Peavey Power Slide

Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

Thinking about getting a Power Slide, but wanted to get opinions now that folks have had some time to live with them.

Are there any stand up alternatives to the Power Slide, aside from the obvious of using a stand or a console with legs?

Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

The best known stand-up steel is the Melobar Skreemr-- contact Forum member Ted Smith for details.

I looked for a stand-up solution for a long time. I played something that Ted designed for several years -- essentially a fiberglass shell shaped like the back of a Dobro that bolted on to my lap steel.

Eventually, I wanted something that was made for this purpose, so I came up with a basic design, then found a great, adventurous builder who made the design better than I could have imagined. It's the blue guitar in my avatar -- a one of a kind instrument called the StrapSteel.

If you have woodworking skills, I have some ideas for a version 2.0...
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Peter
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

I think the Peavey Power Slide is a very nice lap steel, has a cool tone control that is actually not a tone control but changes the pickup from a full coil to a split coil or anything in between. I don't use the strap or the bar that comes with the unit but for 200 bucks it is well worth it. Last count I had 5 in different places around the the house and I bought one for a gift. I have different tunings but favor
G in a small 5 watt tube amp for bluesy tones and C6 in a cleaner amp for a jazzy tone. I paid more for some stupid pedals I bought that gather dust. Go Figure!

Lenny

Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

Thanks for the replies guys.

Peter: I do have woodworking skills and would be interested in your solution for a couple of guitars that I already own.

Lenny: thanks for the input -- I'm thinking I may go ahead and get one.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Have you tried one on? Some local music stores may have them on hand. The body is designed with what's called a "belly hook" and they come with a 3 point mounted strap for stand up playing. The one I tried felt OK to me, but the hook sort of inhibits you moving left or right if it's not the right position for you.

The tone circuit is the old T-60 six string type which is continuously variable stop to stop per Len's post.

Pretty cool little axe. There's one on my wish list, but not there yet.

Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

I have not tried one yet. Steel guitars are very scarce in the music stores here in western Colorado.

This Forum is great because I can at least get others opinions so I'm not buying completely blind.

I wondered about the hook and how that would fit as I do move the guitar a bit when playing up the neck on my dobro.

Dennis Coelho · From: Wyoming, USA

The MSA Superslide is designed to be played either standing or sitting. It comes with a recessed bar that can be extended to hold the guitar out from the body at various lengths. There is a photo and description on the MSA website.

I have two of them a single and a double. I do not play standing but I can see how it would easily be done.

A very high quality instrument

Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

Hey, Bill – You could add a “belly bar” to an existing steel – essentially, something that attaches to the steel and projects toward your waist. The best example of this is Jason Dumont’s attachment that Jerry Douglas uses http://www.lapking.com/images/largephotos/belaire3.html. The downside is, you won’t add any length to the body behind the bridge/tailpiece, and if you want to play it like a Dobro, you need room to fit your arm in under the strap. That was a key point when I wanted something built for me.

I think there are a number of ways to skin this cat, like putting a thicker neck onto a bolt-on guitar (like a Tele) and using something like Jason’s bolt-on support arm, or creating something out of wood or metal like Yamaha uses on their Silent guitars.http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-YAM-SLG110N-LIST?src=Y0802G00SRCHCAPN&gclid=CPafp6O1lbUCFQLd4AodMyAAVQ. The biggest concerns for me are balance and weight.

If you really want to get into it, you could take an existing steel (or make one) and cut the sides off so you have a plank. Then add wings to the plank to rest against your waist and balance the whole thing. You’ll need this thing to be wide enough so you can get your hands in a good position. You also need to add something at the tailpiece end to screw in your strap button.

Seems like it might almost be easier to start from scratch with one piece of wood that runs from peghead to strap button, like a neck-through guitar http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_necks,_wood/Electric_guitar_necks/Through-body_Guitar_Neck.html?tab=Pictures(this has a 25” scale length and the neck is already shaped, so it won’t work for lap steel purposes).

Randy Cordle, who built the StrapSteel, realized that the body doesn’t need to be symmetrical – the part of the body on the far side of the neck doesn’t have to be as wide as what’s between you and the neck – that extra width would make the guitar tip away from the player. (Randy was a genius at figuring out ways to improve my original idea – the guitar plays and sounds fantastic).

The neck only has to be 1 ½” or less thick – whatever would work for a basic lap steel to keep it from warping. The wings need to be about 2 ½” thick to balance well against your waist. But if the wings are solid, this thing will weigh a ton. So you can build them as open frames, hollow boxes (the Strap Steel is essentially hollow, with interior blocks supporting the bridge and neck joint), or anything else that gives it strength without weight.

I will attempt this at some point, if I can talk myself into it...
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Peter
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Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

Thanks for the info guys.

Dennis, I would love to have a Superslide, but my budget won't stand it at the moment. I didn't realize they had the belly bar built in though - definitely something to think about for the future.

Peter that's some good ideas. I have been thinking of making an add-on piece. Maybe the shape of my dobro outside with cutout to fit my lapsteel inside. You have a good point too that it only needs to extend from the players side. I would need to come up with a lightweight material though.

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Megan Lovell of the band Larkin Poe uses both a Scheerhorn resonator guitar and a Rickenbacker B6 lap steel on stage. She has a custom harness that holds the Ricky in a convenient location for playing while standing up. She says it's heavy but works well.

These are the best photos I could find of her Rickenbacker lap steel in concert.

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Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

Cousin Jody did just fine with his "Biscuit Board" too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjGXFnKLbk8

Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

Brad - thanks for tipping me to Larkin Poe -- they're awesome!

