Ben Harper : "She’s Only Happy in the Sun was a single vocal-and-guitar take. I played a Cole Clark acoustic from Australia that’s a cross between a 000 and a dreadnought. To get a chimey effect, I doubled the chords higher up the neck using a capo. Then I played bass and drums, and added some acoustic fills."

Specifications :
All solid timber dreadnought with internally carved top and back
Natural satin finish
Neck - Queensland Maple
Top - Solid Bunya or “A” grade solid spruce top,
Solid Bunya, Queensland Maple or blackwood back and sides
Inlaid timber face edge and rosette
Solid rosewood bridge and fingerboard
Grover Machine Heads

More about Cole Clark acoustic guitars | read

Specifications :
Neck - US Rock Maple, Queensland Maple, Blackwood, or Bunya.
Body - Queensland Maple or Bunya with laminated top.
Top - US Rock Maple, Queensland Maple, Blackwood, Figured Aust Ash or Bunya.
Pick ups - Cole Clark - Machine heads - Grover
25 1⁄2 “ scale.
Cole Clark humbuckers (Mistress neck and Mistress bridge)
2 volume, 2 tone controls, 3 way pick up selector
Solid timber
Set neck (glued in neck) with either US rock maple or Indian rosewood fingerboard.


Ben Harper played a Cole Clark Mistress on So High So Low (Diamonds On The Inside, 2003) — "So High So Low's main riff was played on a '54 Gold top Les Paul with P 90, a Cole Clark Mistress and a Danelectro."

The Mistress with a tattoo top features on the DVD "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" (live performance : Glory And Consequence).

John Brownrigg (Cole Clark Guitars, 2003) : "The Violap A and AP are acoustic models without the centre block of the Violap 2 and 2P. The blocked models are designed for higher volume amplification. The Violap 2 has two humbucking pickups, the 2P has two humbucking pickups and the piezo system from our acoustic guitars."

The Violap 2 features on the DVD "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" (bonus sound check performance : Ground On Down).

To know more about Cole Clark lap steels, read the article written by Todd Burman for Mixdown, 2003 | read

Violap 2 | photo © Victor Dubois
Hall Rhénus, Strasbourg, France - Nov. 08, 2003

Click on thumbnails to enlarge photo © benharper.biz

Custom made combination skateboard / lap steel guitar.

Specifications :
Single Coil Pickup
Volume Control
Grover Chrome "3+3" Tuning Machines
Natural Gloss Finish
Plug in and play!
World Industries Wheels
Independent Trucks
32" x 8.25" x 4-5" (Scale length approx. 25" nut to bridge)