Question for Slide Players

[FunkyE9th]

Been thinking of learning to play slide and have a few questions...

1) Do you setup your guitar differently when playing slide?

2) Do you use heavier gauge strings?

3) Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

FunkyE9th

[Steve Haynie]

It helps if you can go up to at least a set of .010's on your guitar. Raising the action isn't entirely necessary, but if you have really low action you will end up accidentally hitting frets with your slide.

Find a finger that is comfortable for holding the slide and have at least one finger dampening the strings between the nut and the slide.

Practice to some music so you can hear whether or not you have the slide on the right note. Don't just look at fret positions. Some people push down on the slide and slightly bend notes sharp. Use your ears.

[hardheartedbill]

I'm playing more and more slide on the gig, I've always dabbled but now that I'm playing Dobro I seem to have caught the bug, several years of Derek Trucks influence has helped this along. I've tried Dereks SG and Haynes LPs, neither uses "high" action they use a normal action as do I. I do thinks 10's or better are a must. The key is the muting behind the slide and finger picking IMO, those 2 things effect the tone more than anything for me, I play slide on all my guitars w/o any action changes, but I will raise the G to G# for a fake open E on the top 4 or lower the high E to D for fake open G, in a world w/ muting stage tuners it's easy as pie

[pesocaster]

Slide..... either your best friend or worst enemy... hahahhaha

1. I play in standard tuning 90% of the time and don't change the setup on my guitars... I use pretty low action...

2. 10's and 11's .... 9's just don't have the "girth" in most cases...

3.:

Here are a few quick pointers...

1. Pick your slide.... I think glass has the best "singing" tone... Brass: best sustain... and chrome is very bright... Weight is also improtant... I tend to use heavier slides... you end up putting less preasure on the strings....

2. Mute Mute Mute...... I use the slide on my ring finger... and mute behind it with my middle finger..... also, be sure to mute with your picking hand as well....

3. go slow..... think of slow strings..... this will help you develop a good tone and comfort level with the thing...

4. practice a lot... it takes time to get this down.... I've been fighting with the damn thing for about 15 years and just now feel I'm getting someplace... hahhahah

The two Arlen Roth videos are great.... Check them out.... and good luck!

http://www.hotlicks.com/slideguitar.htm

[tomteriffic]

I use a fairly heavy glass slide, so my main slider guitar has 11's on it with a 12 on the little E, and slightly higher action than my usual impossibly low setup. If I'm changing to a falke open tuning (like HHB) on a regular guitar, I use a very lightweight chrome slide.

Damping behind the slide as well as with your right hand on unused strings is essential for a clean approach.

[hardheartedbill]

you can also "undamp" for a wild sound effect, Sonny Landrith does this a lot

[straightblues]

#1. Don't let slide intemidate you.

#2. You don't need heavier strings or higher action, but it help. When you first start out you don't have good control over your slide and tend to press it down too hard. The higher action and heavier strings are more forgiving. If you are a good slide player, with a light slide you can play on any guitar.

#3. Start out with a light weight slide. When you build up your strength go heavy if you want but start with a lighter glass or ceramic slide. Once your muscles and control build up, and then get a heavier slide if you want to. I use very heavy brass because I like the tone the best.

#4. Use your pincky or 3rd finger for the slide so you can also fret chords when you are playing.

#5. Muting is one of those things that is almost impossible to explain. It just comes with a lot of practice. One day it will just all come together. Don't stress out about it.

[FunkyE9th]

Thanks for all the advice. I currently use 11's on my electric guitars. So I'll stick with those. I have a glass slide. Have no idea if its considered heavy or light. I seem to have problems playing the high E. I hit the frets when I try to play the high E. I guess I just gotta practice.

Thanks,

-FunkyEth

[straightblues]

Thanks for all the advice. I currently use 11's on my electric guitars. So I'll stick with those. I have a glass slide. Have no idea if its considered heavy or light.  I seem to have problems playing the high E. I hit the frets when I try to play the high E. I guess I just gotta practice.

Thanks,

-FunkyEth

The glass is very light. If you have problems with glass don't go for something a heavier until you have more control.

I have lots of slides. In fact, my wife just this afternoon said, "What the heck are all these little pieces of metal sitting around here." I said, "Why those would be my slides, aren't they cool."

[teleman]

I play slide in standard tuning, open E and open G. I use a standard set of GHS 10's and don't really have my action any higher than what I use for standard playing.

Muting is a must for clean slide tone. I also think a compressor adds to the sustain and rounda out the tone.

I usually bring two guitars to a gig and have one in standard tuning and one in open G for the first set and retune it to open E for the rest of the night, wE presently do about 10 tunes that require slide.

I love the Ibanez MT10 Mostortion pedal for slide. Think instant Bonnie Rait or Lee Roy Parnell tone with a single coil guitar. The HFC 6 Monaco Elite Prototype comes out for when we do Statsboro Blues. It fits the bill to a T.

