It's not a lap steel, not a resonator, and it's not a conventional steel guitar. This instrument is in response to a huge number of requests for a lap-type steel that could be played standing up. The shape of the Power Slide is designed to position the playing surface (fingerboard) to the left of the player's body allowing unhampered access to the playing surface. The Power Slide Guitar's unique 4-point suspension and the special "Y" strap enable the instrument to be played either horizontally or vertically (and almost anywhere in-between). The Power Slide uses Peavey's unique magnet loaded humbucking pickup with patented "T-60 type" mode/tone control. The 2-octave scale provides more tonal flexibility than any Slide guitar that can be played standing up.
Peavey's "Power Slide" comes with its special "Y" strap and a padded bag to accommodate its "different" shape. With a 6-string configuration, you're already familiar with the string gauges and tuning, and at this price, you can't lose.
Includes gig bag.
Revolutionary next generation slide instrument
Ergonomically designed for maximum playability
Patent-pending multipoint strap system
Allows for multiple vertical and horizontal playing styles
Unique magnet loaded pickup with patented variable coil mode control
Radical patent-pending design provides unprecedented neck access in vertical
playing position
Includes gig bag, slide and multipoint strap
Try something new. Order yours today.
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Not a lot has been written about the Peavey Powerslide by users, though a fair amount can be gleaned from the videos. So, I'd like to contribute my experiences for those of you who are interested in this unique instrument. I've had mine for about a year. I play classic rock, country, blues, folk and pop (just about everything) on it so my needs may be a bit more diverse than most. While a lap steel wouldn't seem to be a natural instrument for all songs in all these styles, I've found ways to incorporate it into most of them. The Powerslide adds an emotional dimension to any kind of music that nothing else quite matches partially because the musician is free to move around.
First, here is my setup, which is very simple because I'm on a limited budget. Tuning: Open D (low to high) - D, A, D, F#, A, D. Strings: D'Addario XL Nickel Wound 60, 48, 36, 26, 17, 15. Bar: Shubb-Pearse SP2 (I'm still playing with the chromed brass model and haven't tried the stainless version yet). Capo: Golden Gate Squareneck Dobro Capo. Amplifier: Fender Frontman 25R with Fender footswitch. Pretty hard to beat this setup for about four hundred.
I like the Open D tuning for several reasons. The tonic D note is on both the high and low strings and I can make the tuning minor by lowering just the 3rd (F#) string. When playing a blues in key of E the D note is easy to play, just play an open 1st, 3rd and 6th string. In country music two-string chords progressions are easy on the 1st and 3rd strings (about half are straight bar and half are single-fret slants), and many of the dobro licks can be played on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th, strings since the intervals are the same as the first 4 strings on the dobro. I use the capo very rarely, but it comes in handy for dobro-style playing and in songs when you want a drone string in a key other than D such as "I Can See For Miles" by The Who, which uses open E and B strings in standard tuning.
The SP2 bar is unique in that it has a rounded "bullet" end as well as a sharp end. Also, being a bit heavier than most Stevens-style bars it has good sustain. The rounded end makes it easier to simulate a bullet bar on a pedal steel, and to stop just two strings in the middle of chord by pointing the nose between the strings. The sharp end works for pull offs, but for intricate single note passages the bullet end works well because you can slide from string to string without getting hung up.
When playing rock and blues I add varying amounts of distortion using the amp's drive channel. The Powerslide can make some great, surging power chords as you slide into a chord position in songs like "Born to be Wild" or "LA Woman", or sweet, ethereal sounds in moody songs like "Miss You" or "Wish You Were Here" (pickup split half way between single coil and humbucker). For folk style I usually finger pick like a banjo or folk guitarist. The sound can be almost harp-like. I get a nice country steel guitar sound with pickup set on single coil with a generous amount of reverb on the amp. Whenever I play with someone new they always comment on how such a "modest" rig could sound so good.
I almost always play standing up. It is bad enough to have to be looking down most of the time so standing lets me feel like I'm more part of the action. The provided strap works well, though a buckle broke after about 9 months. Fortunately, it is a standard size and was easy to fix. The gigbag, as is often stated, is functional but minimal. It would be nice to have one with more padding...or a hardshell.
The instrument itself is well built in all the places it needs to be. The finish on my black guitar is perfect. All the hardware is solid and well made. The tuners could be heavier, but they stay in tune just fine.
My only real criticisms are: The "belly cut" portion of the body which rests against you belly when you are playing standing up isn't wide enough to allow me to comfortably reach the higher "frets." An extra inch or two there would have made a big difference. I may try to make a piece to fit in there, just to see how much it helps. And, I wish they had raised the fretboard above the body, just a quarter of an inch. I do a fair amount of behind-the-bar string bends so it would be nice to have something to brace against all the way up. Finally, my nit-pick is that I'm not crazy about the weird design on the fretboard. I got used to it pretty quickly, but they could have made the design helpful instead of distracting.
What would I do differently if I were to do it again...nothing really. With more money to spend I would have bought a bigger amp and I'd have a case made for the guitar. My wish list for Peavey's future versions would be a 7 or 8-string model. All things considered, for any amount of money this is a fine instrument that will serve me for a long time. My next purchase will probably be to get a red Powerslide so I can have one in a different tuning...either Open G, or C6.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.I love it. Fun to play, stays in tune and sounds good. At twice the price it would still be worth it.
Not a whole lot of features but it sounds really good. I thought the pickup would be lame, but it sounds really, really good. Never tried the strap and as others have said, the slide is low quality as is the gig bag.
Thing is, this is a lower cost guitar and I would rather have the quality we have in the guitar and not in the extras. I have a Dunlop Lap Dawg slide.
