Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag Metallic Red

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

Started playing lap steel a couple of years ago, like the swingy 6th tunings E6,C6. Have been using steel with various groups using a tiny Roland mini cube with good results. Got this steel as a back up but now keep it in C6 tuning. This is better than my 1st steel as it has better knobs and the jack is on the correct side of the instrument--away from your picking hand. You do need to get the correct string gauges for the tuning you use. Higher tension gives it more crying steel sound and not to worry as you're not fretting the thing and the instrument itself is a plank. Basic instrument looks nice, had to turn one of the leg mounts around to use them but mostly use my lap.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I just got my RLS-1 in. Basically it is a pretty nice little guitar for a very small price. The workmanship on the headstock cutouts is pretty crude...but doesn't affect the playing of the instrument and could be smoothed out pretty easily if it bothers you. Basically the inside of the cutouts is just not finished out smoothly. The tuners seem a little rough, but they work ok and hold tune. The strings that come on the instrument are basically useless. They appear to be a very light gauge set of guitar strings, and are way too loose for steel playing. I replaced them immediately with a set of C6 strings I put together. Smallest string is .015 as opposed to the one on it which was probably a .009 or .010 or so. To be honest, due to the shorter than normal scale on the guitar, even these are a little loose. I may go up a gauge or two with the first three strings when I re-string it next time. For now, it will do. The scale on this guitar is about 3/4 inch shorter than the more common 22.5 inches of many steel guitars. The string spacing is also a little narrower than what is becoming a pretty much standard spacing of 3/8" between strings. The spacing on this guitar is about the same as an electric guitar. One thing I have noticed is that the relatively low string height and spacing, palm blocking is very easy and effective. It does have a fully adjustable bridge. When I got the guitar, this was a little out of adjustment on one of the strings causing some rattle when noting with the bar, so check this if you get one. The nut on the guitar is plastic, which is ok but a metal nut might add a little more sustain. The little guy actually plays and sounds pretty well once you get used to the scale and spacing. You might want to think about this if you have large hands or fingers...I'm small framed so it really doesn't bother me that much. The shorter scale does make a little more precision required to get the notes just right. It also makes some bar slants a little more touchy. The gig bag and legs are a nice addition to the guitar. Frankly, you couldn't buy the bag and legs for the cost of the whole setup. Mine has a couple of very very small scratches, one on the headstock and another on the chrome plate where the volume and tone controls are located, but frankly it's just not enough to be worth bothering with a return. When you buy a guitar in this price range, you can't really expect perfection. Overall, if you want a really cheap introduction to steel guitar, and like the legs, it's not a bad choice. At it's current price it will probably never lose over half it's value. I recently saw a used artisan (same guitar pretty much) sell for almost as much plus shipping. Why somebody would bid a cheap guitar new up to that, I don't know, but they will.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I bought a closeout Rogue EA-3 which appears to be the same lap steel as the Rogue RLS-1. It was the Stupid Deal of the Day, and sold out fast. I had purchased an SX lap steel just a few weeks earlier instead of the Rogue because of a few bad EA-3 reviews, but at the severely discounted price, I thought I'd take a chance and have a second steel for a different tuning. The Rogue is great! I think that it sounds much better, even with the factory strings. It has a shorter scale, but that doesn't bother me at all. I like the sound, and can find no flaws whatsoever in the fit and finish of the instrument. Other than having to tune it out of the box, the intonation and string height were spot-on. The tuners are inexpensive, but they work just fine. The bridge is a good design, and the individual saddles are adjustable for intonation and string height. The plastic nut is a week point, but it can be replaced if you so choose, and it serves its purpose. Some reviewers have criticized the screw-on legs. Mine were covered in surface rust inside and out, so I disassembled them and gave them a good cleaning and oiled them. They are a great addition to this lap steel! I had to re-position one of the leg sockets on the instrument to get the legs to mount at the correct angle (it had been mounted incorrectly at the factory), and lube the threads on the legs. The carrying case is of decent quality and design. All in all, this lap steel is a lot of bang for your buck! I should have bought two...

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I'm an experienced bassist, and wife is a hula dancer. About five years ago, me and another one of the husbands (a great musician) thought it'd be nice for the girls to have live music, so we've been learning the Hawaiian tunes. We came to the realization we really need to incorporate the lap steel on many of these songs to really get the right feel,and since bass players are easier to find then lap steel players, I volunteered to give it a go.

