AniML
New member
I recently got interested in learning slide so, I picked a few different ones to try out. I am still trying to figure out what works best for me.
To my subjective ear, ceramic and metal are a good and better with glass sounding best. I also prefer the lighter weight of the glass for maneuverability, but find I am more prone to try to mash it into the frets than with the extra weight of the heavy wall chromed brass. With a heavier slide I tend to just let it sit on the strings. But the flip side of that is it is much harder to move around the fretboard.
I think I prefer the shorter ones again for maneuverability, but it seems the longer ones are maybe a little easier to keep aligned with the frets. On the other hand, I could see the longer ones that freeze the middle joint causing me wrist problems over time. I am playing all of them except one pinky slide (glass #212) on my ring finger. The pinky seems very hard to control since we as humans don't use our pinkies for much by themselves. But I can investing some time to improve coordination for the advantage of having 3 fingers free to fret notes behind the slide.
Except for the ceramic Joe Perry, they were all around $5 each, give or take so a fairly cheap experiment. I came across another, called the Rock Slide which are available in both glass and brass, but they are ~$24 each. Their selling point is ergonomics, specifically a knuckle cutout and rest inside the slide to stabilize your fingertip. https://www.therockslide.com/
Can anyone share any experience with the Rock Slide and are they easier to use and control than your typical / basic section of a cylinder?
Like everything else, I realize slide selection is typically going to be a compromise of pros and cons in each material, size and weight.
What are your favorites and why?
To my subjective ear, ceramic and metal are a good and better with glass sounding best. I also prefer the lighter weight of the glass for maneuverability, but find I am more prone to try to mash it into the frets than with the extra weight of the heavy wall chromed brass. With a heavier slide I tend to just let it sit on the strings. But the flip side of that is it is much harder to move around the fretboard.
I think I prefer the shorter ones again for maneuverability, but it seems the longer ones are maybe a little easier to keep aligned with the frets. On the other hand, I could see the longer ones that freeze the middle joint causing me wrist problems over time. I am playing all of them except one pinky slide (glass #212) on my ring finger. The pinky seems very hard to control since we as humans don't use our pinkies for much by themselves. But I can investing some time to improve coordination for the advantage of having 3 fingers free to fret notes behind the slide.
Except for the ceramic Joe Perry, they were all around $5 each, give or take so a fairly cheap experiment. I came across another, called the Rock Slide which are available in both glass and brass, but they are ~$24 each. Their selling point is ergonomics, specifically a knuckle cutout and rest inside the slide to stabilize your fingertip. https://www.therockslide.com/
Can anyone share any experience with the Rock Slide and are they easier to use and control than your typical / basic section of a cylinder?
Like everything else, I realize slide selection is typically going to be a compromise of pros and cons in each material, size and weight.
What are your favorites and why?
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