A few new goodies

[the guy who invented fire]

I picked up a few new toys recently and thought I'd take the time to share a few cool things with you guys...

A long time ago now I bought a Shubb C1 capo and love it...it is so far the only capo I've ever used that I can put on and take off w/o having to tweak the guitars tuning...a huge deal if you're on stage!!!

So, I've been using my Esquire more and more lately and it has a 7.25 radius...the Shubb capo is a little flat for that (it has a hard time clamping down on the E strings) so I picked up a Shubb for 7.25 inch radius (model C4) necks and I am loving it!!!

It's perfect for vintage radius neck Fender guitars!

I also picked up a few new slides recently one of which is a Silica Sound Slide...they come in 2 lengths and 2 diameters and 2 thicknesses for a total of 8 different slides. They are hand blown glass and the tips are tapered going to the inside which adds mass at the end for sustain and it also helps in doing a nice wide, human voice like vibrato plus it also grips the tip of your finger quite nicely so the slide stays put!

They are super cool slides and I dig 'em!

As an added bonus they look cool too!

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: A few new goodies

That does look cool! I can't seem to hold onto slides and capos .... that is, I lose them. In fact, I lose them more than I use them.


Edit: I'd sure like to hear some slide clips with Ruby. After she went into the twist I used her a bit for slide and the tone was out of this world!

 

[ErikH]

It looks like a shot glass. Lol. I can see how the taper would help with grip. Very cool idea. Have you tried the Billy Gibbons slide yet?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

That does look cool! I can't seem to hold onto slides and capos .... that is, I lose them. In fact, I lose them more than I use them.

Edit: I'd sure like to hear some slide clips with Ruby. After she went into the twist I used her a bit for slide and the tone was out of this world!

Ya know, I think that's one of the reasons I stock pile capos, picks and slides...I hate loosing them!

This Silica Sound Slide is nice and I like it but at $26 a pop I'm not sure I'll gig it...the Dunlop 220 and 222 are great gig slides...they are not breakable and they are like 6 bucks each!

As for Ruby...she's a great slide guitar but I don't play slide on here much...I still get nervous about denting a fret, once they get some more use I'll likely stop worrying about it...truth is I dunno why I worry...I haven't dented a fret on the Melody Maker or my open G Telecaster both of which see slide duty all the time!

I did however take Ruby to the last 2 gigs and used her almost the whole night!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

It looks like a shot glass. Lol. I can see how the taper would help with grip. Very cool idea. Have you tried the Billy Gibbons slide yet?

It does look like a shot glass...I even thought about emailing SSS and telling them they need to make matching shot glasses!

The BFG slide...which one??

There are 2, one of them is just like the Joe Perry Boneyard slide and the other is a medicine bottle but it's not glass-glass...it's Pyrex glass and I'm not big on pyrex slides...I have 2, one medicine bottle style (not the BFG) and one thick wall long slide similar to what Derek Trucks uses...they just sit...I tend to use chrome, brass or true glass slides.

In fact, I picked up a few nice wine bottle neck slides a few weeks ago that I LOVE...good weight to them and a beautiful tone.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: A few new goodies

Slide seems to be an interesting thing. Ive never tried it, and have no desire to do so, but when I think slide, I think Johhny Winter.
It also seems to be a Blues thang mainly. Am I right? I mean, I can count on one hand Hard Rock/ Metal guys who have utilized slide, unless I'm mistaken.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: A few new goodies

Slide seems to be an interesting thing. Ive never tried it, and have no desire to do so, but when I think slide, I think Johhny Winter.
It also seems to be a Blues thang mainly. Am I right? I mean, I can count on one hand Hard Rock/ Metal guys who have utilized slide, unless I'm mistaken.

I think of blues and country mostly. I liked Duane Allman and Billy Gibbons and Derek Trucks certainly come to mind, but my favorite by far is Sonny:

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: A few new goodies

Question for you slide guys - Do you have a guitar set-up specifically for slide? Do you use something to raise the nut or just get one cut taller or what? I got a few slides just for fun and maybe it's my technique that's holding me back but, even with raising the action a bit I always seem to "clink" the frets! :cussing: That and getting the action right for both fretting and slide on the same instrument hasn't had the results that I was looking for. The intonation gets whacked the **** out.

 

[ErikH]

It does look like a shot glass...I even thought about emailing SSS and telling them they need to make matching shot glasses!

