Play Electric Slide Guitar?

[Mike90]

Hey I've been contemplating picking up playing slide, but don't really know what guitar would be a good fit for me to do so (what with the raised action and irregular tuning). Just wonderin what gear you guys that do play slide use.

[Jipes***]

Hey I've been contemplating picking up playing slide, but don't really know what guitar would be a good fit for me to do so (what with the raised action and irregular tuning). Just wonderin what gear you guys that do play slide use.

I play mainly on an Esquire Fender Telecaster (MIJ) with the acution slighty higher and level flat I use 10-52 Fender strings and a glass bottleneck. I mainly play in Open G and Open D.

If you want to use lower tuning lie Open C or C6 it's better to have bigger strings imho

[Auriemma]

I attended an Ovation Gathering in NJ recently, Matt King gave an excellent clinic. One of the things he showed us was how fast we can convert a regular guitar to a slide, by using a nut extender.

Detune,
Slip the nut extender under the straings and over the existing nut
Retune

Maybe 3 minutes total.

[wingsdad]

I've always sucked at slide on a 'regular' guitar, probably cuz I haven't been patient enuff to devleop the right left hand touch. I picked up a nut extender that auriemma mentions, but it's too wide at 1 7/8" (47mm), since all my electrics and all but 2 acoustic 6's are all around 1 5/8".

It's some kind of 'pig metal', too.

Instead, I keep plugging away tryin' to play on a lap steel and dobro, with their more 'forgiving' action.

In the never-ending quest for better excuses, though, my local store is ordering one of these for me the next time he places a Peavey order. He'd gotten one in a few months back, but I was too broke (not that I'm not now, but ...) At about $200, not much to lose giving it a whirl...I like that it can be strapped on to play 'lap style' or 'conventional':

Peavey Power Slide

On the page showing the white model, there's a demo video.

[pes_laul]

I pretty much play with a glass medium wall dunlop slide on my strat. I like to use open E or standard but I'm not much of a slide player either way.

[sumitomo]

I noodle also,but I have discovered if my wife has her friends over and I want them to leave,I just turn my amph up alittle and play some slide,works every time.Sumi

[bek]

Depends on what kind of tone you're looking for, huge and beefy, stringy and penetrating, something in-between. Literally anything will work for slide, and you don't need real high action or huge strings. I like a slightly high action on acoustics, as I like to be able to hit the strings pretty hard when I want to and not have it fret-out. I set up all my slide stuff the same way, as I like to be able to fret at-will. I have two electrics I can't get low without rattles, so I just leave them up a little and put 12s or 13s on them. Could even do it with lighter strings, though some use a fairly light set and just put on a thicker high-E string. I play in a D tuning and try fooling with G sometimes, though I'm never comfortable with it. I've played slide on anything from Teles to Strats (Sonny Landreth, Bonnie Raitt) to LPs (Warren Haynes). Some people like SGs for slide, too (Derek Trucks). Dave Hole (the Aussie) uses a 335, but most use solidbodies, and practically any pickups will do something great. The incredible Ry Cooder uses a Strat with some old lap steel pickup at the bridge and a Teisco pickup in the neck. I've heard compression is good, and drive is great.

[mrmudcat]

The incredible Ry Cooder uses a Strat with some old lap steel pickup at the bridge

Pup is from a Supro lappy which I have 2 of (whole lapsteels not just pups)

As for slide ,I use glass.and guitar(currently a sg with WCR Fillmores):

[piebaldpython***]

'Lectric slide, huh? Washburn semi-hollowbody HB-32DM with humbuckers.

Action high enough so that I can slide without buzzing but low enough so that I can fret. Standard tuning....strings 2-4 gives you your major chords...strings 1-3 gives you minor chords.

As to slides......I use bronze (AcoustaGlide), glass (custom made by forumite Yerdugliness) and/or lead crystal (Diamond Bottlenecks). My bronze and glass are right around 1.5 inches; my lead crystal slides are around 1.8 inches in length (one has a wall thickness of 3mm; the other has a wall thickness of 7mm).


If I want to do an Open tuning....I use Open E, Low Open G or High Open G (Dobro tuning) on a lap steel.

HTH

[mrmudcat]

glass (custom made by forumite Yerdugliness)

Speaking of dugly any word on him he was supposed to make, send me some specific blue ones for me at the time(long time ago) you and C.B. got yours ,in fact C.B. got hers Ispecified dugly to send her from me but ive never seen or heard from him again by email??????????

[Martinguy]

I play electric slide using a Les Paul and a glass slide. (Coriciden bottle) Open G

I also play dobro using a dobro bar (cant remember the brand) with a Beard Gold Tone dobro. Open G.

[piebaldpython***]

I play electric slide using a Les Paul and a glass slide. (Coriciden bottle) Open G
I also play dobro using a dobro bar (cant remember the brand) with a Beard Gold Tone dobro. Open G.

Would that be the same Open G for electric and acoustic? Or is one Open Low G and the other Open High G (common Dobro tuning)? Just curious.

What type of slide stuff do you play on the LP with Open G? Rolling Stones?

[Katastrophe]

Here's how I play slide:

1. Go to YouTube.
2. Search for "Derek Trucks"
3. Select video
4. Play video
5. Promise to never try to personally play slide again.



Seriously, though, when I play slide it sounds like cats fighting. I can never seem to get that smooth, singing tone no matter what I do.

[Childbride]

Speaking of dugly any word on him he was supposed to make, send me some specific blue ones for me at the time(long time ago) you and C.B. got yours ,in fact C.B. got hers Ispecified dugly to send her from me but ive never seen or heard from him again by email??????????

Muddy, dug has been kind of awol. he's been gone months at a time to his place in kansas which from what i gather is in a remote location w/no internet.

i'm kinda hoping we hit another pearl before the end of the year, when it gets a bit cooler. i miss seeing everyone.

[fensonpaulcaster]

I play a glass slide (i have to because the only ones i can find to fit my fingers are the dunlop flaired ones lol) but anyways i play that on electric and the other day i played a dobro (squareneck with a dobro bar) for the first time and i gotta say that was the most fun guitar playing ive done in a while lol i totally suck at open tunings im hoping to get lessons on it soon so i can pick dobro up but its so easy to get the technique down and so much fun.

Anyone else agree?

any tips on open tunings?

[piebaldpython***]

So you like the lap style of the Dobro, huh? Before you get a Dobro (the acoustic spider bridge variety) you might want to check out the Darkside version, the electric lap steel. Depending on your mood, tuning, and pups....you can go from two-steppin' to gut-bucket blues.

As to tunings, for blues/rock, you usually play Open D/E or Open Low G/A. From there you can play lap style with the above tunings and also go over to Open High G (classic Dobro tuning).

If you want to get into some Western swing or old-timey country-ish stuff then you can get into some 6th tunings. Open G6 is very close to Open G and then there's C6 which requires a whole different set of strings because the tension is so much different due to the notes.