Seize the Sounds of Lap-steel Legend Paul Franklin
Duesenberg’s line of lap steel guitars has earned the company international acclaim, owing to the team’s innovative engineering and imaginative vision, but Duesenberg has also earned the admiration of one of the instrument’s most celebrated and accomplished performers. The Alliance Series Paul Franklin Lapsteel marries Duesenberg’s ingenuity with Paul’s revered musicality, resulting in a signature instrument that is meticulously custom-tuned to Paul’s performance needs yet available to all players. This signature lap steel guitar is built around a korina body and neck with a back-imprinted acrylic fingerboard. Duesenberg’s pickups deliver a powerful palette of crystalline voicing, comprising a classic-voiced GrandVintage humbucker and a hum-canceling SingleTwin Domino P-90 single-coil. Delivering ear-grabbing up and down bends is effortless on this lap steel, thanks to its Multibender bridge system. Plus, its speed pot puts tone swells at your fingertips. For Paul’s playing, the Alliance Series signature model ditches the capo with Duesenberg’s “Capo-Delete,” joining ultra-reliable Duesenberg Z-Tuners and a roller nut. An attractive maple-topped headstock, a light-catching PUR lacquer finish, and Duesenberg’s trademark geometrical 3-stepped styling round out the Alliance Series Paul Franklin Lapsteel.
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Luxurious tones that channel decades of innovation
Paul Franklin’s lap steel–playing prowess has fueled his decades-long and genre-transcending ascension to globally respected artistry, appearing on more than 500 albums along the way. Furthermore, Paul has the distinct honor of not just being nominated for the Country Music Association Award for Musician of the Year a whopping 29 times but earning an unprecedented 30 total CMA nominations — the most in CMA history.
So, for Paul to co-sign an instrument, he has to weigh its capabilities against his vast and versatile discography. When you plug in his signature Alliance Series Lapsteel, you’ll be embraced by Duesenberg’s trademark clear, distinct tone, thanks to a diverse array of premium proprietary pickups. At the bridge, you’ll find a classic-voiced GrandVintage humbucker with a sharp sonic texture that cuts through anything. At the neck, you’ll find a hum-canceling SingleTwin Domino P-90 single-coil that’s chock-full of fatness and warmth. The Alliance Series Paul Franklin Lapsteel also includes a speed pot, which operates at a reduced 70-degree angle, enabling you to deliver expressive tone swells with a mere twist of your pinky finger.
Multibender: evocative per-string expression
As a member of the Time Benders — on top of the myriad musicians who proudly call on him to collaborate — it’s safe to say that Paul’s lap steel guitar playing requires a flexible yet focused palette. His Alliance Series Lapsteel features Duesenberg’s innovative Multibender bridge system, which makes executing per-string pitch bends easy and intuitive. You can bend the strings up or down a semi or whole tone with a simple maneuver using the heel of your hand. The Multibender lets you change chords from minor to major (or any other interval) in an interesting and eminently musical way. This Alliance Series Lapsteel comes with two pitch-bend levers and can be expanded up to five levers, with additional levers available separately.
Duesenberg: the 6-string pride of Deutschland
Founded by German guitar designer Dieter Gölsdorf in 1989, Duesenberg guitars represent a multinational mixing pot of American art deco aesthetics, hot-rod heritage, and exacting German engineering. Duesenberg's utterly distinctive instruments — affectionately dubbed "Doozys" by their adherents — gleam with proprietary parts and pickups that merge the daring appointments of the early electric guitar age with the pinpoint precision of modern manufacturing excellence. From the iconic Starplayer semi-hollow guitars to basses, lap steels, and beyond, every Duesenberg that Sweetwater carries embodies consummate artisanship. Fittingly, this unerring dedication has attracted more than a few luminaries, including the likes of Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, Mike Campbell, John Mayer, and Tom Bukovac. For the musician who demands superlative performance, idiosyncratic innovation, and master-level musical detail in equal measure, only a Doozy will do.
Duesenberg Alliance Series Paul Franklin Lapsteel Features:
- Signature instrument for lap steel legend Paul Franklin
- Built around a korina body and neck with a back-imprinted acrylic fingerboard
- Bridge GrandVintage humbucker delivers a sharp sonic texture that cuts through a busy mix
- Neck SingleTwin Domino P-90 single-coil serves up a creamy, fat, warm sound with zero hum
- Multibender bridge system makes executing per-string pitch bends easy and intuitive
- Speed pot delivers expressive tone swells with a mere twist of your pinky finger
- “Capo-Delete” system drops the capo commonly found on Duesenberg lap steel guitars, giving you greater control of your sonic setup
- Ultra-reliable Duesenberg Z-Tuners and a roller nut
- Attractive maple-topped headstock
- Light-catching PUR lacquer finish
- Duesenberg’s trademark geometrical 3-stepped styling
