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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:03 pm
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texasguitarslinger wrote:
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. :)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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


I enjoyed your slide work on your cigar box video. Looked like fun. Maybe you could show these guys how it's done. :D


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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:22 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
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 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.

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.

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.



I had the pleasure to get to know Walter 'Wolfman' Washington during our last visit to New Orleans for JazzFest.





Walter lives down the street from the friend's house we stay at every year for JazzFest and we saw him play several times as well as had drinks with him a number of times at the neighborhood bar - The Buffa Lounge.

Two weeks later, Walter was here in MSP at a friend's club. We met with him before and after his show. I asked Walter if I could get a lesson with him, or at least jam together when we're back in New Orleans next year.

Walter agreed and asked what I play (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Heritage H535) and also what gauge strings I used. I told him 10's on the Tele, 11's on the Strat and Heritage.

Walter said to switch to 9's all around. Said that's the greatest 'secret' he could pass on. Said that it's all about finding 'your' sound and that lighter strings allow you to better express your playing... that the lightest touch necessary to chord or phrase is the best thing.

I'm such a newbie, it never occured to me, but I'm gonna follow his advice !

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:44 pm
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I used to use this guitar in G tuning, really cheap Korean Squier with really weak low output humbuckers. It seemed to sustain and overdrive the amp just right for that bluesy tone without going into insane levels of distortion and that made the damping and control a lot easier.


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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:14 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
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?


It all depends on the song. Every night I play live, I play slide on one song in standard, one song in open E, and one song in open G. It sounds harder than it actually is when you consider that you can use the same "fingerings" (for lack of a better term) in open E as in open D, and in open G as in open A. So you can get four tunings out of being comfortable with just two! That Warren Haynes slide book helped me out a lot in standard, and I've gotten pretty comfortable with open G thanks to my lapsteel and cigar box guitars. I'm still trying to get the hang of open E, but since the song I use it on is an Allman Brothers tune I really have to for it to sound and feel right to me.

I can see Screamin' Armadillo's point on light stings and low action. If you can play slide on that, you can on anything. My preference has just always been heavy strings and high action, but I don't think either way is really right or wrong. It all boils down to what makes you feel best. :)

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:38 pm
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texasguitarslinger wrote:
It all depends on the song. Every night I play live, I play slide on one song in standard, one song in open E, and one song in open G. It sounds harder than it actually is when you consider that you can use the same "fingerings" (for lack of a better term) in open E as in open D, and in open G as in open A. So you can get four tunings out of being comfortable with just two! That Warren Haynes slide book helped me out a lot in standard, and I've gotten pretty comfortable with open G thanks to my lapsteel and cigar box guitars. I'm still trying to get the hang of open E, but since the song I use it on is an Allman Brothers tune I really have to for it to sound and feel right to me.

I can see Screamin' Armadillo's point on light stings and low action. If you can play slide on that, you can on anything. My preference has just always been heavy strings and high action, but I don't think either way is really right or wrong. It all boils down to what makes you feel best. :)

Just to make my life easier, I keep one axe tuned to Open D and one to Open G, and capo up if I need Open E or Open A...plus, the slack on the strings makes for some easy bending, Keef-style.

Don't get me wrong--I started with the heavy string/high action setup; however, some suggestions from one of the best slide players I had ever heard or played with (Fort Worth's own Rollo Smith) made me try the low action/lighter string setup, quit using a pick, and start using the pinky finger for the slide (previously I used the middle/flipper finger or the ring finger). It was a way to "start over" and break all the bad habits I had developed in my early attempts to play slide guitar...he was obviously right!

I should go back and get him to make suggestions on how to improve my standard/non-slide playing...

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:52 am
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um okay, differing body types account for several choices you have to make, like comfortability, feedback control ect. All of which are personal choices. Pickups also fall into this realm, if your really unsure try a guitar with a combo of single coil and humbucker pickups. Myself I have several electrics I use for slide depending on whether I want greasy dirt or crystal clean and I always have at least one set up in open G and another in standard that can stay that way or very quick and easily adjusted to open E. Then there are cheaters or capo's that you can use to modify open tunings. The best advice I ever got regarding slide was on muting with your fingers or palm and finding out which finger to put the slide on that was comfortable but allowed for chording and non slide riffing. Best way to answer these questions is to experiment by yourself till you like the sounds you're making. Most of all have fun and enjoy and before long you'll find you have a new tool in your arsenal that you can take advantage of :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:35 am
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Thanks, I have been experimenting. Coincidentally, I'm finding being a beginner at slide playing is a lot like being a beginner at ice skating. It's kind of ugly at first. :(

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Post subject: Re: Slide Guitar
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:19 am
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Drew365 wrote:
Thanks, I have been experimenting. Coincidentally, I'm finding being a beginner at slide playing is a lot like being a beginner at ice skating. It's kind of ugly at first. :(

Apparently the rest of the Allman Brothers Band threatened to take Duane out and throttle him on numerous occasions while he was developing his craft so don`t sweat it LOL :wink:

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