Need a Slide!

J

JaySwear

Hero Member
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so it's come to my attention that i've lost my capo. as devastating as this is, it's also a great excuse to start shopping for that and other accessories i've been talking myself out of. i want a capo (pretty sure i'm just going to get another of what i had, i loved that thing), a nice acoustic guitar strap, and a slide.

i don't really know anything about slides. i'd be using it for acoustic AND electric. any suggestions? i've been thinking glass, but like i said i really know nothing about them.

PS: sorry if general discussion is the wrong section for this.

PPS: my slide inspiration right here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQX57tL4Y-Y
 
I went through a brief slide phase a long time ago, and failed miserably at it. Must've bought a half-dozen of the things, trying to find something comfy enough to work while still not crippling me. I blamed failure after failure on the slide (naturally), then I realized a couple things.

1. If you're uncomfortable with alternate open tunings, fuhgeddaboudit. Slide's not for you.
2. If your guitar is set up to be comfy to play fretting normally, it won't be worth a tinker's damn as a slide platform, and vice-versa.

You sorta have to be dedicated to the whole slide thing. It's not something you do on a whim to see if you'll like it. You should already know if sounding whiney suits you.
 
thats a really good point! i didn't consider the string height thing at all. i've played around with slide, but not for very long. i realized mine (a crappy thin tin thing that came with a box of guitar cleaning supplies) got lost when i moved. my acoustic's string height isn't all that low, but my electrics are.

maybe i'll invest in one of the $5 ones on musicians friend or in a store if they have them for dirt cheap and see what i think.
 
mayfly said:
This is a killer slide:

http://www.v-picks.com/productdetails.php?q=44&page=accessories

I went through about, er, 6 before I found these.  I love them and have one for each guitar.
Click to expand...

thanks! purchased it. i ended up finding my capo, so no grand over-the-top purchasing spree for me. i still need an acoustic strap, but this slide was so inexpensive that i won't be TOO bothered if i end up finding out it's not for me. now the wait begins!
 
I've used what's called a "third hand" capo. It's great since it can be quickly set up for different slide tunings. It can be used in conjunction with a standard capo and another third hand to create some interesting tunings virtually anywhere on the neck.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Third-Hand-Capo-Universal-Partial-Guitar-Capo?sku=361130
 
But the third hand doesn't actually change tunings, right? Just changes the unfretted notes. So, for slide.... it would only be slightly more effective than standard tuning, right? (never tried one, nor am I really a slide guy yet)
 
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_MQEWpuF4Q[/youtube]

here's whence i get my slide inspiration...



on a somewhat related note, people wondering exactly how much the neck material choice affects the tone of a guitar might want to listen to duane denison's live tone, since he's used an aluminum neck since forever and it's largely the reason his guitar sounds like an overripe, just barely rotting pomegranate
 
Cagey said:
I went through a brief slide phase a long time ago, and failed miserably at it. Must've bought a half-dozen of the things, trying to find something comfy enough to work while still not crippling me. I blamed failure after failure on the slide (naturally), then I realized a couple things.

1. If you're uncomfortable with alternate open tunings, fuhgeddaboudit. Slide's not for you.
2. If your guitar is set up to be comfy to play fretting normally, it won't be worth a tinker's damn as a slide platform, and vice-versa.

You sorta have to be dedicated to the whole slide thing. It's not something you do on a whim to see if you'll like it. You should already know if sounding whiney suits you.
Click to expand...
So your saying Billy Gibbons sounds "whiney"....?

I think not....
[youtube=425,350]0e4bqy-_Rao[/youtube]

Steve Vai is "whiney"....paleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..
[youtube=425,350]h5BrE1Pi5cU&ob=av2e[/youtube]
 
DangerousR6 said:
Cagey said:
I went through a brief slide phase a long time ago, and failed miserably at it. Must've bought a half-dozen of the things, trying to find something comfy enough to work while still not crippling me. I blamed failure after failure on the slide (naturally), then I realized a couple things.

1. If you're uncomfortable with alternate open tunings, fuhgeddaboudit. Slide's not for you.
2. If your guitar is set up to be comfy to play fretting normally, it won't be worth a tinker's damn as a slide platform, and vice-versa.

You sorta have to be dedicated to the whole slide thing. It's not something you do on a whim to see if you'll like it. You should already know if sounding whiney suits you.
Click to expand...
So your saying Billy Gibbons sounds "whiney"....?

I think not....
[youtube=425,350]0e4bqy-_Rao[/youtube]

Steve Vai is "whiney"....paleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..
[youtube=425,350]h5BrE1Pi5cU&ob=av2e[/youtube]
Click to expand...

You can't say that this slide work is whiney? (...and you definitely would not have said it to Pete Wells' face when he was alive either..)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyDjNIxnR0g&feature=related[/youtube]

 
I bought one of those tapered concave brass slides and it really cleaned up the buzz. It works great with lower action. I use it to get my Freebird on with my regular guitar. :dontknow:
 
How's this slide?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIGrZXfSpgA
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WNixdeYSiI
 
Cagey said:
I went through a brief slide phase a long time ago, and failed miserably at it. Must've bought a half-dozen of the things, trying to find something comfy enough to work while still not crippling me. I blamed failure after failure on the slide (naturally), then I realized a couple things.

