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Topic: Pedal slide? |
Donald Moxley
From:
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2015 9:01 pm |
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Very innovative .... I love it -- apparently the steel guitar community is larger than we thought .. according to EBay
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Paul Seager
From:
Augsburg, Germany
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Posted 8 Feb 2015 11:44 pm
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If these things catch on, I can see two potential side-effects:
1) a huge reduction of questions involving bar slants
2) a new sub forum, Pedal Sliders 
I congratulate the team on their innovation. I think the price is fair, considering the prices people will pay for a 'boutique' distortion pedal these days!
Would I buy one ... hmmm, I have too little time to practice with a regular bar and I don't think I'd invest the time and money on this unless there was a burning problem I couldn't solve using my imagination of this Forum. Plus I am in Europe which will explode the price with shipping and taxes.
But I wish nothing but success to the Pedal Slide team and I am definitely looking forward to the real-life feedback.
Advice: make a video without the macho voice-over and lose the "flames". This device makes music and music can speak for itself!
\ paul
_________________
\paul
Bayern Hawaiians: https://www.youtube.com/@diebayernhawaiians3062
Other stuff: https://www.youtube.com/@paulseager3796/videos |
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2015 8:10 am
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Wow. That video is pretty convincing.
This could be what I have dreamed of...
I hope there will be some at Dallas! |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2015 9:24 am
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| Tim Wallis wrote: |
We get a lot of questions about a bullet nose model. |
Yeah, bullet nose would let you avoid adjacent strings on pedal steel where strings are much closer together. Also you could hit 2 strings at once if you like.
Steel players will probably want to move the bar back & forth to raise the highest or lowest string. So a longer bar might work better.
As Tim says, wait & see what people do, and what develops. |
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Grant Johnson
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 11 Feb 2015 5:53 am
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Just got mine yesterday. Here are some initial impressions;
-Overall it is very cool and I am planning to keep it.
-It is lighter than I thought. Because of the less mass it works, for me, better on lap steel than the dobro. It is not nearly as loud on my dobros as my Scheerhorn bar. It has composite cap ends, there is the potential to fill the bar with sand or some material to increase the mass. I may explore this mod down the road.
-It works better on six string with a bit wider spacing than eight strings where the tighter spacing requires a bit more precision and technique.
-I have worked up a few licks with some repetition and I think that with more time it will be pretty cool. Right now it is easier for me to create chords and "hammer" up to a note than sliding the cam unit while keeping the bar still but that move will come. I have spent about an hour or so with it last night.
-There is a ton of potential. It is very cool. My main critique would be the mass of the main bar but I realize that it needs to be hollow to attach the cam unit. |
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Greg Vice
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2015 6:39 am
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| Love it !! Got to add it to my collection I like to sit down in pick on my laps in living room every evening to relax instead of playing one of my pedals. Price isn't all that bad I've wasted a lot more on use-less effect pedals. Lot easier to run from wife with lap than with 50 lbs. of pedal, well my springer loves my playing, she comes over and lays at my feet when playing, well at least one fan |
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Dick Chapple Sr
From:
Hardin Montana, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2015 2:24 pm Dog
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Greg you lucky dog who has a lucky dog. My buddy Alexander the cat and his sister Annie run away the moment they see the vacuum cleaner come out of the closet. They do the same thing when I sit down behind my steels. "Just don't get no respect at all".
My wife will use a time honored trick that us old people see old people use a lot, that is to ask to please turn it down. Well by the time I turn it down to a purportedly acceptable level to enjoy, I can't even hear it myself. Hmmmm 
Dick |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 12 Feb 2015 5:30 am Re: Dog
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| Dick Chapple Sr wrote: |
Greg you lucky dog who has a lucky dog. My buddy Alexander the cat and his sister Annie run away the moment they see the vacuum cleaner come out of the closet. They do the same thing when I sit down behind my steels. "Just don't get no respect at all".
My wife will use a time honored trick that us old people see old people use a lot, that is to ask to please turn it down. Well by the time I turn it down to a purportedly acceptable level to enjoy, I can't even hear it myself. Hmmmm
Dick |
...headphones, Headphones, HEADPHONES!!!
..the good thing is that good ones WORK BOTH WAYS!!!!!!
_________________
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Tim Wallis
From:
East Peoria, IL
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Posted 15 Feb 2015 12:09 pm
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Hey Grant, glad you got yours and can't wait to see a video or two of you playing it.
