Slide guitar - do you wear the glass ring?

RVA

RVA

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From time to time, I see post with a slide player, but in general, it does not come up much here.

So...do you play slide guitar? When, where, how?

If you do not play it, do you like it?

I for one have placed it low on my list of guitar styles to which I enjoy listening. In fact, I avoid it if I can. No Derek Trucks for me.

What say you mates?
 
Like it.
Derek and the lot----however....I own a glass slide------ I have tried it --- but--- I cant get the hang of it------
More practice I am sure--- and setting up a guitar just for slide maybe??

On my list of things to learn/do.
 
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i tuned to a open chord and tryed it once just to see if i could do George Thorogood songs lol.But ya ill take the Ramones anyday .:hide:
 
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I have always loved slide guitar played just so...

But here's the rub... I don't get how to do it in standard tuning.
I prefer open D ...DADF#AD or open E ...EBEAbBE
or maybe open D7 ...DADF#CD ...that tuning is really fun to play blues style with.
Try playing in the open tuning without the slide, using simple two finger chords
and fills, and when you've got a good feeling for playing open tuning up and
down the neck, the slide will seem like a natural addition. I put my slide on my
pinkie finger, to leave the others for non-slide open tuning work, and combine
both in my music. *shrugs Also with the slide on my pinkie finger, I can use my
first finger to tamp the strings between the nut and the slide, so they don't
rattle.

If you don't like the sound of it, then you shouldn't waste your practice time.
You aren't going to play it if you don't like the sound of it.

If you do like the sound of it, then it's very worth adding to your quiver of arrows.
IMHO it's just another way to present a song. Like whether you play finger style
or use a flat pick.

If you do like the sound of it... pay some attention to the slide you choose.
I've played all types, from ye auld Coricidin bottle (traditional but difficult)
to ye 11/16 socket (clumsy and heavy... lots of noise from hitting the fretboard)
including ye 3/4" copper plumbing pipe (cheap and effective)
and also ye commercial metal slide (cool looking and unbreakable).

My hands down favorite is a fairly expensive but genuine glass bottle neck
from Diamond Bottlenecks...

Diamond Bottlenecks - Spruce Tree Music

I don't have one of the fancy hand blown leaded glass versions. But I bought one
of the genuine bottlenecks from Spruce Tree music last time we were in Madison,
and I loved the tone of this one so much that I bought another one.

Twenty bucks for a very nicely finished but genuine bottle neck... It's very worth it
in the tone that comes out of my amp. Sounds better than any of the other slides
I've ever played. They come in different sizes, so it's best to try a bunch of them and
pick the one that's comfortable.

Years ago I made my mind up never to buy another glass slide. Mine fell on the
stage and broke into a thousand pieces. So I went with commercial metal ones
after that.... until the day I was in Spruce Tree Music and they showed me the
elegant glass ones. I tried one on a L'Arrivee guitar and was smitten instantly.

I have my MIM Telecaster '72 Deluxe replica tuned to the open tuning all the time,
and play slide on that. The Tele responds very well to it, not too much neck clatter
and excellent combination of tones from the glass and the Fender 'Wide Range'
Hum bucking p'ups. That guitar is NOT set up extra high... so I can switch to standard
tuning and play like everybody else if I want to.
https://soundcloud.com/michael-hough-5/hard-travelin-9-23-16
10 onstage01-05-13@100.jpg
 
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I am a big fan of slide guitar but am hopeless at playing slide. Johnny Winter, Ry Cooder, Sonnie Landreth, and Bonnie Raitt are some of my favourites but the ultimate slide player for me is Mississippi Fred McDowell. Both Johnny Winter and Bonnie Raitt were heavily influenced by him. He mentored Bonnie for awhile. I use steel and ceramic slides but I really, really suck at it.
 
Yes! Bonnie Raitt... She's got the best tone of anyone IMHO... playing finger style slide guitar
on the Brown Strat with her slide on her middle finger... the Brown Strat plugged straight in
to a Fender Blues Junior or a Fender Deluxe, miked of course. She can rock yer sox off...
I am living proof. I've been a fan since like 1974 when she came out with "Takin' my time..."

