ok so inspired by jack white, i picked up a guitar slide the other week. i kinda need some tips, ya know cause i'm horrible at using it (well, i think i am)

http://soundcloud.com/riley1/horrible-s ... itar-impro

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riley

yep your horrible for sure welcome to the club. lol im horrible too. we could form a slide duet called the horrible brothers.

just kidding. that like anything else takes time and practice.

i bought a video by kirk smart a few years back its one of them teaching vids.

im sure theres alot of that kind of stuff on you tube . id suggest you try there to start with and as you make progress... then maybe buy a couple of vids.

most slide setups are of higher action. i have a jay turser reso guitar just for that to try to get that delta blues sound. anyhow keep trying you ll get it.

yes i think i've read somewhere that its a good idea to have your action high if your planning to play slide guitar on it. the action on my telecaster is extremely low so

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riley

yep ive tryed on low action guitars . it was horrible just horrible. in ebay ive seen this thing that you put over your existing nut that raidses the action . it looks like a bent piece of metal. anyhow you loosen your strings and put this on then re tune.

when youve had enough... you just remove it and re tune and your back. but ive never used one.

I, too, am mediocre, at best, at slide playing, but I will tell you what I've learned.

1. Set the action of your guitar a little higher than you normally would, but still low enough so that you can finger chords in standard tuning. This will take experimentation, to get it where it's "right" for you. It's easier to just raise the action at the bridge for this, without modifying or replacing the nut. Be sure to reset the intonation after adjusting string height, or the guitar won't be in tune up and down the neck.

2. Glass slides tend to work better on electric guitars, while metal slides are usually best for acoustics. Make sure the slide has enough mass (thickness and weight) to get a clear tone; this also makes it easier to let the slide do the work and make it less tiring for you. I usually put the slide on my pinkie, if I'm going to be playing rhythm as well as lead. This leaves my other fingers free to finger the chords.

3. Position the slide directly over the frets, and not behind them, as you would with conventional fingering. If you place the slide behind the fret, the note will come out flat. Do not press against the string hard!!! Just lightly place the slide over the fret, using very little pressure and let the slide's weight and mass glide it over the frets. No need to press hard at all, if you have a good slide. It's a very different technique from standard fingering.

4. If you put the slide on your pinkie, as I do, then gently press your ring finger on the string(s) behind the slide, to dampen it. This dampening kills any unwanted overtones and harmonics and improves the sound a lot.

5. Most traditional slide players pick with a fingerstyle technique, instead of a flatpick. You can use a pick, but the fingerstyle is something good to explore and experiment with, if you aren't already familiar with the technique. It will add an extra dimension to your playing, so I would recommend trying it.

There are many other things I could get into, such as using open tunings, etc., but that's another topic in and of itself. The above should at least get you started.

Have fun!!

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

i'm doing most of what you said, except fingerpicking as i physically cant. so i'm on the right track i guess

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riley

I started messing around with slide techniques about the same time I started playing guitar--about 22 years ago. Dang, I'm getting old. 

But I REALLY started playing slide guitar in earnest about 13 years ago, when I found an instructor who could actually teach slide guitar (most of the teachers in my area couldn't even play that style, much less teach it)...

At the time, I was using a flatpick, wearing the slide on my middle or ring finger (depending on my mood) and had the action set higher than Carlos Santana on a Saturday night. My instructor (Rollo Smith) politely suggested that I change a few things, which would enable me to break the bad habits that were holding me back...one of the things I liked about him was that he wouldn't MAKE his students change anything, but would show them how it was easier the way he suggested.

He suggested that I drop the pick, put the slide on my pinky, and lower the action. 

By lowering the action, I was forced to lighten the toich of my left (slide/fretting) hand. I was still able to fret the guitar (and enabled me to use the open-tuned guitar(s) for Keef Riff-hard excursions). Also, it enabled me to play slide on any guitar--if I had to borrow someone else's low-setting axe I could still play slide. All of my guitars electrics and acoustics) now have VERY low action, and I play slide on all of them...raising the action is just a crutch and will not make it any easier, especially since you're just now starting out and developing this ability.

I'm also going against the grain in that I use 9's on most of my electrics (10's on my G&L) and fairly light gauged strings on my acoustics...the tone is still there, I just had to pick a but differently.

Putting the slide on my pinky enabled me to have a lighter touch, which made my slide playing more fluid and articulate...and I could still fret and play chords behind the slide or without the slide interfering.

Losing the flatpick gave me the ability to do banjo-player rolls and octave-spanning riffs (hit two strings at once, while skipping over a string or two or three). I also quit using a pick when playing non-slide styles, and my playing improved tenfold...

I understand that the health of your right hand may not allow you to fingerpick, but even if you just start out by "picking" without a pick, it might assist you to start moving in the right direction (and increase some flexibility at the same time). I'm not a doctor, but I've been through some rehab/physical therapy situations due to ruptured discs in my neck, which reduced feeling and dexterity in my right (picking) hand.
 
Conventional wisdom, especially regarding how high to set your action and the gauge of string, doesn't always hold true.

One other thing--I use open G, open D and a half-dozen other alternate tunings, both when playing slide or straight...but the smartest thing I ever did was learning to play some slide riffs in standard/440 tuning. I still prefer open tunings, but it's a cool variation to mess around with.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I use either my ring finger or pinky and leave my string height alone! You have to learn the touch not force it!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

yep.

my father is one of those slide players ( I am horrible also) and he plays with a low action. if you want to be able to play slide and then chord at the same time you don't want the action to high. he did give me a great tip though. use 3/4 copper pipe! it is really lite and makes it easier to use it also it has a really cool tinny twang to it for some sweet blues sounds. you can get a foot of that at home depot for like 4 dollars and they will cut it for you there

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Some great info here by other members. Definitely try some open tunings to get that gritty blues sound.Good luck and practice, practice, practice and than practice more

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

I started out experimenting with slide back in the early 50's. I dident even know what it was except that it was what my Grandpa did, and it was cool. My old Stella flat top was the guinea pig, and before I was through it was a wreck. The setup was prity much fixed, in that it was what it was. so I changed out the bridge several times with homemade stuff. and even tried several experimental nuts. I even made one out of aluminum. I dident have the cash to experiment to much with strings, so that wasn't an option. For slides I tried Any thing I could think of, Glass bottles Pipe, I Evan tried a Wrist pin out of an old engine. Beside screwing up my guitar prity bad I never accomplished much Except when I Practised. That was the key, Practice. I would Recommend that you get your guitar and fallow Mr. Armadillo's good advice and You will Soon Began to make music. .
----Danny,