There is/was a lot of method to our madness in the design. We went through several prototypes to find a good balance and tone. We knew early on that this was going to be, basically, a new instrument within itself and with that comes a lot of "why didn't you" type responses. For instance, because of the needed length of the bar, comes a new way of learning to use the cam as a bull nose.
As you've probably already experienced, there is a learning curve to to using it, but that comes with any new instrument or device.
We appreciate your business and hope you'll keep us up to date with your experience with the Pedal Slide.
Tim Wallis
| Grant Johnson wrote: |
Just got mine yesterday. Here are some initial impressions;
-Overall it is very cool and I am planning to keep it.
-It is lighter than I thought. Because of the less mass it works, for me, better on lap steel than the dobro. It is not nearly as loud on my dobros as my Scheerhorn bar. It has composite cap ends, there is the potential to fill the bar with sand or some material to increase the mass. I may explore this mod down the road.
-It works better on six string with a bit wider spacing than eight strings where the tighter spacing requires a bit more precision and technique.
-I have worked up a few licks with some repetition and I think that with more time it will be pretty cool. Right now it is easier for me to create chords and "hammer" up to a note than sliding the cam unit while keeping the bar still but that move will come. I have spent about an hour or so with it last night.
-There is a ton of potential. It is very cool. My main critique would be the mass of the main bar but I realize that it needs to be hollow to attach the cam unit. |
_________________
Live to Bend! |
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Kristen Bruno
From:
Orlando, Florida, USA
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Posted 19 Oct 2015 6:37 am
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Some people asked about the length, diameter and weight of the bar. Unless I missed it, I am asking the same question.
Thanks
K
_________________
"Technology has given us the ability to repeat all the mistakes we have learned from history, but much faster, deadlier and with much greater accuracy" - KAB |
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Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 20 Oct 2015 12:26 am
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| Jerome Hawkes wrote: |
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I'm thinking this is more along the lines of a movable capo where your thumb becomes the 'bar'
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So true. Innovation is great but hammer ons like a movable capo. Boring. Capos are unnecessary. Hammer ons. Boring if that's all it brings. You can indeed hammer on with a thimble. You can also play with a mug. Doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Bending strings to fret a semitone or even a full tone already exists and it's free for chords. It's called a finger.
If you could figure out a mechanism however to do the opposite way that was in the bar. Like a split bar that enables you to bar a tone or semi tone lower.
Possibly called a "split/swing bar" man maybe I should invent one. But to be honest part of the challenge is doing it with the same tools as the masters before and doing it BETTER.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Charley Bond
From:
Inola, OK, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2017 3:16 pm Tabbing for the Axtremety
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Can you just imagine what the tabulation will look like for this new bar,,, WoweeZowee... Gonna have to have one....
_________________
Steel Guitar players are members of a Special Family |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 16 Dec 2017 12:49 pm thread revival
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....just got one of these thanks to Len Amaral's generous donation to the forum. Thanks Lenny.
I thought I'd bump up this 2+ yr. old thread and add my comments.
Definitely cool little gizmo. Yes, there is going to be a learning curve, as in many things instrumental...not gonna just pick up and play. I can see very many possibilities though just playing around with it.
I echo comments of others v. the light weight. I'm probably going to add some heft later on, but just gonna feel it out first.
I'm used to a 11 oz. pedal steel bar, but I like Dave's idea concerning working a heavier bullet bar to bolt the device to. I got plenty bars, so that's something I'll look at doing too.
I'm not sure if Tim still offers these things. There may not have been enough interest given the market.
JIC anyone has any interest, I'd like to link to this video of Jarmo using it with on Panhandle Rag with his Duesenberg.
You gotta admit this is pretty cool, especially the chorus second time around even if you are a purist one way or the other. If you haven't seen it, I hope someone finds it interesting. https://youtu.be/RDycIG-p3S8
If I can approximate anything close to this execution, I'll be happy and that Deusy sounds great.
Time is getting where pedal steel bulk and heft are becoming a consideration and may have to be limited or even eliminated so this gives me some other options with my lap steels and squareneck reso. |
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Charley Bond
From:
Inola, OK, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2017 1:11 pm where to buy
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Where can I get one...
_________________
Steel Guitar players are members of a Special Family |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 16 Dec 2017 1:23 pm
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They were marketed by Tim Wallis @ Timara Custom Shop, but they don't show them anymore. I would guess they're out of production, so unless you can find a used one? Some players found them just too weird or just didn't cotton to them, so maybe someone here has one and will contact you.
Sorry, didn't mean to send a bum steer. I didn't stop to think that they might not be available any further.
