The Steel Guitar Forum

Well Hartley and the boys at Peavey have done it again. The Peavey Powerslide's projected MSRP is $199.99. Thats a great price point to get more 6 string players into steel guitar. I played it and its very comfortable. It has a specially designed strap that has 2 connections on the butt end of the guitar. That keeps it level while playing dobro style. You can also play it like a bottleneack guitar, or on your lap. Im getting one ASAP!












BTW, Ben Elder's Instruments that are on display are amazing. It was very nice to see that many nice vintage lap steels in one spot. You would not believe how many people came up to that display taking pictures.





























I havent checked them out myself yet but I hear from a few good sources that the reissue Fender volume pedals and volume tone pedals are great.

Ive heard a lot of buzz about the Duesenberg multibender, but never had a chance to try one...till today. Duesenberg hac 2 PROTOTYPE lap steels that will street for over $1000. The yellow one in the pics had 3 benders on it and a tone pot that you would not believe. It only turned 1/4 turn from full on to full off giving you a perfect boo-wah sound. The black one in the pics was equipped with 2 benders (one that lowered you down to get a minor chord...very cool) and a regular tone pot. Both steels have a movable nut/capo system that allows you to change tunings on the fly.

Thanks for the pics Mike

Mike,

Thanks for the steel guitar report from NAMM!

Love the movable nut!

Drew

That Peavey Powerslide looks pretty cool, and the price point is perfect. I think I might have to buy one. It looks like a very long scale length, based on the photos.

Thanks for sharing, Mike!

There's a Powerslide in my future for sure! And the open gear, 18 to 1 Grover Statites With butterbeans? Great!

Did you like the tone of the Powerslide? It seems like it would be geared towards more aggressive rock & blues with that humbucker.

Also, was the multi-bender intuitive to use? What do the 3 levers do?

Check out this very cool video of the Duesenberg lap steel. I'm definitely intrigued.


Duesenberg

Mike Maddux wrote:Well Hartley and the boys at Peavey have done it again. The Peavey Powerslide's projected MSRP is $199.99. Thats a great price point to get more 6 string players into steel guitar.

Hmm were they listening to me?

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/008418-2.html

Wow! Sign me up for the Peavey Power Slide! The price is right. The tuners look pretty cheesy so I'll replace them right away and have a cool guitar.
Did they say when it will be available?
Joe

Well, I ended up doing a 30 minute demo for the Peavey Powerslide at NAMM today.

The Tuners are Waverly and they are great, not cheesy at all.

The Pickup is voiced great for steel. It is versatile enough to do anything.

The Tone Pot is the real "secret" of the pickup. In full on mode you get a full, deep, rich, humbucking sound. It has a center detent position that give you a bright twangy humbucking sound. In full off mode it cuts one coil and makes it a extra bright twangy single-coil.

The fact that you can easily play it standing up is the best thing. The have a special 3 headed strap for it that balances it out. The shape of the guitar really helps too.

Everyone was going nuts over it. I saw a lot of domestic and international dealers that seemed genuinely interested in it.

During the demo there was a nice little crowd gathered, and it seed to me that 75% of them knew what the instrument was or had at least heard of it.

Mike, I zoomed in on the pic, and the tuners appear to say Grover. They're the 18 to 1 machines, and you're right, they're not cheesy. Waverly copied the old Grover 14 to 1 tuners. My Shobud Permanent and Fingertip guitars use them. When I restore the F-tip, I may use the new 18 to 1 machines.
http://www.grotro.com/Mainvintage.html

thanks for the pictures and review of the Powerslide.
it does read very nice. I like the strap button inclusion. I am envious of that tone pot too.
one thing tho, it sure is one unattractive design. I have to go so far to say it is ugly.

" it sure is one unattractive design. I have to go so far to say it is ugly."
It's ugliness is part of it's charm! Like a Bulldog. These are ugly too, but I love 'em!

Michael Papenburg wrote:Check out this very cool video of the Duesenberg lap steel. I'm definitely intrigued.


Duesenberg

Wow...I want one!

Ugly! I love it! That thing's so far outside the box that it's in my box!
But I must admit I'll believe that $199.99 price when I see it in my hands with that price tag on it. Even the Chineese have to make a profit!
The special case will probably cost $300.

Oh yea, forgot to mention, if you play it upright like a regular guitar it does look kind of like it belongs on the Jetsons or something, but the sweeping upper horn appears to be designed to fit around a bear belly or maybe a pregnant woman when its played flat. Should work well with me and my friends!

If it's designed to be used with a beer belly, then I must say Peavey knows it's steel customer base!

Seriously, I think this is great, I'll definitely check one out and buy one if it sounds good (especially at $200). I know I have the belly for it.

Mike,

Great scouting for steel! Sure looks like there is more steel guitar this year than previous years. I may be able to make it to NAMM tomorrow, don't know yet.

Last year I went around with my steel guitar and gave "steel" demos and participated in jams at maybe 4-5 stands. Lots of folks asked what the instrument was. Looks like they don't ask that question anymore, even though it is still a minority instrument at NAMM. Buy seems there is growing interest this year from your visit reports.

Keep trucking!

That Powerslide body shape looks a little like a Lapdancer (the guitar, not the girl) got hit by a truck. I wish they hadn't carried the swoopy shapes onto the fretboard, but it looks like it'd be a fun & funky-looking thing to have for that price. You could sling that and a battery-powered amp over your shoulder & walk around the neighborhood scaring cats!

Vince

It out Jetsons my Albert Lee! I think it looks 50s cool!

Re the Deusenberg:" It only turned 1/4 turn from full on to full off giving you a perfect boo-wah sound."
Maybe 1 meg pot. That's what Danny Gatton used. I've got one in a Tele, and it does just that. Also found one in my 39 Console Grande!

Nope, it's a regular 250k pot - Rockinger in Germany has been selling those Duesenberg pots for a few months already:
http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?cat= ... duct=07048

Duesenberg also uses it on their new "regular" guitar, the D-Caster:
http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?cat= ... duct=DB320

I got a chance to play the yellow Duesenberg with three palm "pedals" today. I also got a chance to speak with the man who designed and built the two that were there.
It sounded great and had a nice solid feel. The "pedals" can be assigned to any string and can be set to bend either up or down. It had a nice country feel when using the pedals.
The biggest innovation here, I feel, is the combination nut/capo. There is a groove down the center, the length of the fretboard and the built in capo slides along it. It can be fixed at any fret position with a single thumbscrew. You can see it set in the nut and second position in Mike's pictures.
The two at the show were prototypes, and they said they were looking at June for availability. They also said that a bunch of people wanted to buy them or put down deposits for one at the show.
I was pretty impressed.

Ali

Did they say how much they are going to cost?

Harry

Dale Lee Miller wrote: But I must admit I'll believe that $199.99 price when I see it in my hands with that price tag on it. Even the Chineese have to make a profit!

I stand corrected...Waverly's? wow! I agree with Dale, with good tuners and a good sounding pickup, how do they make a profit?
Does anyone know when it will be available for purchase? I stopped in at samash on Sat. (I know, I should have known better but I was going right by) and asked the kid in the guitar dept. about it (mistake #2), received a blank look and a few mumbles so I was on my way out. Maybe Bobbe will get em?
joe

Joe, zoom in on that keyhead shot. The tuners say Grover. Still great!
Go here, and click on Sta-tite, with 18 to 1 gear ratio.
http://www.grotro.com/Mainvintage.html
About $30 for a set of 6 for slotted peghead.