Now is the perfect time for Peavey to release the Powerslide. Interest in slide guitar and its many variants is at probably an all-time high thanks to the work of players as diverse as Derek Trucks, Ben Harper, Robert Randolph, Jack White — even George Lynch throws in quite a bit of slide work on the latest Lynch Mob CD. So what is the Powerslide, and why is it the perfect instrument for the times?
I HAVE THE POWER!
The Powerslide is a lap steel with a twist. It’s specifically designed to be adapted to whatever playing style is most comfortable for you, whether it’s sitting down (the back is perfectly flat so it won’t rock on the table), standing up with the Powerslide at a 90 degree angle to your body, standing up or sitting with it against your body like a conventional guitar… it’s even cleverly designed so it’s equally comfortable playing over the top of the neck or the bottom. In fact, the box the Powerslide comes in features diagrams amounting to a virtual Karma Sutra of poses for playing this bad thang. Included is a three-point ‘Y’ strap which will assist you in your various rockin’ poses, or you can use it with a standard guitar strap. There’s also a tone bar thrown in, although the helpful instruction manual suggests you check out other slide options too so you can find the perfect one for you. The manual also includes a simplified guide to open tunings, and the Powerslide comes tuned to Open E.
Obviously there are no frets, and the strings actually sit about an inch or more above the neck. The stylised fretboard graphic shows you where the frets would be, acting as a handy visual guide, while a big ‘swoosh’ runs a full octave across the neck to help you identify the octaves at a glance. You’ll also notice that the bridge has no intonation or height adjustment capacity whatsoever, but duh, this is a slide guitar! You don’t need them. The pickup is a proprietary Peavey humbucker, and the controls consist of a single volume control and a very clever tone pot. Turn it all the way up and you’re greeted by a fat-sounding treble roll-off in full humbucker mode. Roll it all the way back and the treble returns. As you continue turning it down, the pot fades down one of the humbucker coils, giving you immediate access to both bucker and single coil tones.
LET IT SLIDE
In humbucker mode the tones of this baby are fat and rude, especially with that treble roll-off. You can get some very tough, bold-voiced tones here, which are great for power chord riffs and screaming lead lines. Wind back the tone control to engage the single coil mode and you’ll find wiry, stringy, tough tones which are great for swampy blues riffs, and which respond especially well to tweed-style amps. The Powerslide makes it quite easy to adjust your technique for slide even if you’ve never dabbled in the style before, and it doesn’t take too long to work through the tortured cat sounds that I terrorised my family with for the first few hours of Powerslidin’.
TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SLIDE
The Powerslide is going to open a lot of creative doors for many players — hell, it’ll probably bash out a creative wall, install a creative patio and furnish it with a whole bunch of creative deck chairs. It’s tonally very versatile, it looks like something Wolfman Jack might dig his garden with, and perhaps most importantly of all, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Price: RRP $399
Distributor: Audio Products Group
Phone: (02) 9669 3477
Email: akarolewski@audioproducts.com.au
By Peter Hodgson