We picked up this guitar because of the low price and positive reviews, and it's lived up to the expectations. I have it running through a Blues Jr. with a little delay, and it sounds great.

It stays in tune sufficiently and haven't had and major mishaps yet. The single coil buzzes a bit, but what are you going to do, it's a single coil.

If you have the slightest interest in learning this instrument, you should pull the trigger - it's a lot of fun, and for such a low price, you almost have nothing to lose.

One thing to be careful for is the guitar is made out of particle board, so don't leave the legs on when transporting because you can easily compromise the integrity of the hardware that's attached to the guitar.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

No, it's far from luxury, but a great first intro to steel. Basic out of the box with a nice case and legs. Yes, go ahead and replace the strings with something made for steels, and likely some flat-wounds. I had a buzz or two so check the nut slots and saddles for clean round- bottomed slots. (use correct nut files) I played it with a glass slide and a metal one. Glass is clear and high, while the steel has more edge and sustain. Run this through a distortion or some other pedal and have some fun.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

Bear in mind ALL my comments are tempered by the super low price of this lap steel. Originally, I had thought of building a cheap lap steel but at this price, it seemed smarter to mod this than build from scratch.

My main complaint is the color. On the one, I received, it is nowhere near close to the pics shown. It is MUCH darker and sort of a dark teal/blue with very little metallic visible. Had I known what color "blue" I would actually receive, I would have ordered the Metallic Red. Of course it could all be my eyes so...

Now to the good stuff. I was pleasantly surprised with the overall build quality. Granted, it's a 2x4 with guitar parts, but still, it is very nice for the price. I checked the nut for height and level and it was pretty good... good enough that I put off replacing it. The same goes for the pickup.

Based on some of the other reviews, I expected to want to replace the pickup instantly. I has a decent tone, certainly good enough if this is a starter instrument. I tried it with several small amps. When I got to my Fender Super Champ X2 (also from MF) I found I could tweak the Ch.2 Twin Reverb setting (turn off bright switch and add mids to #8) and pretty much get the tone I was looking for. ( the clean classic country/hawaiian tone).

With all the negative comments about the legs, I was prepared to trash them, if need be. The threads (on legs and sockets) were clogged with paint so, before any attempt to assemble, I cleaned the threads. I have an el-cheapo tap & die set and used the metric M8 x 1.25 and was able to clean them and they now work perfectly well. I advise removing the leg sockets from the body to clean those treads.

The gig bag, as many have said is actually quite nice, for the price, and I plan to use it permanently.

Considering some of the imperfections other reviews have mentioned, I decided the color being way off was far more tolerable ( than other possible deficiencies) and everything else seems fine without having to replace any other component/s (if I don't want to).

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

Well, for the price, I pretty much got what I expected. A lap steel is basically a 4x4 with a pickup. As noted in other reviews, the pickup is single coil and very noisy. This could not be used on stage. I ordered a humbucker, so that should take care of that problem. The tuners are low grade, but do the job. Not very precise, but they hold the tension well.

I only bought this to see if it would work out in the band for a few Hank Williams tunes, and this is great, and really fun to play. I changed it over to C6 tuning, and there are tons of videos on Youtube to learn from. I've already got 5 songs worked out. Most likely, I'll be looking for a two neck model. I'm hooked. This is a good purchase to start off on.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I thought having a lap steel would be a fun instrument to play. After recently buying a resonator guitar, I thought I would continue the slide experience and branch out a little. I read many reviews, got a good price, and decided to take the plunge. I was expecting a usable instrument that probably needed some upgrades to be decent. When I received it ( thanks for the fast shipping once again, MF), my first impressions were about what I expected. First the cons-tuners are really poor quality, very sloppy but so far hold a tune. These will be replaced eventually. As previous reviews have stated, finish around tuner shafts is rough. Strings are cheap and too light.Now the pros -overall fit and finish is good. The pickup is suprisingly okay for a cheap ceramic bar magnet pickup. Legs were much better than I expected, it's not really stable standing on it's own but plenty stable when you sit down to play.Gig bag is nice quality. I expect to do some mods on almost any instrument I buy. I'm far from a pro butI am always looking for the best possible tone. I swapped the pickup out for a GFS Alnico strat pickup. While I was in there, I changed the capacitor to a .047 paper in oil cap I had lying around. I changed the strings out to Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky 12's. Now it sounds fantastic. The pickup really gave it more clarity and the cap made the tone control more usable. I will probably goa little lighter on the strings on the bass side next time, but 12's are perfect on top. Overall impressions -this thing is a solid 4 stars out of the box, with minamal upgrades I give it 5 stars. For the price they sell for, it's a steal. Even better, it's pretty easy to play and becoming addictive.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I use this guitar at home for pleasure.
I am impressed with the quality of this guitar. The overall impression is excellent and the workmanship is very good with good quality machine heads and beautiful finish and the tone is great. Very good quality for the money....as a matter of fact, to purchase the same item here in Canada would cost at least three times the amount I paid. Well done, Musician's Friend, and thank you!

