Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

V

Van B.

New member
Gentlemen,

I have been lurking here quite a while and I have also used the search, but I am afraid that I have not found what I am looking for. So my problem is following.

I play slide, mostly blues and Southern rock and I am looking for a tone of my own. I know that Mr Allman is THE slide player as well as Mr Landreth. Alas I don't have their skills.

At the moment I have two humbuckers in my alder /rw neck partscaster. Both are probaply model "orient" or no name. Anyway the neck has output about 8K and it is too bassy. The bridge has output about 13K and it is too hot. When switching from the neck pickup to the bridge, the tooth fillings will fly.

So, am I going wrong, or understood something in wrong way, if I try A2 pickups in the neck like PG or A2P? Both should be less bassy in the neck position, eh?

As well the 59er should be a good one in the bridge position because of more bass and treble? How about 59ers midrange? In slide playing mids are quite important for my ears.

As you may have noticed I am looking for low output humbuckers. Apologies about my not so easy to understand English language. I have learned it from the guitar magazines.

Merry Xmas to everyone.

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

This is actually quite a tricky one. Often, tones that would normally be considered shyte are wonderful for slide playing.

I have had enormous fun playing slide using the Pearly Gates neck HB, P90s, Telecaster neck PU, Stratocaster pickups, Danelectro-style "lipstick tube" single coils, active pickups, no-name single coils on a plywood horror guitar, allsorts.

For a Fender-esque electric guitar with humbucker-sized pickup cavities, the obvious nomination has to be Seymour Duncan P-Rails via Triple Shot mounting surrounds. This way, you get the choice of several different voicings for each position PLUS several clever ways of combining the two.

Allman, Landreth, Cooder, Harrison, Trucks et al are all obvious points of reference but one of my all-time favourite slide performances is Steve Howe of Yes on the song Going For The One. This is actually played on a Fender Dual 6 steel guitar. The pickups on that look very Stratty but are of different specifications.
 
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Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Thank you Mr Funkfingers.

I have seen Mr Howe / "The Yes" / couple of times, and he yes indeed played excelently those "going" parts with the lapsteel. His tone was great for those songs. Sometimes, the slide / lapsteel, tones can be very trebleyish and I would like to mention The Yes era album "Relayer", probaply a telecaster album. The tone is great for those songs but I am looking for a less treble tone.

I guess this is a difficult one. Probaply guys here don't play too much slide. I am not saying this at a bad one, slide is different world, not for everyone. When I was younger it was not for me, today I have found it great for older guy. Perhaps I have lost a great part of my hearing.

Anyway, I am sure that in this forum, there will be some "secret" slide players. I hope that those gentlemen can come get out from their "closet" and admit that they play slide... and admit that the tone is very important thing... If this is found like an offensive or bad behaviour, I apologize. For me the tone is important and I know that in this forum there are tons of guys who know the secrets of the great tone.

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

To be sure, there are slide players on this forum. Unfortunately for you, in most territories, December 25th is a religious festival and/or public holiday. People will be occupied with family or community activities.

Stick around. Try again when everybody is back on-line.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

A good point. Maybe I shall hear wise words later.

Vours.

Van b.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

To me the ultimate slide pickup is the P90, no substitute for that raunchy sizzle/growl/grind. But it's really all about you and your touch for what works -- any pickup can be a good slide pickup. Even your 13k can work if you lower the pickup a bit and then raise the screws to thin it out some and give it a more vintage flavor.

...and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Thousand thanks to you Mr Zhangliqun. P-90 is one of the greatest pickups in the world, maybe the best for slide use. Alas, it is sometimes a very noisy one, not always, but in this case I prefer more a humbucker.

Your idea about the raising the screws is an excellent one. Perhaps I should try it before I make the radical move.

Last but not least, though we are celebrating the Christmas, may I ask a personal question from you Mr Zhangliqun, are you familiar with the books of Primo Levi?

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

P-90 is the first choice. Either the SD Phat Cat or the GFS Mean 90 are excellent options. Magnets can be swapped to customize the exact tone you are after.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Thank you Mr GuitarDoc. Perhaps the P-90 is the way to go. If I remember right way, Mr Ryland P. Cooder had a P-90 pickup in his daphne / sonic blue Strat's bridge in the cover of the "bop till..." and that album surely has one of the best slide tones ever. Not sure what kind of gear Mr Lindley was using in those days, probaply some import stuff. Anyway his playing is amazing as well as his tone.

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

The P-90 would be a great choice, but a 59b with an A2 mag or better known as Pearly Gates and a 59n with a A3 mag and a .022 cap on the bridge and a .015 cap on the neck would give all the tonal shapes for slide playing you could ask for. JMHO
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

The '59b with an A2 is NOT a PG. Doesn't even sound like a PG.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Messieurs,

My apologies, but did I get this in right way? PG, which has A2, in the neck and 59er with A5 in the bridge?

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

GuitarDoc said:
The '59b with an A2 is NOT a PG. Doesn't even sound like a PG.
Click to expand...

Yes there are some subtle differences but I have heard both in the same guitar through the same amp and couldn`t hear enough difference To Me to really say they are all that different.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Van B. said:
Messieurs,

My apologies, but did I get this in right way? PG, which has A2, in the neck and 59er with A5 in the bridge?

Yours

Van B.
Click to expand...

Yes the PG has the A2 and the 59 has the A5, you can swap out the A5 in a 59 for a A2 , I love an A2 mag for slide it gives much more dynamics.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

skynyrd said:
Yes there are some subtle differences but I have heard both in the same guitar through the same amp and couldn`t hear enough difference To Me to really say they are all that different.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say "subtle".

To my ears, the '59 with the A5 sounds more like a PG than the '59 with an A2. Both the PG and the '59 have scooped PAF tones. The PG has a little less boomy bass and a tiny bit more mids. But when you put an A2 in the '59 it's whole character is changed: a lot more mids than a PG and way less high end. It doesn't sound at all like it did with the A5 in it, and it sounds way more "toned down" than a PG. It's still a great sounding pup with the A2...I really loved the smooth, full-toned sound, but it lost it's PAF character alltogether and wasn't as articulate.

Even with an A4 in the '59 it sounds a bit smoother and "tamer" than a PG. I've always loved the sound of a PG in the neck, but now I'm liking the '59 A4 even better. It still has some PAF character to it, it's still articulate, it's got big bass and bright highs (but just not so piercing), and it's got a nice full sounding midrange.

I still love the PG, but now that I've had some experience with a '59, I think it's a much more versatile pup.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Gentlemen,

Thank you very much of your comments. Lots of food for thought.

Is there anyone who has compared PG and A2P? Both have A2s and both should be good candidates for slide playing and they are quite easy to find from used market.

Yours

Van B.
 
Re: Att: Slide players, may I please have your attention one more time

Van B. said:
Last but not least, though we are celebrating the Christmas, may I ask a personal question from you Mr Zhangliqun, are you familiar with the books of Primo Levi?
Click to expand...

No, who is he? Answer via PM so as not to hijack this thread.
 
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