Guitar Slides

bryan the rocker

bryan the rocker

New member
Guitar slides on electric guitars and acoustic guitars

Brass, Steel, ceramic, bronze, porcelain, heavy glass, light glass, pyrex glass,

I read individual decriptions on MusicianFriend,




a) I am new to guitar slides, any recommendations


b) what do you use ? why ?


Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitar Slides

I find that Steel Slides sustain better and have a brighter sound. They are also best on heavier strings with higher action because of their weight.

However, Glass slides have a warmer tone that most people find desirable. If you want to start out with slide I say buy a steel one and a glass one. I like very thick glass slides for electric playing and steel for acoustic. One of the most comfortable slides I've ever used was a glass wine bottle top. I believe they sell them on MF.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I really, really like these slides: http://www.therockslide.com/new/main.php.

Beauty_Defined1.jpg


They're tapered and cut to fit really well to your finger, more comfortable to use than any other slide I've tried. They're thicker than your typical brass/steel slide too, this helps the slide sound good on both electric and acoustic.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I use a Big Heart brass slide for acoustic/resonator, and one of those thin, glass medicine bottle slides for electric.

I don't set up my electrics for slide specifically, so I need a really light slide in that situation to keep from inadvertently hitting the frets.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I like Dunlop 218 glass slides for electric but I also dig aluminum slides, especially for live stuff. A satin finish aluminum slide has a really cool "drag" on the strings that makes it very easy to play plus it doesn't break if it gets dropped. My fave aluminum is a crazy heart shaped Big Heart slide that they don't make any longer. The Dunlop is a shorter, very thick glass slide that really lets the notes ring.

I have some ceramics as well but generally the weight on the strings is a bit too much though I do like my Joe Perry Boneyard slide.

I don't really play acoustic much and have never really gotten into acoustic slide but if Bluedave chimes in I am sure he will have some excellent recommendations on that.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I have a heavy brass and a glass i made myself - really not hard to do - i highly reccomend it ! :)
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I have a box full of slides on my coffee table at home. If you are new to slide I would recommend experimenting with a few different models and techniques until you start to feel more comfortable with a slide on your finger. This is my favorite slide right now. I have had one for over 10 years and they are great! I can use them both on acoustic & electric. Although I prefer a Dunlop glass slide for electric.
-hG5ib7gV8crqK56lr-Rh3xcWPIScnms1Bj-vy4QkTxRG_fwkSeMj1i_sCsbXF5_L05TT8idQzK56Io4lWyvgdk38SxK4nihCewQdzqKWtk-H_f0BNwGIeZ6qY50xHk3Y8hip-4cR89TiRISU98yxbH6edU

I also like this one
Z-JKMrP7dsNhuhURzqrT86fpc1AjEP7Qr3nCLlpNSiOR-qc3STZpw1AYVnfQZrTDdZvrr_uM9cJDV2HBUEfInk7C4fxIEMVpq7Yl_4ASKzxah4eRocLe-o8ZAOleXJ1f69769PPlHdzTBAFzzKDqY_B7YjdP5Xfa1qj2wzToh1IfsUFKIxewZmWgCeY9c_xEObpy-JKkM4PF8If5dyFkHkDIhzg7EWQ_Kpez4uudF7uTNlMS2Sxukiu2XpFAqaYwjt9TLJRsv2ExL6m3GqVlir39dCZEITP1InIUA5WVt0CZNfK3ndXxAdBl


The glass slides are hard to find them that fit on my finger well, so I use a strip of velcro on the inside just to take up the slack some so it doesn't bounce around on your finger too much!

Now you have to consider technique. I would recommend setting a guitar up for slide. I prefer heavier strings when playing slide as well as higher action. you generally won't be bending too much so the higher action will keep the strings from banging into the frets. I also use a few different tunings. open G, Open A open D and open E. I prefer the deeper tone of G & D. Now this does limit your playing to some degree and it is harder to play some phrases this way but the trade off in overall tone is just soo much better.

A good way to get started is to take a few lessons from a local player or even better yet get Warren Haynes DVD's. They are very good and he covers a lot of technique with them

Keep in mind playing slide guitar is all about feel, so you have to find the technique that works for you. Some players play with a pick while others play with the fingers. I prefer fingerpicking. It offers greater flexibility in muting the strings that you don't want to play.

I do most picking with my right index finger, but my thumb and middle finger are resting on the strings on either side of the string I am picking and this allows me to get single note lines without too much interference from sliding. I also wear the slide on my ring finger but many people prefer the pinky. As I said earlier experiment and see what works for you.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitar Slides

Craftsman 18mm deep socket. I rarely play slide so when I do it's lap style. I tried glass but I like the weight of the heavy socket. Plus, you gotta love that lifetime guarantee!
 
Re: Guitar Slides

what's amazing about those wine bottle slides is that they're contoured to fit your finger and to fit the arch of the strings across the fretboard.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

Mudslide and Brass

LOL'ing Hard on the glass info on Mr.B's slides

Mr.B's Website said:
CLEAR GLASS (CL)
Our clear glass collection represents the softest type of glass used in commercial bottling.
The bottles these slides came from generally contained white wines. This distinct characteristic provides nearly endless sustain on electric guitars.

CLEAR- GREEN GLASS (CG)
These slides are cut mostly from the bottles of white wines like Pinot Grigio and sound excellent on electric guitars.
Much like the clear glass slides above, the clear-green glass produces sustain unparalleled in commercial, mass-produced slides.

YELLOW GLASS (YL)
Our Yellow slides are a medium-hardness glass and produce a good in-between slide:
This color is suitable for both electrics and acoustic guitars. The yellow slides also sound very warm on resophonic instruments.Please note: If you are looking for a very straight slide, longer than 2" a yellow slide is not recommended

GREEN GLASS (GR)
Our green colored slides are among the most common colors and therefore available in the most sizes.
This color of glass is harder than the clear varieties seen above, providing much more volume on acoustic and resophonic guitars.

BROWN GLASS (BR)
Our Brown glass slides are typically cut from red wine bottles. This glass is harder than clear glass slides,
yet slightly softer than our Dark Green glass. These slides provide a slightly warmer tone than the Dark Green slides while still providing more volume than our soft glass types.

DARK GREEN GLASS (DG)
Our dark green slides are cut from a variety of red wine bottles and are the hardest type of glass slides we cut.
If you currently use a metal slide to produce high volume on you acoustic or resophonic guitar, try one of these slides!
You will be surprised by the amount of rich tone and volume you can achieve with a glass slide by playing with one of these.
Click to expand...

I've used various types of glass slides including wine bottle necks ... have never noticed that big of a different tone. Between metal/glass/ceramic yeah, but not with different types of glass.

To me it's akin to saying that different pH levels in your hand sweat/oils produce different tones.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

I like the Booze Blues Slide. Made in Mississippi from genuine wine bottles drunk by the company owner. The Coricidrine bottle slides from Dunlop are too thin and break easily.
 
Re: Guitar Slides

http://mcb.chmc.net/~boozebluesguitarslides.com/

I swear by these slides. They're made here in Mississippi by hand from real bottles and every one I've picked up feels amazing. I own lots of slides, I've tried a ton of them over the years and being a blues player I tend to break it out as often as I can. I'm no Trucks or anything, but these are the best sounding glass slides I've used. I've tried brass, bronze, steel, glass, ceramic, even sawed off kitchen table legs from old folding leg tables...and these slides are the goods.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top