electroliege.com/products/bear...-lapsteel
Much anticipated. Hooooweeee!
Edited by - Slidennis on 11/08/2022 08:36:09
I no longer think of the Asher with a belly bar as expensive 
Edited by - Lounge Primate on 11/08/2022 08:55:43
Alas, I don't care for the aesthetics of the panda homage. It's right in that gray zone of not looking enough like one but not looking different enough. Also, I have a quirk that I'me wondering if anyone else has. For playing bluegrass dobro I have to stand. But for non bluegrass (8 string, console steel...) I have to stand.
But that all just means I won't get one. For everyone else I'd say- you have 1 1/2 months to be extra good to Santa Spouse.
quote: I meant Breadwinner!??
Originally posted by FrederickPattersonresohangout.com/forum/attachme...eID=40143
Reminds me of the Ovation Broadcaster!
quote:
Originally posted by Lounge PrimateI no longer think of the Asher with a belly bar as expensive
Well, it depends on which Asher you're talking about. When I had the Electro-Hawaiian Jr. that was stolen out of my car four years ago, it had the belly bar and the upgraded pots and Lollar Imperial humbuckers. It was expensive enough.
The one I have now is an Electro-Hawaiian Custom crafted by Bill in his shop, with Lindy Fralin noiseless P-90 pickups. It has a chambered body which the Beard guitar has as well, and there was some doubt if it would accommodate the belly bar. Bill went through his records and it turned that it could take the belly bar. I asked Bill to shorten the length of the belly bar tips that attach to ferrules on the guitar by one inch. I wanted to get the same feel as my dobro while standing with a strap, I felt the Jr. I had before put the strings just a little too far from my body.
There has been some p#$$ing and moaning on The Steel Guitar Forum regarding the price of the Slide Queen guitar.
I was fortunate to find my Asher custom as a two year old guitar that was in mint condition from a shop in Southern California. For whatever reason the owner didn't bond with it. As Badger likes to say here on the hangout - buy used whenever you can - let somebody else take the hit on depreciation. A good thing in my case - I got a really good deal. I spoke with Bill's wife Jessica after I acquired the guitar in 2018. She looked up the guitar specs and if Bill were to build me the same one from scratch including the belly bar it would have run about $4500. And being four years ago, it would be even more now.
So $3200 for the Electro-Liege doesn't sound out of line to me, especially when you consider that the Lollar reproduction Rickenbacker horseshoe pickup retails for $600.
I had a business trip to SoCal in 2018, so I drove down and brought the Asher with me and dropped it off with Bill to install the belly bar and go through the electronics to make sure everything was working correctly. I was hoping some of Bill's local customers would show up while I was there - maybe Jackson Browne, Greg Leisz, or Ry Cooder - no such luck.
Photo below of my Asher, and quite the coincidence - the second photo is of the not yet complete new guitar that was being built for the same guy who sold the one I have now, and to top it off his name is Mark.
Click on photos to enlarge.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 11/11/2022 12:17:03
Beauties!!
Yeah, a pair of beauties indeed.
I think the Slide Queen aka Electro-Liege guitar is pretty darn cool, and if I didn't have the Asher and was playing out on a fairly regular basis I would consider buying one.
I've been seeing hints of Megan playing the guitar online for several months. I kind of wonder about the stability. I'd sure like to try one to see how it rolls.
The Asher belly bar is a minimalist design, and if memory serves, the design was a collaboration between Bill Asher and Tim Scheerhorn. It's pretty stable. But Asher lap steels are on the heavy side. I was taking to Cindy Cashdollar after a show she did near me with Albert Lee a few years ago. She owns several Asher lap guitars. I showed he the photo of mine above and she said because she is a petite woman she only plays hers sitting down, the Asher would be too much for her to handle to play standing.
So beautiful
I have the Electro Hawaiian but I hated the PUPs and changed them out for some low output Seymour Duncan's. I had Asher put the belly bar in and I love it. I'm playing in a startup, gasp, rock and roll band and the slide fits in well.
If I play the Electro for a whole night it starts to bother my back but I'm switching off on guitar so that helps break up the load
quote:
Originally posted by Terry HarrisI have the Electro Hawaiian but I hated the PUPs and changed them out for some low output Seymour Duncan's. I had Asher put the belly bar in and I love it. I'm playing in a startup, gasp, rock and roll band and the slide fits in well.
If I play the Electro for a whole night it starts to bother my back but I'm switching off on guitar so that helps break up the load
When I got my Electro Hawaiian, I had Bill upgrade the electronics and add the Hipshot Doubleshot tailpiece, and I love the sound and flexibility with 2 tunings. The band I play with does 50's thru 70's pop, folk, rock, and country, so I've got the Zoom MS-50G MultiStomp Multi-effects Pedal on my board, which gives me massive reverb for Everly Brothers or crunchy fuzz for rock/blues. Fortunately, the gig is only 3 hours and we break every hour, so no problems so far with my back holding up.
quote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonomaI asked Bill to shorten the length of the belly bar tips that attach to ferrules on the guitar by one inch. I wanted to get the same feel as my dobro while standing with a strap, I felt the Jr. I had before put the strings just a little too far from my body.
Um...are you sure that that's the belly bar's problem? 
Well Dane, it wasn't a problem with the width of my Clinesmith resonator, so I don't think it was a problem with my actual belly. The way I hold the guitar against my body while playing standing it should be more correctly referred to as a "hip bar" because it pretty much rests against the front of my right hip bone rather than my stomach.
And if it were a problem at some point it shouldn't be now. I dropped a fair amount of weight after retiring a few years back. More consistent exercise and no longer spending time traveling as a sales rep, I'm not shoveling down pasta at restaurants like The Old Spaghetti Factory like when I was on road trips. 
Add to that some significant weight loss after total right knee replacement surgery last June, and I'm almost down to my svelte basketball playing weight when I was a senior in high school.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 12/14/2022 14:17:16
quote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonomaThe way I hold the guitar against my body while playing standing it should be more correctly referred to as a "hip bar" because it pretty much rests against the front of my right hip bone rather than my stomach.
Yeah, same here.
quote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonomaI'm almost down to my svelte basketball playing weight when I was a senior in high school.
Damn, next time we meet up, I'm gonna ask you to wear a corsage or sumthin so I can recognize you! 
quote:
Originally posted by Oboe Cadobroquote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonomaThe way I hold the guitar against my body while playing standing it should be more correctly referred to as a "hip bar" because it pretty much rests against the front of my right hip bone rather than my stomach.
Yeah, same here.
quote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonomaI'm almost down to my svelte basketball playing weight when I was a senior in high school.
Damn, next time we meet up, I'm gonna ask you to wear a corsage or sumthin so I can recognize you!
You can bring one with orchids, or roses.
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