Uploaded October 2011 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
A classic song, which was one of my parent's favorite songs. I remember as a young boy being asked by my father to ask the band to play Harbor Lights at "Uncle Johns" restaurant in Chicago, and he'd give me a couple dollars to toss into their collection bucket or hat. The restaurant is no longer in business, but it was a memorable place for years while they were open, most of all being with my parents. I was fortunate to have my parents growing up, which many people don't.
I'm playing C6th tuning on a Jerry Byrd Frypan 24 1/2" longscale. "Harbor Lights" is a popular song in Hawaii amongst those who know and appreciate real music. My amp is a Roland MicroCube, with just one speaker. This amp is perfect for Hawaiian tone on lap steel guitar, with a loud-horn kind of sound from a small speaker.
My strings are semi-flats, which are a great compromise between flat-wounds and round-wounds. Semi-flats are great if you don't go over .036" for your bottom 6th string. If you like a thicker, say .056" string, then a round-wound string would be uncomfortable on your left hand as you slide, and there'd be some bar noise while sliding. You won't have this problem with a 036" semi or round wound string, which is the standard recommend gauge for a middle C note. My 2nd string is also a C note, using a .018" to .020" string guage.
On string one (an E note) I use a thicker guage string like Jerry Byrd does. I don't like thin strings because they don't have as rich a tone and the feel is quite different. I use a 016" to 018" for my 1st string, stainless steel. I don't have a preferred brand of string, they're all good as far as I've noticed.
Note that if you use a high G note for string one on an 8-string tuning (which is a C13, the same as Herb Remington's A6th, just 3 tones higher in key) then you need a lighter guage. A high G gives you a Western Swing tuning for lap steel, which is nice, but not for me. I like the high E and will stay with that. I've tried a high G and it's nice to have an upper major chord (i.e., C,E,G, on strings 3,2,1); but I'm just used to an E (which gives me a minor chord on top (A,C,E). The most popular Hawaiian 8-string tuning today has an E note on top and is as follows, treble to bass: E - C - A - G - E - C - Bb - C ). The other popular C6th 8-string tuning is simply, treble to bass: E - C - A - G - E -C - A - G ). If you like a high G, then a popular tuning is as follows, treble to bass: G - E - C - A - G - E - C - A ). I have several dozen tunings listed on my website at steelc6th.com.
Flat-wounds deaden your sound. Ironically, they were all I used for a couple years and thought they were great because they are totally flat and smooth to slide upon. That was before I started playing more harmonics. I have since come to experience and learn for myself that semi-flat or round-wound strings are best for harmonics and have a nicer, more present, sound. I use both, but semi-flats are special order and it's rare for any music store to carry them.
I normally turn my amp and/or guitar tone more toward the mellow side than the bright side. I set my tone knob to about 2 or 3 at highest. Lap steel sounds best on the mellow, laid-back, side, not too bright. Steel guitar is a laid-back instrument.
There's an island family behind me down by the sand and sea. They caught a bunch of fish and are scraping the scales off of the fish, which you can hear in my video. I gave the father a Gospel of John. He smiled and all his front teeth were rotted. My heart goes out to the island people. They were eating coconuts and happy to be cleaning the fish they caught, humble people. You can see the dad climb up the tree behind me in my video titled, "Beyond The Reef - Hawaiian Steel Guitar."
A classic song, which was one of my parent's favorite songs. I remember as a young boy being asked by my father to ask the band to play Harbor Lights at "Uncle Johns" restaurant in Chicago, and he'd give me a couple dollars to toss into their collection bucket or hat. The restaurant is no longer in business, but it was a memorable place for years while they were open, most of all being with my parents. I was fortunate to have my parents growing up, which many people don't.
I'm playing C6th tuning on a Jerry Byrd Frypan 24 1/2" longscale. "Harbor Lights" is a popular song in Hawaii amongst those who know and appreciate real music. My amp is a Roland MicroCube, with just one speaker. This amp is perfect for Hawaiian tone on lap steel guitar, with a loud-horn kind of sound from a small speaker.
My strings are semi-flats, which are a great compromise between flat-wounds and round-wounds. Semi-flats are great if you don't go over .036" for your bottom 6th string. If you like a thicker, say .056" string, then a round-wound string would be uncomfortable on your left hand as you slide, and there'd be some bar noise while sliding. You won't have this problem with a 036" semi or round wound string, which is the standard recommend gauge for a middle C note. My 2nd string is also a C note, using a .018" to .020" string guage.
On string one (an E note) I use a thicker guage string like Jerry Byrd does. I don't like thin strings because they don't have as rich a tone and the feel is quite different. I use a 016" to 018" for my 1st string, stainless steel. I don't have a preferred brand of string, they're all good as far as I've noticed.
Note that if you use a high G note for string one on an 8-string tuning (which is a C13, the same as Herb Remington's A6th, just 3 tones higher in key) then you need a lighter guage. A high G gives you a Western Swing tuning for lap steel, which is nice, but not for me. I like the high E and will stay with that. I've tried a high G and it's nice to have an upper major chord (i.e., C,E,G, on strings 3,2,1); but I'm just used to an E (which gives me a minor chord on top (A,C,E). The most popular Hawaiian 8-string tuning today has an E note on top and is as follows, treble to bass: E - C - A - G - E - C - Bb - C ). The other popular C6th 8-string tuning is simply, treble to bass: E - C - A - G - E -C - A - G ). If you like a high G, then a popular tuning is as follows, treble to bass: G - E - C - A - G - E - C - A ). I have several dozen tunings listed on my website at steelc6th.com.
Flat-wounds deaden your sound. Ironically, they were all I used for a couple years and thought they were great because they are totally flat and smooth to slide upon. That was before I started playing more harmonics. I have since come to experience and learn for myself that semi-flat or round-wound strings are best for harmonics and have a nicer, more present, sound. I use both, but semi-flats are special order and it's rare for any music store to carry them.
I normally turn my amp and/or guitar tone more toward the mellow side than the bright side. I set my tone knob to about 2 or 3 at highest. Lap steel sounds best on the mellow, laid-back, side, not too bright. Steel guitar is a laid-back instrument.
There's an island family behind me down by the sand and sea. They caught a bunch of fish and are scraping the scales off of the fish, which you can hear in my video. I gave the father a Gospel of John. He smiled and all his front teeth were rotted. My heart goes out to the island people. They were eating coconuts and happy to be cleaning the fish they caught, humble people. You can see the dad climb up the tree behind me in my video titled, "Beyond The Reef - Hawaiian Steel Guitar."
