Slide Guitar

I am the proud owner of a glass slide. The very same slide that Adrian tried and later shipped to me. Adrian is correct, when I played it sounds like a cat fight. I appreciate the crayon that he included in the box it was shipped in, but he could have left the cats out of the box. They were even more pissed when I opened it and you can definitely their anger when I try to play the slide!
 
WavMixer said:
I am the proud owner of a glass slide. The very same slide that Adrian tried and later shipped to me. Adrian is correct, when I played it sounds like a cat fight. I appreciate the crayon that he included in the box it was shipped in, but he could have left the cats out of the box. They were even more pissed when I opened it and you can definitely their anger when I try to play the slide!
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MAYBE ITS THAT PARTICULAR SLIDE?!?!?!!?
 
Yep, I play slide. I have the ordinary Jim Dunlop glass one, but also a ceramic one. The ceramic one is great in that it has a little "bite" and will sustain as long as you are moving it. But it is also quite thick and a bit clumsy compared to the glass one. I find the ring finger most comfortable.
 
I use my brass slide on my pinky and I notched out one edge to allow me to bend my finger.

My glass one is larger and I use it with my middle finger.

I changed over to using my pinky as it allowed me to do more with the rest of my fingers. But, it did take a bit to get used to using it that way.

I don’t play slide a lot, though.
 
I feel like I should try. Then on reflection of the posts I have read in so many forums, it seems that few players do, if I were to judge by the frequency with which it is discussed.
 
I play slide a lot. My favorite slide is the moulded glass slide (21.5 x 60 mm, I think) from the Rock Slide:

The Rock Slide | Moulded Glass Guitar Slide

I wear it on my ring finger. I know the pinky is the logical finger if you want to play a lot of chords, but it just feels a lot more comfortable, and I have more control, when I use the ring finger. I prefer the sound I get from glass, and the relatively thick walls of the slide I use gives me a nice sustain.
 
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Gahr said:
I play slide a lot. My favorite slide is the moulded glass slide (21.5 x 60 mm, I think) from the Rock Slide:

The Rock Slide | Moulded Glass Guitar Slide

I wear iton my ring finger. I know the pinky is the logical finger ifyou want to play a lot of chords, but it just feels a lot more comfortable, and I have more control, when I use the ring finger. I prefer the sound I get from glass, and the relatively thick walls of the slide I use gives me a nice sustain.
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Why do you prefer that slide?

I understand that many players opt for the ring finger for exactly that reason.

RING
The ring finger is the preferred digit for players such as: Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Blake Mills. I believe the majority of players will find they have the greatest control with this finger because the middle and pinky fingers to as a support, keeping the slide firm and straight. Something i’ve also noticed: I play certain licks around the 1st fret and I find it easier to do when the slide is on my ring, as opposed to the pinky, because I have more clearance by the headstock. Below, you can see when the slide is on my ring finger, my hand is in a comfortable position. When it is on the pinky, my hand is almost touching the tuning post, thus running the risk of nicking it on a sharp string end. (Ouch!)
 
RVA said:
Why do you prefer that slide?

I understand that many players opt for the ring finger for exactly that reason.

RING
The ring finger is the preferred digit for players such as: Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Blake Mills. I believe the majority of players will find they have the greatest control with this finger because the middle and pinky fingers to as a support, keeping the slide firm and straight. Something i’ve also noticed: I play certain licks around the 1st fret and I find it easier to do when the slide is on my ring, as opposed to the pinky, because I have more clearance by the headstock. Below, you can see when the slide is on my ring finger, my hand is in a comfortable position. When it is on the pinky, my hand is almost touching the tuning post, thus running the risk of nicking it on a sharp string end. (Ouch!)
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I like it simply because it fits my finger very well. It has a tapered inside, and a «cutout» for the finger joint at the bottom. I used to play regular Dunlop slides, but had problems finding one with a snug fit that felt right.
 
RVA said:
Anyone play slide? I never see it mentioned. I was thinking of tinkering.

If you do, what slide material do you prefer. Ceramic? Glass? Brass? Aluminum?

Which finger do you use?
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I have a glass slide in my drawer. It fits my ring finger. I don't play slide much, unless it's requested for a project. Then I rehearse the parts and record them when I feel like I have it down. 3 Months later, I probably couldn't play my own parts without totally re-rehearsing them. I just did some slide parts on a very recent rendition of Hendrix's 'Watchtower' and they came out OK, but it's not the same as someone who plays slide frequently.

I can listen to something and replicate it. That's not the same as those who have a high degree of proficiency from daily use of the technique.
 
I play slide quite a bit. Usually with a dunlop 218 on my ring finger. Tried brass and made some from bottle necks, but these suit me best. I also have a smaller one if I need to use the pinky...like on Just Got Paid. Rev Billy uses his bird finger for that one.
I play only in standard tuning. I made a serious effort to make this work. I bought this guy's standard tuning slide courses:
Standard Tuning Slide Guitar Course
and found a download of Warren Haynes Guide to Slide.
These 2 got me jump started. Now, I have been able to slow down Duane's work, learn his licks and figure out how to make them work in standard. It's not easy but it can be done. Mostly he played in open E tuning.
 
I have a glass (Dunlop) slide but prefer to use this (also Dunlop)15509545976347499693865005307471.jpg
It's 1 1/8" long & I use on my ring finger. This allow me to still riff & do basic barre chords etc. Also I find it affords easier control than a full length slide. I think it's made of steel, though I'm not 100% sure as it's chrome plated inside & out, so could possibly be brass. Cheers
Edit, @flatrockmobile, just got paid is such a great song to play. I believe the reverend plays it in open E minor, though it's easily played in standard tuning. Cheers
 
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O
iblive said:
I have a glass slide. Don’t know what I should do with it. But I do have one.
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Ok.... I do actually know what to do with one. Need to get serious about practicing with it. I have two. Both are glass. The first one was for my pinky finger and I just can’t get comfortable using my pinky for slide. I find my ring finger just works better. So I purchased the next size bigger to fit the ring finger.

Don’t know what it is about my pinky finger, but it just doesn’t seem to work like I would like it to. I did have an accident about 40 years ago where a bone in my left hand had a minor fracture. Not sure my pinky has worked 100% right since..... at least when it comes to guitar.
 
I've messed with slide thru out the years, but never really focused on it. My brother used to re-tune, play slide, etc. Me, I tried to copy what he did and other slide players without re-tuning my guitar.
 
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