Slide guitar.

Author
Discussion

rufusgti

Original Poster:

2,528 posts

191 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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I fancy having a go at Slide guitar. I have a glass finger slide somewhere. Are there any decent tutorial books out there. I've enjoyed using guitar books in the past for different teqniques.
Any tips.

dojo

741 posts

134 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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If possible use an old guitar and set it up with a high action. I'd look around youtube. A lot of slide stuff is in open tunings - Great fun and something I would like to get better at.

W124

1,497 posts

137 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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Tune to open C. That's down to CGCGCE going from the bottom E up. Only the B goes up - to a C. Fiddle about on the 3rd, 5th and second frets. Cant go wrong.

davepoth

29,395 posts

198 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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W124 said:
Tune to open C. That's down to CGCGCE going from the bottom E up. Only the B goes up - to a C. Fiddle about on the 3rd, 5th and second frets. Cant go wrong.
I like open D - DADF#AD, since you don't need to tune up at all. As the guys say, a guitar with high action is best for slide so you can get a good note easily without hitting the fretboard.

Lotus 50

1,009 posts

164 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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It also helps to use heavier strings and use a slide made of a high density material (e.g. thick glass - I have a slide made by diamond bottlenecks that works well for me). Brass is OK but tends to verdigris up on the inside which can be pretty off putting. People use the slide on different fingers, I tend to use my little finger so you can dampen the strings behind the slide and or play notes/chords as well as sliding. You can (if careful) combine the two - when you fret a note behind the slide, if the action of the guitar is high enough, the string will vibrate under the slide and you don't have to lift it off the other stings. This can be really helpful if you're trying to play slide in standard tuning (I often do as it saves re-tuning the guitar mid gig for the one or two songs that need slide).


Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Friday 30th January 2015
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I'm looking to get more slide action going on, I'm not going to go as far as retuning for it, but I will be getting Big Heart Slides in America to make me a custom porcelain slide, they're supposed to sound incredible.

I have a few glass sides, including a little one that only covers a finger up the the first knuckle, I wore it on my little finger and could use the first 3 fingers normally, putting in slide notes with the little finger, and as it only covered the end of the finger, it didn't impede dexterity so it was very easy to blend in and out.

I have a Dunlop Preachin' Pipe too, the Eric Sardinas signature slide, given to me by Eric himself. Me and my brother went to see Steve Vai at the Newcastle city hall around 2006, and Eric was opening. The crowd were a bit indifferent, waiting for Vai, but me and my bro were really into it, cheering Eric on loudly from the second row. When he was finished his set, he crouched down on the front of the stage, pointed to me them tossed the slide. It was absolutely abused, battle-scarred from use on his dobro with heavy strings. It's too heavy and bright for electric playing, so I keep it on the shelf. It's definitely the coolest thing I've ever taken away from a gig. He is an incredible player too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTd-XsXLwxM


br d

8,388 posts

225 months

Sunday 1st February 2015
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My word Mastadon thank you for that, had never heard of this bloke before.

'Love Me' from that same page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YTSURq8EU

As well as all the slidey goodness he's playing with a thumb pick and using all four fingers on his right hand, so much technique combined, that is pretty staggering stuff!

Turn7

23,503 posts

220 months

Sunday 1st February 2015
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Seconded Mastodon, Im listening to this right now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1NiDSkNnC8&li...

Whats the best album to buy?

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Sunday 1st February 2015
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I've got Treat Me Right, Devil's Train and Black Pearls, he has done a few more albums since then but of those three, Black Pearls is my favourite. The production is absolutely spot on, the playing is intense and the songs are catchy, it's good stuff.

Turn7

23,503 posts

220 months

Sunday 1st February 2015
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Ordered:




Turn7

23,503 posts

220 months

Sunday 1st February 2015
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And, to the OP - Ive always wanted to play slide, but Im still learning to play normally!

Bobley

697 posts

148 months

Friday 6th February 2015
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My lad learned classical guitar and then decided he wanted to do slide guitar. We saw a chap called Brookes Williams at a folk festival 4 years ago when he was 10 and he's stuck with it. We got him a cheap second hand Savannah round neck resonator and he bought a few books. He says his favourite is Bottleneck Blues Guitar by Woody Mann

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bottleneck-Blues-Guitar-Bo...

Since then he's bought an Epiphone Dot and a little Blackstar HT1R so he can make alsorts of dirty noises too.

Last christmas while we were up at my folks I gave him a plank of walnut and a box of bits I'd picked up and saved from rebuilding a few old guitars over the years and we built our own lapsteel in the shed.

He's got a while to go yet but he wants to be the next Jerry Douglas (1:50 ish onwards...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_-sskQWfK4

gareth_r

5,712 posts

236 months

Saturday 7th February 2015
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Since this is Pistonhrads... do you have a socket set? smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7oPHLzEc3Q

Edited by gareth_r on Saturday 7th February 21:40