C Fouke Indy Rail 8-String Lap Steel

Hand-made in 2006 with a Kent Armstrong humbucker and coil-tap switch. Finish is "standard" (brushed aluminum). Tuners are Grovers.

Came with some stickers, some business cards to hand out to admiring fans, a hex wrench to remove the lap steel's feet, and replacement screws to fill the gap, should I decide that rubber feet are not what I want. Also a note stating what gauge strings had been fitted.

Used with a little Roland Microcube and a Line6 TonePort. It sounds best for bluesy pieces with Fender models (though AC-30 sounds good, and Mesa Boogie Rectifier models are pretty mindblowing). Chorussed through Roland JC models produces a very jazzy sound. The humbucker coil-tap works better on some models than others. I can get most sounds I want out of this with very little effort, and it sustains from here to eternity. It's also amazingly responsive to subtle changes in technique - this is an instrument for me to grow into!

Tone control is useful, even at intermediate settings - volume control seems to be log rather than linear.

A little acoustic noise on the top string, which I haven't fixed yet, but the acoustic sound is entirely adequate for practice.

Beautifully made. For me, the strings were a little too heavy, and though the guitar actually arrived in tune (from the USA to Japan!), I don't play in open E. Tuning to my favorite A6 tuning made it a little tricky to play, but dropping down to a G6 helped. I'm going to try lighter strings and a C6 and see where that leads me.

One oddity - I'm used to a tapered fingerboard, and this is straight. The tapered neck produced an optical illusion that the string spacing was wider at the nut than the bridge - I actually contacted IG about this, and then found out to my embarrassment that rulers don't lie!

The aluminum finish takes fingerprints and palmprints pretty easily, but Windex is the way to go, according to the attached note.

The only reason I'd take a backup on a gig is for if I broke a string or if I needed to retune to another tuning mid-gig (and even so, the Grovers make it a pleasure to tune). Otherwise, this thing could withstand almost anything you throw at it, and still stay in tune.

This baby will last!

Pre-sales and post-sales - Chris Fouke has answered all queries promptly and fully. I have full confidence than when I order an 8-string model, he will be equally responsive.

Playing for about 30 years - bass and keyboards - recently taken up slide and resonator - I had a cheap lap steel to see if I liked it, wanted something better with a little style.

If this thing were lost or stolen, I'd track down the thief and use the guitar to make sure he never stole anything again.

Love the looks and overall feel of this thing, as well as the sound. What do I wish it had? Built-in tuner?

8 string 24 1/4" scale
True Tone Pick up
one volume and one tone knob
Light guage model

This lap steel sounds wonderful! The tone is very clear regardless of where the tone knob is set. When at its lowest it has a very warm timbre that is not at all muddy. And when it is at its highest it does not sound in the least bit thin or whiney as some lap steels do. I play in jazz, country, blues and free imporvisational settings and i find that this steel is perfect for all of them. It is also suprisingly load (for an electric instrument) when not amplified, which makes it great for practicing on.

The instrument was built beautifully! To my eyes and ears there is not a single flaw. I have played many steels that seem to have incocistencies in both timbre and tension from the bottom strings to the top. This instrument feels and sounds even through and through.

I would also like to add that when it arrived in the mail-it was in tune when i took it out of the box!

It is made out of solid aluminum. I have no worries about its durability!

Chris Fouke is the most helpful man i have ever dealt with in the custom guitar industry. Before i decided to buy the lap steel i sent him at least five emails asking all sorts of questions. He was extremly helpful and he always got back to me the same day that i emailed. I was perticuliarly concerned with the measurments and quite adimant about having my next steel be the same as the one i had been playing on for years. After a few emails i asked Chris if he could switch to using the metric system ( i am canadian as well as dyslexic- so i found the conversion from inches to be confusing) Not only Did Chris rewrite all the info he had sent me in centemeters but he offer to make me a steel to my desired measurments for no extra charge. And this was before i even baught the thing!

This is a great lap steel and i would recomend anyone thinking of buying one to go straight to Chris. He is an amazing builder and a super helpful guy. I am a profeesional lap steel player living in New York who has done many recordings and who gigs all the time-so i'm not saying that lightly. I have used many different models over the years and i am most please with the sound and feel of the Indy Rail!

Built on February 7, 2004; 8-string lap steel; 24 frets; aluminum top and back, with aluminum "rail" sides; 1 True-Tone single-coil pickup; volume and tone control, Grover tuners, fixed bridge. Accessories include allen wrench, spare rubber grommets, care and feeding instructions.