AND there are so many others.
 
RVA said:
I for one have placed it low on my list of guitar styles to which I enjoy listening. In fact, I avoid it if I can. No Derek Trucks for me.

What say you mates?
Click to expand...

I say you must be mad, mad, MAD!

Derek Trucks is so good it hurts. He made me want to learn how to play slide properly. I always played a little, but never spent any time on it until about two years ago. I'm still not very good, but I can get by if I limit myself to about three tunes a gig . If I do more songs that, I tend to run out of ideas...

I Use a Rockslide, the large glass one, on my ring finger. Yes, I know it's really more "proper" to wear it on the pinky in order to play chords and stuff, but I feel a lot more comfortable using my ring finger.

Currently we usually do three numbers where I play slide. "Key to the Highway", "See Me In the Evening" (Hound Dog Taylor) and "Can't Hold Out" (Elmore James). I tend to practice slide for a few minutes every day. Progress is slow, but at least I'm moving forward. My inspiration comes from Derek Trucks, Duane Allman, Elmore James and Jeremy Spencer. Not very original on my part, but they are rather good players...

My dedicated slide guitar:
IMG_1307_zpsityxgler.jpg
 
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Walks Backward said:
Showed up to a gig years ago and forgot my slide. Dug out my chrome Zippo lighter. Slipped it between my ring and middle finger and went to town. Never used a glass afterwards. Zippo slide from then on. Easy string dampening too. Yup, once you go Zippo you'll never go glass!:celebrate:
Click to expand...
What about the fact that this leaves you with one less finger for chords and lead than you would have with a tube if some sort?
 
I've always loved listening to slide. Favorites are Allman, Haynes, and Dickinson. I've been working on learning for the past few years. I refuse to play in open tunings so learning the finger pick and muting techniques are mandatory. Haynes has a good book/cd on standard tuning slide that's been helpful.
Trying to replicate Duane's licks in standard is difficult and challenging, but can be done. Learning the notes is one thing. Making it sound smooth and effortless is something different altogether.
I usually use a Dunlop thick wall boron (pyrex) glass slide on my ring finger.
 
I do play slide from time to time. But, I'm not skilled enough yet, for the really complex stuff. I usually do single note stuff, like short, simple leads.

I have a glass slide and a brass slide (hey, that rhymes!). For control, I think it's easier with a glass slide on my middle finger. But, I've been working on a brass slide on my pinkie to allow me to do more with the rest of my fretting hand.
 
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what is the best set up for slide?
Should higher action be used? I am always clanking the frets....... :(

PErhaps more practice and a more subtle hand? (can you play slide bass???) or maybe I am just to ham handed for the slide.....
 
the best setup for slide is very subjective...
I'm sure you can play slide bass if you are so inclined... I kind of do that on my fretless
with my regular fingers, making a mwah kind of sound. *grins

Also, I've seen an old friend of mine (Rich DelGrosso a large man, tall and burly with very big hands and fingers)
play slide mandolin... watching him play regular mandolin is fascinating to me. He's really good.

If you're getting too much contact with the fretboard, your slide might be too darn heavy.
That was my problem when using the honking big spark plug socket... I have my acoustic guitars
set up with fairly low action, and I get a lot of clonking when I attempt to play slide on them.
(I do it anyway, when I'm in the mood... and try to keep a lighter touch)

My telecaster is set up like a regular electric guitar, the action's nice and low and I seem to be
able to play slide on that without too much extraneous noise (because wood is like, not magnetic
so the clonk of the slide is NOT transferred to the pickups... *grins)

Maybe heavier strings help... I use tens on my Tele, and 11s on my other electrics.
I image that a set of very light strings and a very low action would NOT be ideal for slide.
 
RVA said:
What about the fact that this leaves you with one less finger for chords and lead than you would have with a tube if some sort?
Click to expand...

good question... excellent question! The answer is the open tuning IMHO.
If you play slide in an open tuning, you don't need as many fingers, and the glass tube
can count for two or three. In open tunings, I use two finger chords behind the slide
and the combination works quite well for my style.

Without the slide, I use two and three finger chords all the way up and down the neck
and it's an interesting sound to my ear.
 
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