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Post subject: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:38 am
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I want to start learning to play slide and figure I should get a guitar set up just for that purpose. I have some ideas but I figure I should ask the experts.

1. Body - Solid / Chambered / Semi Hollow?

2. Fretboard radius - 7.5" / 9.5" / 12" ?

3. Frets - Jumbo / Medium Jumbo / Vintage?

4. Pups - Humbuckers / P 90s / Single coils?

5. Pups - High output / Low output?

6. Action - High / Low?

That should cover most of the variables I think would make one guitar better for slide. I'd appreciate some input from guys that play a lot of slide.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:07 pm
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In my opinion most of that stuff comes down to preference, and what kind of tone you're after. The only thing I really did to one of my guitars to make it a "slide guitar" was use a little bit heavier strings, and raise the action a bit.
Personally I like the tone of a semi-hollow or hollow body guitar, with high output humbuckers, or mini humbuckers. I don't really pay attention to radius, so I can't comment on that. I don't think frets really matter because you don't actually push down on the strings, you just kind of touch them (lap steel guitars don't even have real frets), so I would use whatever size you prefer.
Hope that helps.


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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:06 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
1. Body - Solid / Chambered / Semi Hollow?

2. Fretboard radius - 7.5" / 9.5" / 12" ?

3. Frets - Jumbo / Medium Jumbo / Vintage?

4. Pups - Humbuckers / P 90s / Single coils?

5. Pups - High output / Low output?

6. Action - High / Low?

Hi Drew. I mean this only in a polite and helpful spirit: I wonder if all of this is putting the cart before the horse?

People play slide on guitars with all of the above specs and others. Some very fine slide players use guitars specially set up for the purpose, but many other equally fine players just use their regular guitars and simply take a bottle neck to them: no mods, no raised action, or anything else.

Two extremely fine guitarists who play slide on the same instruments they use for the rest of their music include Buddy Whittington and Joe Bonamassa. Very different from each other, yet what they both focus on when discussing slide playing are aspects like which finger to wear the slide on as well as technique issues like picking hand muting and behind-the-slide muting, and choices of standard or open tuning.

If you are new to slide playing, which is what you seem to indicate, I'd suggest the important thing is to think about which finger you want to use and why, and then find several slides in different materials that fit that finger and take time seeing which you like the best.

From your list you have some nice guitars, any of which will be just fine for slide. Worry about technique now: pickups, body cavities and string radius come much later.

Have a ball with it - C

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:09 pm
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After years and years of messing around with tunings and setups I returned to playing slide in standard tuning with a standard setup. Once you figure out where all the chord patterns and riffs are, it's the most versatile way of playing slide in any key, major or minor.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:14 pm
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Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I should admit, what was between the lines here, this is an excuse to get another guitar. I have played around with a few slides that I bought. I wear it on my ring finger. I figure if I set one up just for slide I might pick it up a little easier.
I've been told that a flat radius fretboard works the best. Other than that I was looking to spec out what might be the best candidate based on experience I don't have yet.
But Ceri I might just take your advice and use one of my current guitars to figure it out. My AmDlx Strat gets the least play time, though I did take it to jam night a couple days ago. Maybe I can rectify that. It has that nice compoud radius fretboard that I like.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:19 pm
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Debate rages about which finger to wear the slide on, I say use whatever works for you. Personally, I find that a heavy brass slide on my 4th finger aloows me to do the really high screaming leads as well as allowing for more natural vibrato and much easier damping of the open strings. YMMV.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 6:11 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I should admit, what was between the lines here, this is an excuse to get another guitar. I have played around with a few slides that I bought. I wear it on my ring finger. I figure if I set one up just for slide I might pick it up a little easier.
I've been told that a flat radius fretboard works the best. Other than that I was looking to spec out what might be the best candidate based on experience I don't have yet.
But Ceri I might just take your advice and use one of my current guitars to figure it out. My AmDlx Strat gets the least play time, though I did take it to jam night a couple days ago. Maybe I can rectify that. It has that nice compoud radius fretboard that I like.


Some food for thought, if a new guitar is the goal. Slide solo at 5:20

Frankly I think the more important combination is hands, feel, and a 60's BF Super Reverb or two.


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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:05 pm
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That was a strange scale Derek was using at the beginning of that solo. He is the king. There's a video of him playing with ABB when he was just a kid. It always cracks me up to watch it and realize how far he took it.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 10:47 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
I want to start learning to play slide and figure I should get a guitar set up just for that purpose. I have some ideas but I figure I should ask the experts.

1. Body - Solid / Chambered / Semi Hollow?


Whichever you like. If you like a guitar's tone without a slide, chances are you'll like it with a slide too. :)
Quote:
2. Fretboard radius - 7.5" / 9.5" / 12" ?


You can use any, but generally the flatter the better. And I'm talking about the radius the strings are set up to, not the fretboard since you wouldn't be fretting a lot of notes playing slide.
Quote:
3. Frets - Jumbo / Medium Jumbo / Vintage?


Doesn't matter, it mainly has to do with how your guitar is set up and how you play. Frets don't come into play.
Quote:
4. Pups - Humbuckers / P 90s / Single coils?


Again, whichever you like best. Personally, I like humbuckers and P-90s for slide. Single coils sound a little tinny/bright for the slide tone that I like.
Quote:
5. Pups - High output / Low output?


Either, again it has to do with what you like best. People play slide on everything from $3000 Gibsons to $50 cigar boxes. And they all sound pretty good in the right hands!
Quote:
6. Action - High / Low?