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

When evaluating this instrument one must keep the very low price in mind, because the overall level of quality is in line with that price. Finish inside the headstock slots is quite poor. The legs and leg mounts are threaded poorly enough that the legs will not attach securely to the body. The tone control operates badly, changing the tone very slightly from high to low until it suddenly drops to the bass side. But that said, it's fun to play and doesn't sound too bad when plugged in to a decent amp. I just decided to learn lap steel after 50+ years playing guitar, and this instrument suits that purpose well. I would recommend it (with limitations duly noted) to someone looking for an entry-level lap steel, but not to anyone looking for a top quality instrument.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

The stock strings are basically useless. Per recommendations of many others I bought a set of C6 tuned strings. These have made a HUGE difference. The tuning knobs are a little loose at points but the new strings hold their tune just fine. These are the strings I got "S I T non pedal lap semi flat nickel 6 string C6 tuning"

This is my first lap steel. If youre interested in the instrument Id totally recommend. I bet you could ven put regular electric strings on it and play it in standard tuning too.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

After reading all of the mixed reviews for this product, I finally decided to treat myself with an early birthday gift. I fear too many judge this instrument off of its cheap price point and non-major-name brand.

Other than having to tune the strings a little out of the box, I pretty much plug/played this baby with 0 effort.

I am a drummer/vocalist foremost, so maybe I lack a perfect ear for guitar tone, but imo it sounds wonderful through my little Line 6 Spider III clean/distorted/etc. I can crank it up pretty darn loud without hearing any damage to sound quality, so the comments on poor pickups/electronics may be an issue with that particular unit received or with the musician's ears/hands/brain...

The one knock I would put towards this instrument is that the legs-body sockets are pretty much a joke. Not a problem if you play a lap steel on your lap/a table.

The legs would make me give this a lower rating except for the fact that I am still playing the stock strings and the included gig bag is of high quality.

Bottom line: 5 star bang for your buck. You could play this thing professionally if you don't hold shame over what others might think about your less than a grand instrument brand name.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I had been wanting to try my hand at lap steel after having played 12 string guitar for 10 years and before attempting to move forward with pursuing full on pedal steel, I purchased this little diddy.

First, the instrument is smaller than a standard dreadnought and is essentially a light weight wooden plank with tuners and other guitar hardware. While the "fret board" is solid plastic, it is really only there as a guide since the string doesn't touch the board.

Upon arrival, I had to purchase proper strings for the tuning (C6) as the ones it came with snapped. Be sure to purchase strings for lap steel as they are hardier than standard strings. Once the strings were changed, I tuned up and set to practicing.

Hooked to a 10 watt generic practice amp with reverb, this low-cost lap steel sounded pretty good. My only complaint is the scale of the neck/fretboard. I was learning some slants with the steel bar, but the scale of the guitar is somewhat short. I guess that will be an excuse to upgrade later.

Overall, this is recommended if you want to try something new. The gig bag is a nice bonus and gives you a pocket for a tuner, steel and extra strings. Rogue needs to manufacture an entry level pedal steel now.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

This is my first lap steel, I'm having a great time learning on this instrument!

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I've played guitar for 20 years but this is my first foray into lap steel guitars, so I'm no expert. But that being said, I'm very happy with the purchase. I've tinkered with it for a couple weeks now and it seems to stay in tune well, I haven't had the issues with the legs that some people have complained about, and it's a sharp looking guitar (the subtly-glittery metallic paint doesn't really come through in the photos).