For the price I give it an 8. I have the black one. Everything is nice, especially for the price. Aside from the crappy accessories. The tuners are lower quality but seem to work fine. You could put All Parts 3 on a plate tuners if you really wanted to.
Very nice. Looks more expensive.
Great to get into lap steel. I just use mine to learn and in the background on recordings. Works great.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.I was sooooo disappointed when I got mine (over a year ago). I read some of these other reviews before I bought mine, so I was prepared to expect 'cheap-but-functional' 3-per-piece stamped tuners. Mine were even worse: the shaft-holes were haphazardly drilled (2 shafts chafed on their holes' edges), and a few of the wood-screws that hold the machines against the headstock sides were STRIPPED--leaving the 4th string un-tuneable. My choice was to exchange this dud (even though I'd been warned--sort of--about the tuners on these things), or get a better set of tuners and install them myself...which I was sort of prepared to do anyway. So I kept it, and bought a replacement pair of 3ea tuners. The haphazardly-drilled original shaft-holes do NOT match replacement tuners!!! So I filled them in with wood-filler, and was ready to drill properly-spaced holes for the new tuner shafts, when I moved (and shelved/stored my little Projects of one sort and another). I'll eventually install my real tuners (and finally get to try out my Peavey PowerSlide!), but to tell the truth, I've already in the meantime found an old Fender lap steel in a local pawnshop for half what I paid for this. I think that these lap steels are slapped together with NO pride or craftsmanship, by people who discovered that most of us will buy cheap, barely (or *non*)-functional 'gear' if it's 'inexpensive'-enough. Buying junk like this, I suppose, justifies their Marketing Strategy; they were hoping we would.....I think this is the first and only really, really BAD purchace I've ever made at Custom Guitar's Friend. Hope this helps.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.Bought under pretense it was mahogany,it's 100ºsswood.Cheap hardware,nut and bridge buzz in any tuning.Knobs were sticky and scratchy.Output jack was barely hanging on.Wont stay in tune.Cheap tuners.
Had high hopes for this guitar,cool shape,feels good in your hands,but the big problem is hardware and it being full basswood.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.It's hollow. Why does it need a pick guard? The tuners are cheap. The strings are way too light. It will fall over if you try to stand it up. The gig bag is too small. That said, this thing screams, moans, trembles, and cries.I play it through an RP Multi effects pedal into a keyboard amp. It is impossible to make it sound bad. The sound quality is sublime.It is so responsive and simple to play. You will find that you can't keep your hands off it. In addition to playing licks, fills, and riffs, I am using it for rhythm. What a bargain!
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
. Overall, the Power Slide should gets a below average score from me just based on the finish quality. Once I play it I'll review that, but the finish is so bad I'm almost to disappointed to want to play it. Ugh.
Signed,
Disappointed
As others have said, the slide blows. It's a formed piece of sheet steel, not chromed brass like a Dunlop Lap Dawg or Long Dawg.
Gig bag fits the guitar. I haven't even installed the strap. Strings blow, too.
I put off buying this guitar until the time was right. Then, I order it and when I open it, the painted on fret board is a partly white (I bought the red one) and the rest is PINK! The Power Slide logos are PINK as well because the red paint soaked through the white paint. the candy apple red/burgundy finish is not flawless, but nice.
The notch on the nut for the low-E string also isn't deep enough to drop stock strings to D for any of the D tunings. I'm sure a diamond jeweler's file will help, but there goes the chrome plating off the nut. That'll probably happen over time as it is and may be a non-issue other than having to buy jeweler's files at Harbor Freight, but rust is rust
I know it's a $200 guitar, but even if I wanted to replace the maching heads, the holes that support the tuning posts are very badly drilled/machined, off center and still had drilling residue inside the head stock. I doubt it would even be worth upgrading the heads after seeing this hatchet job.
The Tone and Volume knobs also had some plastic ring underneath that chirps like a bird when I turn them. the tuning knobs didn't want to be removed with firm pulling either and there's no set screw. God knows how these things come off.
I've yet to play it, but even when I do (soon), this particular Power Slide is going back. I'l try for another Red one, but if that one is PINK as well, I might try a black one or some other lap steel. Too bad because the other options don't give me the upright vertical option like Gypsy Carns playing Gloria on YouTube.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.Being a dobro player, steel guitar never interested me since i like to stand up to play. This has been perfect for me when i want to jam with electric players. I tune it in open G & play it thru a Fender Pro Reverb amp. It plays great & has great tone. The slide, gig bag & strap are the only complaints i have about it. The instrument itself is a great value.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.Very simple but very solid design. Tone is great. They may have cut a few corners in the tuning pegs but for the money I can't complain.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.Peavey is the king of ugly guitars. I don?t really care how many different positions I can play this thing in (sitting, standing vertical, standing horizontal, standing on my head ect?) The accessories that come with it are worthless and I don?t want to spend time trying to figure out how to use a strap. The tuners aren?t very nice but they do the job. I love everything else about the Peavey Power Slide. I get an amazing range of sound from the guitar itself just by turning mode/tone control and it does well with clean and overdiven settings. I bought this thing just to have something to play around with and have not touched my others since I brought it home two weeks ago. I highly recommend it. When you buy one, go ahead and get some heavier strings and a better slide to save yourself a trip to the guitar shop. (Dunlop Lap Dawg works well)
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
.I play 8-string lap steel and 6-string square neck dobro, and like so many of you, I am always searching for terrific tone. I played one of these Power Slide guitars recently in a music store--nice design, nice playability, but the tone was not there. I do not recommend this guitar.
Peavey Power Slide Guitar Black
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