Bill, here's a so-so photo of the Melobar thing I used to use. Ted Smith made this thing (called the Outrigger) that bolted onto the back of a lap steel. The shell is thin fiberglas and it has Styrofoam inside that shapes to the guitar. There's black fabric and a thin top on the thing, too.

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Peter
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Tom Pettingill · From: California, USA (deceased)

Ted Smith · Posted 1 Feb 2013 7:16 pm

I can't help but pipe in...for 12 years this was an everyday conversation with players on the phone - I have to say I do believe for the life of the lap steel on stage it can't look like you're busy in the bathroom - it has to get up and move like the Dobro. Melobar's tilt neck angle suited flat pickers really, not finger pickers, you have to get that palm down and it has to feel solid as a ROCK. For some reason (maybe because the Melobar neck is lower and has that mass of body against you) the double neck Tele/Melobar has that solid feel and is far better to play than just the old Melobar. I love the spin off ideas out there but whatever you try it has to be solid feeling with enough body against you to not move or slip. The dobro has that 4 inches against your gut along with your right arm anchor which does that really well and is why I did the outrigger - I wish someone would vacume form a light weight version of the Dobro body that ANY lap could just bolt into when you want to stand up. The old outrigger was part of the Melobro and was too bulky but it was solid. I think I saw (if not someone needs to make) a version that is just the outside (like the body sides in an acoustic guitar kit)so you can put the lap steel you love the sound of into a stand up steel easily. I still play with a dobro on a keyboard stand on stage but I feel like I'm stranded and can't move with the band. Anyway...my rambling on the matter Smile

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old Melobar guy

Gene Warner · From: Texas, USA

I would already own one of those Peavy's, if they made an eight string version.
Gene Warner

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

The Powerslide is not meant to compete with higher end instruments like MSA or Sierra. These things sell new for under $200. If you look around, you can find them for less. Even less money for a used one.

Check the online stores. Sometimes they have really good deals on used or blems. You can try them and send them back too if it's not what you expected. It's a good instrument to let you scratch your slide itch and see if it's something you want to stay with or delve into deeper. JMO

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

The powerslide is fun and very lightweight, If you can live with six strings it may be perfect for you!

I just needed more strings for most gigs, so I sold mine.
Dom
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Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

I'm with you Ted, I really would like to be able to move around. It would be nice to have at least 7 strings though.

The Outrigger you made for Peter looks promising. Maybe I'll try to make something along that line of thought.

Coming from the dobro, I am used to having the 5th up top and when I tune a six string up to high C6 then I miss having the one on the bottom. Confused

Helmut Gragger · From: Austria

It was mentioned...

I have one of the Melo-Bars, seemingly the Powerslide-88 model. White neck with a single pickup, (which appears to be a E-66), 10 strings and a black cushion body - very cool.

It sounds good and powerful. The strings are a bit crammed for my taste, the head stock is not very well suited for that many strings and strings sometimes rasp over the wood.

This guitar is made to be played while standing, when you want to sit the body sits flat to your knees and thus the fretboard is angled towards you - impossible to play. You have to maintain a 45 deg downwards tild to have the fretboard even. This is somewhat cumbersome but you get used to it.

It is from a technical point of view not my best guitar but by far the most kinky Very Happy

-helmut
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

I ordered my first power slide from a local music store I have done business with and they always have one setup on display. They have sold a number of them and I tell people that ask me about lap steel and I say the Power Slide is an excellent introductory lap steel and the most fun you can have for $200

I have invited interested players to my place and demonstrated what a peavey Power Slide can sound like.

It's a great product and Peavey's inovation over the years has my respect.

Lenny

Allen Arndt · From: Minnesota, USA

Here's my two cents worth. I bought one new when they first came out. Sold it soon after. Intonation was bad. The further up the neck you went the worse it got.
You could lay the bar on the strings as straight as an arrow and my ears would curl as I picked accross.

Barry Stabile · From: New York, USA

I just got one a couple of weeks ago. I went to order one off Amazon, and found an option for a used one from Guitar Center for $160, with shipping included. It said it was in "very good" condition, but when it arrived it was like new, in the original box. The strap and slide bar were in their original packaging, too. so it must have been a return. So it looks like I got a good deal.

It's definitely a cool instrument for the money (the variable circuit on the pickup control is very interesting). As far as playing it while standing goes, though, it's very awkward. Maybe for someone with a large belly it may work ok, but for a guy like me, the strings are so close to my body that it interferes with my bar technique. Imagine taking a lap steel and, instead of laying it on your lap out near your knees, pulling it snug up against your torso - that's the playing position when using the strap, standing. And that's another thing - using the 3-way strap as intended means suspending it from your neck - not the most pleasant experience after a few tunes.

As I said - it's a pretty cool instrument for the $ - the pickup, wide string spacing, and long scale (24-1/2") make it very enjoyable to play. But, for me, it just doesn't work for playing lap-style while standing.

Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

Thanks for the input Barry. It looks a little awkward for standing to me as well -- that's why I was asking for people's impressions.
Here in Western Colorado, there's not a shop in 200 miles or so that have one to try.

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

It takes me an extra 5 minutes (MAX) to set up a keyboard x-brace stand with a board (Covered with black indoor-outdoor carpet)
This provides a stable and safe surface to hold my steel, as well as other accessories.

I did perform with the powerslide once or twice, and the only advantage was the ability to dance around the stage and groove to the music like armpit guitarists.

If you are the frontman of the band, this might be important enough to you, but as a sideman I can get the job done from a stationary position.

Dom Wink

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Bill Hampton · From: Colorado, USA

You're probably right Dom but I like to sing some backup and we don't use an extra vocal mic. It would be nice to have the ability to move to the mic when the situation calls for it.

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