The pickup is a bit noisy, but you can moderate that somewhat depending on where you set the tone nob and what effects you run it through. And while I haven't practiced with the band yet, I imagine any buzz will get drowned out by the other instruments. And there's always the option of upgrading the pickup.

I think it's a fantastic instrument to learn on and I plan on gigging it too for select songs.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I haven't played pro in many years, but in the day I had a Fender 8 string deluxe lap steel. Is this instrument comparable to that? Well it comes closer than I thought. My wife just got it for me as an early birthday gift and I couldn't be happier. After reading all the cons in these reviews on MF, it's as if the company took notice, because I don't see any big problems at all. The legs fit perfectly, though the balance is a bit off, but it doesn't topple over at the blink of an eye. The hum is what you'd expect from a single coil Pup. The tuners are what they are: about adequate. The paint finish is well done, ( I got the metallic blue), including inside of the tuner slots. The gig bag is well designed, sturdy, and a great inclusion. The instrument sounds beautiful though my 1966 Gemini II. Nice tone overall and the controls work fine. Once I replace the strings for a C6 tuning, I'm sure it will have all the fun expected and more from a low priced instrument. Over the years I've spent thousands for gear from Musician's Friend and this lap steel is a welcome addition.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

Good instrument. Sounds good, plays easily and volume and tone controls work well. I dislike the classical guitar type string system. It's a pita to change strings.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

This is the 3rd Rogue product I have bought from Musician's Friend. I now have an acoustic guitar, the Rogue Rocketeer electric guitar and now the lap steel guitar. All are very good products shipped to me fast and in perfect new shape.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

I've played lots of slide over the years and decided that I'd like a lap steel. With the great price offered on this Rogue and the fact that I've purchased several Rogue guitars in the past and always been happy with them, I made the leap. Got the box yesterday and even though I was impressed with the physical appearances, the truth was in the plugged in pudding. Seems I got a bad pickup and ground version, though as long as the bones are good it's still a deal. The hum and internal noise was so bad my pedal tuner would not even work on it. I discovered the pickup had random stray fine copper wires hanging out of it, so I swapped in a Strat pickup which fits like it was intended for the space. I also improved the ground wire that is pinned under the bridge by stripping it further back and tinning the wire with solder. When I re-assembled things I made sure the wire was touching both the bridge and the electonics plate. I also discovered that several of the screws holding down the plate and bridge had been over tightened at assembly and were stripped out in the wood. I replaced these with longer versions and now things are right on the mark. The tone with the Strat pickup is great, although I expect that I'll build a new nut for it out of brass eventually. I just need to get busy on some bottle necks and make the right size slide for myself. I prefer glass over metal as the sound is warmer and it's easier to customize the exact profile you want when you cut the bottle. Since I have the skills and experience to modify and set up my own guitars, I have always appreciated the availability of less expensive though well built intruments. You can get your money's worth if you know how to work with the components provided and improve the feel, accuracy and tone of mass produced brands like this. I wrote this review so that anyone who might have bought this same item could have a resource for how to fix the issues I discovered with mine.

Comments about Rogue RLS-1 Lap Steel Guitar with Stand and Gig Bag:

This model is just ok but perfect for learning on a budget, its pickup was weak & awful sounding so I stuck a Duncan & a set of 250K pots in it and she came alive ! Tuners were real lousy too especially with new strings and no way to change them (tuners) easily without major work so I dealt with them and it needed a set up but intonating is near impossible since there's no frets to accurately get a true precise "in tune" reading on my tuner so I set it as near as I could and it turned out ok. I will be buying another one but only to rob the adjustable legs their mounting hardware from it to put on my new lap steel that I love. The carrying bag is made well & durable and has elastic holders for each legs so they don't bump into anything. Get one and experiment with different single coils to find your sound, it's a lot of fun. After I got the hang of it I got a name brand one from the 50's which I'm in love with, but still have many recordings of my old faithful Rogue RLS-1 and it sounds great. For the price you cannot go wrong, get one you will not be disappointed ! I like these also because you can palm mute the strings and some have a huge cover over the bridge preventing that for some reason ? Mine was black with a hint of glitter in its paint and was thin but ok. After I changed the pots to CTS's & coupled them with the Duncan, she was a real tone monster all for under a few hundred beans ! GET ONE before they're discontinued !!!!