The aluminum hollow body just resonates and sustains for days. The strings attach directly to the body, with no tailpiece to interfere with the string/body interface. The entire guitar is set up with unbroken metal-to-metal contact from one end to the other: from the Grover tuners the strings pass over a metal bolt-on nut, then over a metal bolt-on fixed bridge, with the ball-ends inserted stright into the top aluminum body plate. Unplugged, it's loud enough for quiet practice, and I even specified the thicker guage plates that Chris Fouke uses for predominantly amplified playing. The thinner guages must produce even louder resonance. The True Tone pickup is great; it's reminiscent of a P-90 sound, fatter than a Tele-style single-coil, but not as thick as a humbucker. It's very balanced, with a fairly pronounced midrange. So far, I've been paying with the tone pod wide open, but a surprising amount of adjustment results from tweaking it. It goes from muddy to a clear ringing bell tone with a flick of the wrist. My other lap steel has a Fender-style single coil that has more high-end, but it's also noisy as can be. This True-Tone barely hums and just has an overall smoother output, without the anemic-sounding low end when you play at the bottom of the register, and without the brittle "needle-through-your-eardrum" treble at the high end. It's not exactly "fat," it's just smooth and balanced. I would love to have a regular guitar with this pickup.

Well, this is what happens when you special order a guitar from a guy who is passionate about his product. First of all, you get unmatched communication. I received at least four e-mails updating me on every step of the construction, from the ordering of the pickup to the final UPS tracking number. Even my most inspid questions were answered on the same day I sent them. Secondly, you get an instrument on which no corners hatsoever have been cut. The fretboard is amazing: precisely cut fret markers, perfectly cenetered bridge and nut, strings that exactly bisect the pickup magnets. Every corner filed, no overhanging edges, every bolt (and this thing has dozens) perfectly aligned and tightened. The damn thing even arrived at my door in tune! If you are hesitating for evan an instant out of fear of buying a "mail order" guitar, stop. Fouke puts his reputation on the line with this instrument, and no aspect has been overlooked or left to chance. Viewing the interior of the guitar, you'll see flawless soldering, point-to-point wiring with minimum wire length, and an obsessive attention to detail. This is the antithesis of mass-production, and could easily be seen hanging on the wall at the Museum of Modern Design. I kid you not.

The thing is made from slabs of solid metal, held together by some twenty precision bolts--yes, I think it's going to be durable! The aluminum is brushed (as opposed to mirror-polished) so scartches will barely show up, if at all. Even the fretboard is aluminum, and the dot-markers are (you guessed it) bolted on. This thing looks like one of those "Battle-Bots" you see on TV. Bomb-proof construction, nary a wiggle or a hint of flex. Even the pickup, which is sort of "floating" style, doesn't budge. First rate, long-haul construction.

As I said earlier, Chris Fouke is a consummate professional who obviously stakes his reputation on his products and customer service. I cannot imagine that he would be anything but eager to address and solve any problems that might arise. From my initial inquiries to the day of delivery, Chris was available, approachable, and knowledgeable. Again, this isn't some faceless corporation, it's a guy in Illinois who will build to your needs, and who takes a personal interest in your complete satisfaction. Buy with confidence.

Chris Fouke sells lap steels (and other custom guitars) through his website, and he also often has one or two available on e-bay. Thinking I would save some money, I tried several times to successfully bid on one of the e-bay auctions, but always got outbid at the last possible second. Finally, I wrote to Chris to ask what it would cost to have him jsut build me what I wanted (the 8-string Indy model at the time was still a prototype). As it turned out, he only charged about $50 more than I had been bidding on the auctions anyway. And by ordering a custom model, I got to specify everything from knob color to plate guage to tuning preference--even whether I wanted the little "feet" screwed into the bottom. Furthermore, I got a guitar that was created when I ordered it, with a brand-new hand-wound pickup ordered specifically for this instrument. My advice is to skip the auction headache and go to the online ordering menu on the Industrial website and get exactly what you want. The hardest part of the whole transaction was deciding which body shape I wanted. He offers LOTS of options regarding pickups and features.

I've been playing guitar for (gasp) 30-some years, but lap steels only recently. I tend to like the traditional stuff: Telecasters and Martins; I have an appreciation for things that are well-thought-out and well-made. The Indy 8 fits perfectly with my philosphy and in my collection.

Lap steels are a blast to play! I perform locally as half of a singer-songwriter duo, and the steel really adds a nice vibe to some of the material, the 8-string even moreso. I also do a lot of recording in my project studio, producing instrumental pieces for animated cartoons, and songs for my own cds and mp3s. The lap steel is an incredibly versatile instrument. From spaghetti-western to surf to country, it lends an aura that can't be imitated. For blues and rock and roll, it can add a unique dimension to conventional instrumentation.

At this stage of my career I try to buy for the long haul: durablility and quality take precedence over novelty. This guitar was sort of a mid-life crisis birthday present to myself: my first real-live "custom made" guitar. I don't think there's any way I could have made a better choice--I envison keeping this guitar forever. That this sort of handcrafted quality can be had for under $400 is a testimony to the innovation and integrity of this dedicated independent businessman. If my guitar is any indication, Fouke Industrial Guitars should thrive for years to come. Buy one before they go public!