[kraut]

Playing slide on the electric in standard tuning and on dobro (from bill blue) in

Open E. using a brass-slide. watching the video "Slide Guitar for Rock and Blues

taught by Roy Rogers" helped me a lot.

[Guest JackButler]

I like a short, heavy, thick walled slide..try using your fingers as opposed to a pick.. try muting and not muting.. both can be useeful (muting behind the slide is what I'm refering to here)..playing with your fingers allows you to dampening strings your not playing with your thumb and other fingers on your picking hand..this is especially helpful when playing slide in standard tuning.

Also, I'd suggest checking out the electric slide dvd by Warren Haynes..there's also a bookout called "Warren Haynes Guite to Slide Guitar" that comes with a cd..their 2 different courses...also check out Hamer monster Matt Smith's "Chop Shop" book..it demystifies open tunings really quickly and gets you up and playing "Ry Cooder" style literally in minutes.

I play slide with my it on my third finger and use the others to play chords or throw in non-slide licks...if you can find some footage of Sonny Landreth, you'll see him use the slide on his pinky and use his other 3 fingers to play notes DURING a slide lick..like really quick hammers and pulls..beauty of this is that when he lets go of a hammer or pull, the slide is already there on the string as soon as it leaves the fret..its extremely fast and fluid.

[cmatthes]

Kevin said a few things I agree 100% with above! Part of the slide thing is finding what kind of slide you prefer - I have tried many and have an assortment kicking around. Different slides do different things and work better (or not so well) for different styles. Try experimenting with thin-walled glass (like a Coricidin bottle slide), Heavy glass (Dunlop makes some nice and cheap ones that fit this bill), heavy blown glass (interesting stuff), Brass or chromed brass in varying weights and thicknesses (again, Dunlop is a popular choice here).

Find which finger or position works well for you too. I spoke to Matt Smith about this a few weeks ago (ditto to Kevin - I HIGHLY recommend the "Chop Shop" book/CD to anybody who wants a common-sense demystification of playing!), and he mentions that he uses his little finger. I use my third/ring finger or have also "palmed" a more narrow slide between the ring and little finger. Experiment with that to find what is most comfortable.

If Sonny Landreth had a DVD out, I'd have been in line the day they went on sale! Thanks for the heads-up on the Warren Haynes book/CD - that will be on my list...

Finally there's the tuning thing - try it in Standard tuning, Open G, etc. Matt Smith's book is an EXCELLENT guide here - probably the clearest reference I've ever seen on the subject. I carried around a dog-eared photocopy that I got from one of Matt's clinics years ago and referred to that often until I got my copy of the Chop Shop book.

Slide is a lot of fun to experiment with, and although I still suck at it after playing around with it on and off for almost 20 years, it can be really cool to mix up your playing routine.

[JordanL]

Lots of great advice given here so far.

For those using lighter strings, Sometimes using a heavier E(11 or - 13) can help-

For using a single guitar consider "half-open" tunings-drop High E to D for Open G on the the high 4 strings or Raise G to G# so you have an E triad on the bottom 4 but can play normal chords on bottom 3

And I'll recommend the Rockslide as a great metal slide, reasonably priced:

Rockslide

[Guest JackButler]

Kevin said a few things I agree 100% with above! Part of the slide thing is finding what kind of slide you prefer - I have tried many and have an assortment kicking around. Different slides do different things and work better (or not so well) for different styles. Try experimenting with thin-walled glass (like a Coricidin bottle slide), Heavy glass (Dunlop makes some nice and cheap ones that fit this bill), heavy blown glass (interesting stuff), Brass or chromed brass in varying weights and thicknesses (again, Dunlop is a popular choice here).

Find which finger or position works well for you too. I spoke to Matt Smith about this a few weeks ago (ditto to Kevin - I HIGHLY recommend the "Chop Shop" book/CD to anybody who wants a common-sense demystification of playing!), and he mentions that he uses his little finger. I use my third/ring finger or have also "palmed" a more narrow slide between the ring and little finger. Experiment with that to find what is most comfortable.

If Sonny Landreth had a DVD out, I'd have been in line the day they went on sale! Thanks for the heads-up on the Warren Haynes book/CD - that will be on my list...

Finally there's the tuning thing - try it in Standard tuning, Open G, etc. Matt Smith's book is an EXCELLENT guide here - probably the clearest reference I've ever seen on the subject. I carried around a dog-eared photocopy that I got from one of Matt's clinics years ago and referred to that often until I got my copy of the Chop Shop book.

Slide is a lot of fun to experiment with, and although I still suck at it after playing around with it on and off for almost 20 years, it can be really cool to mix up your playing routine.

Thanks Chris!

The only video footage I have of Sonny is on Gov't Mule's "The Deepest End", the double cd set comes with a dvd and Sonny jumps in for a tune with them. Lots of great hand close ups of his technique there and how he frets behind the slide. Sonny also uses a thumbpick and his fingers, btw.