1. If you're uncomfortable with alternate open tunings, fuhgeddaboudit. Slide's not for you.
2. If your guitar is set up to be comfy to play fretting normally, it won't be worth a tinker's damn as a slide platform, and vice-versa.

You sorta have to be dedicated to the whole slide thing. It's not something you do on a whim to see if you'll like it. You should already know if sounding whiney suits you.
Click to expand...

I disagree as to whether slide is feasible in standard tuning - it's where I do about half my slide playing, and frankly, I sound *better* in standard than open tunings.  In open chord tunings, I feel like all I can manage is slide cliches - in standard, it's fun to duplicate stuff I'd otherwise play without the slide, and see what the less-than-dead-on intonation does to warp the idea.  Also, I find I can play very comfortably with a slide on all my guitars, despite them being set up to optimize my fretting without the slide.  But I have a pretty light touch with the slide, to be sure.  I sure as hell wouldn't expect to play slide cleanly on a scalloped fretboard, but again, I think this is an area where sufficient commitment to practice and improving one's technique can go a long way.

AS usual, YMMV.

Peace

Bagman
 
JaySwear said:
so it's come to my attention that i've lost my capo. as devastating as this is, it's also a great excuse to start shopping for that and other accessories i've been talking myself out of. i want a capo (pretty sure i'm just going to get another of what i had, i loved that thing), a nice acoustic guitar strap, and a slide.

i don't really know anything about slides. i'd be using it for acoustic AND electric. any suggestions? i've been thinking glass, but like i said i really know nothing about them.
Click to expand...

Noted slide player Joe Walsh sez, you need a brass slide for acoustic, and a glass one for electric.  Obviously that's not everyone's rule, but it works pretty good for me.  Noted slide player Johnny Winter, on the other hand, uses a sawed-off piece of pot metal electrical conduit for a slide, and gets decent results as well (or at least the result he's after, although much of his playing is not to my taste).  I personally use Dunlop's heaviest brass slide for acoustic playing, and some cheap 3/4" internal-diameter glass slide I picked up for electric, and I wear the thing on my ring finger, since my pinky is too short to get enough control over the thing.  Also lets me fret ahead of the slide, on those rare occasions when I can pull my act together to do it.

peace

Bagman
 
AutoBat said:
How's this slide?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WNixdeYSiI
Click to expand...
No More Tears is one of my all time fav Ozzy songs, Zakk is the shit, so it Trajillo. He's a kick ass bassist... :headbang1: :headbang1:
 
You may wanna keep an open mind on improvisation on this. When I was in college, I didn't have a whole lot of cash, so I improvised. I wound up with a couple of interesting slides out of simply scrounging around. My first one was a copper t-joint I picked up at the hardware store for maybe a buck at most. It was tall enough to cover all six strings, and it had an inside diameter that matched my ring finger really well. I had access to the art building at the time, and I used the polishing and sanding equipment in the jewelry lab to buff the seam off of the back and get it consitently smooth. Worked great as a nice, fast slide, but to get the slow slide swells, I do better with a heavier slide.  One other time, I was at an antique mall and stumbled upon an old glass medicine bottle. It had a nice overall height for slide, and was heavy enough. It set me back a quarter. To make it fit tighter, I was able to have a fraternity brother fill it with silicone rubber to make it fit tighter, with a dowel as a finger stand-in while the stuff dried. Worked great and I still have both slides to this day. You may wanna be creative--hit up rummage sales for odd stuff--just remember, as long as its smooth and you can get your finger in it, you're good as gold.
 
Graffiti62 said:
You may wanna keep an open mind on improvisation on this. When I was in college, I didn't have a whole lot of cash, so I improvised. I wound up with a couple of interesting slides out of simply scrounging around. My first one was a copper t-joint I picked up at the hardware store for maybe a buck at most. It was tall enough to cover all six strings, and it had an inside diameter that matched my ring finger really well. I had access to the art building at the time, and I used the polishing and sanding equipment in the jewelry lab to buff the seam off of the back and get it consitently smooth. Worked great as a nice, fast slide, but to get the slow slide swells, I do better with a heavier slide.  One other time, I was at an antique mall and stumbled upon an old glass medicine bottle. It had a nice overall height for slide, and was heavy enough. It set me back a quarter. To make it fit tighter, I was able to have a fraternity brother fill it with silicone rubber to make it fit tighter, with a dowel as a finger stand-in while the stuff dried. Worked great and I still have both slides to this day. You may wanna be creative--hit up rummage sales for odd stuff--just remember, as long as its smooth and you can get your finger in it, you're good as gold.
Click to expand...

I believe that one of the Blues masters (Muddy Waters maybe?) used a socket joint for his slide - 3/16" or smething like that.

And back in the old days, the blues guys used to favour a particular bottle (contents drank of course  :icon_thumright: ) to scavenge the bottleneck which had a really nice contour to it. The hard part was cutting the neck off the bottle without shattering the whole thing.

I think Wild Turkey bottles have a similar contour to their neck ...... almost an excuse to down a bottle to find out if it's a good slide too!  :eek:

And I just checked the old faithful Wiki, and it seems that Duanne Allman used a Coricidin Pill Bottle as a slide on occassions. A small glass bottle.....anyone seen one of those bottles?
 
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