Here’s me doing my best to play this steel. I built it in Art Deco style with a Fender Telecaster bridge pickup (new, not pillaged), walnut body, ebony fretboard, Kluson-style tuning machines, and  high-class MOTS (mother of toilet seat) plastic trim. It looks good and it rocks.

Then again, I’ve got a 1954 Fender Champion lap steel with its original pickup. A lot of people have been pillaging the pickups from these Champions and installing them in their recent-vintage Telecasters. Shame on you -- stop it. These Champion steels are historic artifacts.

For the record -- Here’s the 1954 Fender Champion I mentioned above. It’s upholstered in genuine yellow MOTS plastic. Crank the amp to 11, screw your hat down -- this thing REALLY rocks.

Fender was making these and earlier models even before they built the Telecaster. In fact, lap steels were the original electric guitar, dating back to at least the mid 1930s. Some of the 1930s Rickenbackers are worth a pile of money.