Because the strings are not pressed down on the fretboard when the guitar is played, there is no need for 'setting the intonation'.

There are a whole range of technical articles on this subject on the internet. The intonation adjustments are largely there to compensate for the different thickness strings and how they interact with the fretboard. Intonation is not an issue on a lap steel. Slant chords are easier to play on a shorter scale length guitar. to bring in the flattened third for a minor chord). A lot of chordings on a lap steel involve slanting the bar while playing (eg. The problem in doing this is you really need to dedicate the guitar to becoming a lap steel only.Īn electric guitar with a 25.5' scale length is not the ideal instrument for playing lap steel. You will probably need to raise the GK pickup slightly as well. They basically sit over the nut and raise the height of the strings. There are a range of these nut extenders available. If you want to try a lap steel with the VG-99, the simplest thing you can do is fit a nut extender on an existing GK equipped guitar.

Lap steel fretboard template