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Post by cottonopolis on May 1, 2013 18:19:43 GMT
Thanks for starting this thread Martin. Just begiining to play slide and finding it quite addictive, excellent video. Cheers. I did a cd of bits and pieces from the video - very short, but you may find it useful. It also covers open G (whereas we only had time for open D at Halifax). Ping me your address and I'll send you a copy. I gave them away at Halifax so there's no charge.
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Post by cottonopolis on May 1, 2013 18:20:47 GMT
Thanks for the offer Martin, i will pm you my address now. Cheers Steve.
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Post by andyhowell on Jan 3, 2014 15:18:44 GMT
Slide? The work of the devil !!!
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Post by slidingwolf on Jan 4, 2014 17:18:44 GMT
Slide? The work of the devil !!! Oh yeah!
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minorkey
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Post by minorkey on Jan 4, 2014 21:26:45 GMT
I love messing with slide even if I aint too good at it. I have a glass slide I bought, but I find it difficult to mute the string behind the slide.
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Post by clydeslide on Jan 6, 2014 15:52:46 GMT
I love messing with slide even if I aint too good at it. I have a glass slide I bought, but I find it difficult to mute the string behind the slide. How does the slide fit your finger? And what finger are you wearing it on?
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minorkey
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Post by minorkey on Jan 7, 2014 9:40:46 GMT
I love messing with slide even if I aint too good at it. I have a glass slide I bought, but I find it difficult to mute the string behind the slide. How does the slide fit your finger? And what finger are you wearing it on? Seems to fit fine I suppose. Not sure. How is it supposed to fit? Should it be tight or loose? Mine is pretty loose. Usually on the finger next to my pinky
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Post by clydeslide on Jan 7, 2014 15:36:24 GMT
Hi minorkey, I'll relate my experience with slide and you can take from it what you want. As a guide, I can play Martin Simpsons In The Pines, BWJ's Dark Was The Night, Kelly Joe Phelps Down To The Praying Ground, I favour the melodic stuff.
I started with a cheap chrome slide on electric on my third finger down to the second knuckle, did the basic things and learnt a passable No Way Out but that was it.
Over the years I fiddled with Open D on acoustic, learnt very basic blues licks and tried several slides that I still have. In order, I tried a medicine bottle on my third finger, second knuckle (sounded awful on acoustic) and I couldn't mute behind it. Went to a brass concave slide I still occasionally use for lapslide on my pinky, this was when I started being able to mute behind the strings, moved to a Keb Mo Mudslide in the same way, sent several years not playing slide and finally ended up with a Diamond Bottlenecks Ultimate (nicknamed The Beast) lead crystal slide on my pinky all the way to the base. All the slides fit fairly snuggly at the knuckle/base of my fingers but had room so I could slightly bend the finger inside it and all were full length that could cover the fret board. I find the finger naturally curves slightly inside the slide and slides that don't allow this to happen can cause pain.
I learned that on electric, material didn't matter and actually you can move a heavy slide as quickly as a light one. I don't play much electric slide but if I start I'll be ordering another, lighter Ultimate (current is too heavy for the string gauge).
On acoustic, material matters a lot as does weight, particularly for melodic stuff where you pluck a string and then move around a lot. I favour glass and the Diamond Bottlenecks are the best, the pyrex Dunlop ones are not good. As a guide, my Ultimate is about twice the weight of my brass slide, I love it. Heavy does not mean slow, Martin Simpsons slides are about twice the weight of mine and he's certainly no slouch. It just means more sustain and less pressure so less muscle tightness in the hand.
In terms of position, I find it much easier to have a slide down to the base of my pinky and lay my muting fingers flat behind it, I think I use my first finger to mute most of the time. That's obviously personal but I've tried ring and pinky and the pinky works for me.
I'm happy to take photos if you want to see how it fits but my advice would be to try the pinky, give it some time, and see how it goes. Also, if you really want to play slide, investing in a good slide is well worth the money once you know what you want. My Ultimate was £25, which isn't that much for something you use a lot, they also do real bottlenecks which are cheaper but also good.
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Post by Martin on Jan 7, 2014 15:46:56 GMT
Very good advice there, clydeslide, thanks. Useful for me too as a novice slide player. I am currently using a smallish Dunlop 'glass' slide on my pinky and it comes to my second knuckle (I have small hands!). I also have a larger slide that fits my ring finger to the base of the finger, but the pinky one feels better, even though it is smaller and so barely covers all six strings at one time. Still, learning is fun, if a bit frustrating (all that noise!! )
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Post by clydeslide on Jan 7, 2014 15:51:08 GMT
No problem Martin, I'm pretty new to properly playing slide too, just been trying for a long time. I really do recommend trying different slides, finding what works then investing in a very good one, it made a difference in my playing. There may even be someone who can post you a couple to try out...
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Post by slidingwolf on Jan 7, 2014 16:31:37 GMT
Some very good advice her, but remember: there are no rules! I have been taught by players who use glass, brass, chrome, on ring finger and pinkey. Some have a piece of metal tube jammed on their finger down to the first knuckle, others have a glass bottle neck that is loose down to the base of the finger. They all sound different, they all sound great, they all have their own style. If you use your pinkey with a heavy slide, you may get pain if you play a lot of this style, and some will tell you that the ring finger will give you better control. But it does limit your ability to shape chords. I suggest you do what feels comfortable and stick with it while you are learning. Using different slides and different fingers will impede your progress. I've used all sorts of different slides and there is an element or re-learning with each one (just like there is with a new guitar.) But that is part of the fun of it. As for damping behind the strings, let that come with time. I would concentrate more on the vibrato and accuracy of the note to begin with. Just keep your fingers lightly on the strings behind. Hope that helps.
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Jan 7, 2014 16:34:23 GMT
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Post by slidingwolf on Jan 7, 2014 16:40:59 GMT
Should sound very nice. They are well made guitars and that National cone will make a big difference.
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Post by clydeslide on Jan 7, 2014 16:53:00 GMT
slidingwolf I agree, you should always do it how it feels right, just wanted to pass on my journey so far to see if it helped anyone. I did find moving to the pinky helped me progress a lot though, or maybe it was just a time where I was more dedicated to learning slide..
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Post by slidingwolf on Jan 7, 2014 17:10:33 GMT
Absolutely agree. And hearing other's slide stories is a real treat so I really enjoyed your post. I've done a few informal workshops and people invariably ask what is the "correct" way to play and can get hung up because they think they must use this finger or that type or length of slide. A friend of mine started by using a big brass slide on the pinkey because that's what she had been told was "the right thing to do". But she has small, thin fingers and was fighting to get the slide under control all the time. Once she switched to the ring finger it suddenly felt more natural and controllable and she was well away. Bonnie Raitt uses her middle finger and BWJ used a cut throat razor and their sound is waaay better thna anything I could hope to produce, so what do I know anyway!
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