I have a guitar set up just for slide with 16-52s and high action because my favorite slide is a very heavy glass one and to me the heavier strings have a nicer slide tone. Remember though, when you play slide try to play with a light touch. You only need to be in contact with the string, you don't need to press down on them at all (and sometimes pressing down will actually make it sound out of tune).

What type of slide you use also makes a huge difference in tone (sort of like how different frets/picks/strings will). Metal slides sounds more twangy/bright and can be a little harder to start out with because the weight will make you feel like pressing down harder and it can hit the frets if you have low action. Ceramic slides are really light and have a little warmer tone than metal. Glass (or pyrex) slides sound the warmest and have better sustain than ceramic. I use a steel bar for my dobro, a ceramic bar for my electric lap steel, and a glass slide for my Les Paul.

I'd recommend you check out the Warren Haynes book on slide, it's pretty good. Also, look for any videos by a guy named Matt Smith. He's the guy who got me into playing slide and he's a great teacher!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjhYCoQrh_0

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:59 pm
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One name... Sonny Landreth !!

Learn to play like he does and the rest is irrelevant !

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:00 am
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G'day Drew, I've been playing slide on Resonators for a while now. I am also seeking an electric guitar for slide playing. My Strats don't suit the purpose at all, not my style anyhow. I fingerpick heavily with all the right hand fingers (no picks). I need a flat ,wide fretboard and a fairly high action. I know you can play slide on any guitar, but ....

How about a Fender XII, strung with six strings, the only Fender I've seen Johnny play.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:06 am
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Thanks again, lots of good info. A 12 string strung up with 6 strings, that's a unique idea. And, 16 - 52 strings, I was thinking of going all the way up to 11's. :)
Rebecca, do you tune standard or open E?

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:06 am
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I agree with just about everything Ceri said and most of what Becks (Texas Guitar Slinger) said, but here's my two cents.

I play a lot of slide--electric, acoustic, resonator, whatever...most of my guitars have different radiuses (radiii? :? ), so that doesn't really matter, either.

I don't set the action high--in fact, I set the action as low as it will go with out fret buzz.

I also use somewhat light strings--9's on my electrics (with the exception of my G&L F100, which likes 10's for some reason), and light gauges on my acoustics, too.

Lighter strings and lower action force you to have a lighter touch, but it allows for more fluidity/articulation in your playing and allows you to fret chords in between slide passages.

Using the pinky for slide helps develop that lighter touch, and leaves three fingers free to play chords.

Also, if you have to borrow a guitar (at a jam or elsewhere), being able to play slide on a guitar without the high action/heavy string setup is a plus.

I prefer Open G, Open D (and the related minors of those tunings) when I play...I can play slide in standard tuning, but I'm lazy and don't do it much.

Becks is right about pickups--single coils can get a bit thin, but tweaking your amp's EQ can help overcome it, and there are some awesome slide players who use "normal" Strat pickups in their craft...Bonnie Raitt, Sonny Landreth, Buddy Whittington, Rollo Smith, just to name a few. I personally prefer P-90's; I put a P-90 in the neck position of my Telecaster and put Pete Biltoft Vintage Vibe SP90 pickups on my Stratocaster. I even bought a cheap Epiphone with two P-90's, just because of the pickups.

One strange thing--nasty/funky pickups, like Lipsticks (Danelectro), or the unknown monsters found in Teiscos, Harmonys, etc., often sound better than a well-made pickup, at least when using a slide.

Here's a video of some doofus playing a cheap Epiphone with two P-90's:
Image

Same doofus, different guitar...a Dean Chrome G resonator (unplugged):
Image

Both have low action and light strings, and extremely different necks...and both of these songs were in Open G tuning.

So buy another guitar if you like, but there's no reason to set up a specific guitar for slide--all of them work if you know what you're doing.

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:22 am
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Debate rages about which finger to wear the slide on, I say use whatever works for you. Personally, I find that a heavy brass slide on my 4th finger aloows me to do the really high screaming leads as well as allowing for more natural vibrato and much easier damping of the open strings. YMMV.

MMDV (My Mileage Doesn't Vary). Behind the slide damping is vital and a good reason at least for not wearing the bottleneck on the first finger (as I've seen one or two people do). And another advantage of using the pinky is that it leaves the first three fingers available for chording, so you can mix playing styles in one tune. (Though wearing his slide on his second finger doesn't seem to prevent Billy Gibbons doing that as well, so... no rules! :D )


Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
One strange thing--nasty/funky pickups, like Lipsticks (Danelectro), or the unknown monsters found in Teiscos, Harmonys, etc., often sound better than a well-made pickup, at least when using a slide.

Ah-ha! Just a few days ago I was at a Mark Knopfler gig where he chose a Danelectro for his slide playing. Sounded good from where I was sat.

Now I'm going to relax and enjoy SA's slide playing some more. 8)

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 3:49 pm
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Ceri wrote:
GilgaFrank wrote:
Debate rages about which finger to wear the slide on, I say use whatever works for you. Personally, I find that a heavy brass slide on my 4th finger aloows me to do the really high screaming leads as well as allowing for more natural vibrato and much easier damping of the open strings. YMMV.

MMDV (My Mileage Doesn't Vary). Behind the slide damping is vital and a good reason at least for not wearing the bottleneck on the first finger (as I've seen one or two people do). And another advantage of using the pinky is that it leaves the first three fingers available for chording, so you can mix playing styles in one tune. (Though wearing his slide on his second finger doesn't seem to prevent Billy Gibbons doing that as well, so... no rules! :D )
Cheers - C

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