The BFG slide...which one??

There are 2, one of them is just like the Joe Perry Boneyard slide and the other is a medicine bottle but it's not glass-glass...it's Pyrex glass and I'm not big on pyrex slides...I have 2, one medicine bottle style (not the BFG) and one thick wall long slide similar to what Derek Trucks uses...they just sit...I tend to use chrome, brass or true glass slides.

In fact, I picked up a few nice wine bottle neck slides a few weeks ago that I LOVE...good weight to them and a beautiful tone.

The one like the Boneyard. That's the one I was referring too. Didn't know about the other one. LOL.

I had a Boneyard slide and loved it. It was in the bag that got taken out of my garage a couple years back. Haven't replaced it with another yet.

The only slides I have right now are a Dunlop chrome and a medicine bottle. I like them both but in the end, I love the Boneyard. For some reason I can maintain control better with it. I'm not that good with slide. Still working on it, so any advantage to keeping control is a plus for me.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

Question for you slide guys - Do you have a guitar set-up specifically for slide? Do you use something to raise the nut or just get one cut taller or what? I got a few slides just for fun and maybe it's my technique that's holding me back but, even with raising the action a bit I always seem to "clink" the frets! :cussing: That and getting the action right for both fretting and slide on the same instrument hasn't had the results that I was looking for. The intonation gets whacked the **** out.

I have the action on all my guitars high enough where I can play slide on any of them but not so high that they can't be played "normal"

Slide set up is tricky...some guys do like the action so high it could never be played w/o a slide but I don't see the point, I like to go back and fourth between fingered and slide.

Just make sure the strings are big enough and the slide is right...the slide is the key IMHO. I have to find a slide that's heavy enough to get a good tone and will allow be to have a good vibrato but still light enough to not push down so hard that i'm clicking the frets.

I can play slide on any of my guitars but to make things a little easier I keep this set up in open G with a set of 11-50's

And I use this in open E with a set of 10-46

Finding the right slide is THE key...then finding the right finger to put it on is another big step...after that it's all about damping, playing clean and intonation.

Slide ain't easy but it's a tone of fun and if you can do it right it's a beautiful way to play...I am by no means good at it yet and consider myself very much a hack slide player but I'm getting there!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

The one like the Boneyard. That's the one I was referring too. Didn't know about the other one. LOL.

I had a Boneyard slide and loved it. It was in the bag that got taken out of my garage a couple years back. Haven't replaced it with another yet.

The only slides I have right now are a Dunlop chrome and a medicine bottle. I like them both but in the end, I love the Boneyard. For some reason I can maintain control better with it. I'm not that good with slide. Still working on it, so any advantage to keeping control is a plus for me.

The Boneyard/BFG slide is porcelain and I have not been blown away with a porcelain side yet for tone or sustain for myself.

However that doesn't mean they can't sound good...I hate pyrex slides but Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks both do the bulk of their live with with pyrex!

I am by no means a slide guru but like I said before...finding the right slide and the right finger to put it on is the key!

Once I did that it opened all kinds of doors and after a little while I can be a lot less picky about a slide now that have the mechanics figured out...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

I think of blues and country mostly. I liked Duane Allman and Billy Gibbons and Derek Trucks certainly come to mind, but my favorite by far is Sonny:

Sonny is an amazing player

 

[ErikH]

The Boneyard/BFG slide is porcelain and I have not been blown away with a porcelain side yet for tone or sustain for myself.

However that doesn't mean they can't sound good...I hate pyrex slides but Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks both do the bulk of their live with with pyrex!

I am by no means a slide guru but like I said before...finding the right slide and the right finger to put it on is the key!

Once I did that it opened all kinds of doors and after a little while I can be a lot less picky about a slide now that have the mechanics figured out...

Yeah. I know what you mean on the finger. I go between my ring and middle finger. To some it may not seem like it matters but it really does. I found that out real fast. Lately I've been using my chrome slide until I get another Boneyard.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A few new goodies

Yeah. I know what you mean on the finger. I go between my ring and middle finger. To some it may not seem like it matters but it really does. I found that out real fast. Lately I've been using my chrome slide until I get another Boneyard.

I wasn't able to get anything out of playing slide at all until I put it on my middle finger!

Also, FWIW...a Dunlop chrome (220 I think...or 222) is still my main slide more often than not.