where they should be, within reason. I like that they are just markers, and they haven't wasted time on brass frets.The single coil pickup is loud and clear, giving a good variety of tones. As others mentioned, the tone and volume work well with no crackles. Tone range is sufficient for "boo-wah" technique. If you are looking for a super heavy distortion, remember this is a single coil and won't distort the same as a humbucker. The pickup is routed into the top, so finding a humbucker to install might be a challenge.A distortion pedal would probably make up the difference. I am using it with a Fender Champion 20 with Eminence TF0818 speaker added and the overdrive settings are fine for me.Tuners are sealed and look solid enough. The strings supplied are very skinny, with a plain 3rd, so you have to tune it pretty high to get the rattles out of the nut. No problem though. I tuned it as delivered (lo to high) A E G C E G and no strings broke. Holds tune fine. I could take this to a jam session or gig without problem.Highly recommended. It is a good bargain. Also, the "string through" feature at the bridge is a plus.Much, much better than others at this price point. It came 2 days after I ordered it, well wrapped and double boxed.