Bill Hatcher came up with a brass grounding lug he uses on his thumb. Great economical idea. I've seen a few other similar ideas that let you play some of these things. Maybe you can devise something similar.
Here's a yt still of Bill's thumb. Check out his incredible execution of Bohemian Rhapsody on his home built 14 string lap while you're there. https://youtu.be/AXphQ0wrdPU
When I was at Jeff's school in 1980 he showed us a similar device...a bar with a sliding attachment for doing this. Probably someone around here knows more about those and there may be some of those floating around as well. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2017 5:18 pm
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Peter, if you see this post - does it need to be lifted several inches off the guitar and mechanically shifted for some reason or is that motion just part of your normal playing?
An example is at 22 seconds - you lift it very high, quickly tilt the entire bar towards the sky & appear to shift your grip for some reason. Or maybe it's a "hey, lookee here!" advertising motion?
Seriously, if that's part of the normal technique it seems pretty awkward to me.
But there's still a huge problem that I'd think would affect anyone using the bar both normally and incorporating the extension. The exposed black plug will catch when playing pulloffs.
If those have to be eliminated to use it I'd have a very hard time incorporating it.
I like the concept (anyone that knows me understands my penchant for twisted mechanical guitar devices  ) - but no matter what instrument they're used with my normal playing isn't affected (Ok, no wisea** comments about my abnormal playing - I've heard ALL of 'em!  ).
Almost every other lap player I've worked with (acoustic & electric) does at least some pulloffs here and there. An abrupt edge like a squared-off pedal steel bar, or even a fairly sharp-edged one like a Scheerhorn bar world work, but any extended plug like that is just going to catch on the string instead of "snap". "Lift" pulloffs only work on extremely fast tunes.
I just went back a re-read the first page of the thread - I should have figured Tim was involved. He's great at coming up with cool gadgets!
It sounds like the "nose" can be made different ways, and if there was a more "Dobro-friendly" tip on it..and it doesn't need to be periodically lifted/adjusted...I'd definitely be interested.
Again, to me $160 for a mechanical device like that is reasonable. How much would a player pay for an installed knee lever kit? To me it's more like that, or an advanced guitar B-bender plus a high-tech capo (multiple functions ...). How much is a Bigsby vibrato for 6-strings, or a pair of Keith tuners for a banjo?
It's less expensive that some of those devices and similar in that it's mechanical and does more than one thing. It's certainly not just a "bar".
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Posted 18 Dec 2017 1:24 am
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| Jim Sliff wrote: |
Peter, if you see this post - does it need to be lifted several inches off the guitar and mechanically shifted for some reason or is that motion just part of your normal playing?
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To make the pedal slide more resonant, I stuffed a roll of coins into it. So now it's a bit heavier and I had to adjust it from time to time, to keep it from slipping out of my hand. No it's not part of my normal technique ...  |
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Charley Bond
From:
Inola, OK, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2018 11:04 am Axtremity Pedalk Slide.
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I did get me an Axtremity... It is a very well made product.
I'm an engineer so using things out out of the box isn't my style.
I'm taking the tube off & replacing it with my Regular Tone bar. If it's too heavy, my buddy will bore out my 1 inch diameter x 3.5" long Stainless bar to the necessary weight.
ADDED>>> I'm going to add the half-circle ring that allows the Axtremity to be held in place by this addition., Similar to what the designer Tim Wallis did to his personal model.
I'm getting anxious....
_________________
Steel Guitar players are members of a Special Family
Last edited by Charley Bond on 2 Jan 2018 7:38 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tom Campbell
From:
Houston, Texas, USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2018 7:29 am
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Jerry,
Ant chance there is a better picture of Bill Hatcher's "brass grounding lug" thumb pick? His method seems a lot less cumbersome. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 2 Jan 2018 7:46 am
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Best check with Mr. Hatcher. Only thing I find is this. I guess they are different sizes like 5/8 maybe 3/4. 
I'm sure one can come up with something else that will work with a little imagination. I had a pc. of tubing and a big metal nut that I tried for a bit. Yes, it might be easier that way.
The only thing is having to stretch the thumb out forward to get the front strings makes it a little awkward sometime.
That is one of the advantages of the Pedal Slide. There was a lot of thought and trial that went into it. Definitely a work in progress for me. The biggest issue for me is keeping the front of the Axtremity down on the strings for some reason.
I think it's going to be a lot of fun though once I'm more familiar with it. I see possibilities. |
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) and think, it could really add some extra colour to someones playing. Great idea, very well manufactured. Here is, how I solved the problem of too less weight: