Ohau Iolana double lapsteel - strings? legs?

[Loek Stolwijk]

I just acquired a Jolana double laptop guitar. Being a newbie i am interested in the recommended strings to use. I am also interested in the diameter of the legs connection. WHich legs are recommended? And at last what would you recommend as tutorial?

[Noah Miller]

The strings depend on what tunings you want to play.

[Doug Beaumier]

It's "Iolana". The "I" looks a lot like a "J". Iolana means to soar like an eagle, in Hawaiian. The guitar's body does look somewhat like a bird in flight.



When you decide which tunings you want to use, go to John Ely's excellent string gauge chart to find the proper gauges to buy: https://www.hawaiiansteel.com/learning/gauges.php

[Loek Stolwijk]

thanks for your quick response. My intentions is to use the lapsteel with punk rock type of music. I might use both tunings open E or D and C6. Looking forward to check both out. ANs thanks for the details on the brandname

[HowardR]

Doug is correct - Iolana......very cool looking guitar, especially the tuning keys.....I also have one and enjoy playing it.....mine is tuned to G and C6......enjoy it!.....

[Doug Beaumier]

If you’re going to play punk rock you’ll probably want a couple of power chord (root, V) positions in the tuning, like on the bottom of the tuning and on the upper strings. Just a thought.

[Loek Stolwijk]

Doug, thanks for your suggestion. I guess an open G could do, but maybe you have some other suggestions

[Noah Miller]

I used to use an open 5th tuning on one neck of my double. Over time it evolved into a 7th without a third, so I could play rock music without stopping to think about whether it was a major or minor chord. If I recall correctly, it was E-B-D-E-B-E from the bottom up.

I assembled a custom set from single strings for that.