Who plays Slide??

samzadgan

So i met up with my brother the other day and we started playing guitar...now, I havent played guitar with him for at least 7 years (since i was in the UK)...but my brother who use to the be a shredder and thrash metal maniac with super strats with floyd rose trems etc...is now playing a vintage edwards LP into a small solid state amp (an old roland) with a touch of overdrive...and playing slide!

it was a bit of a shock...but as always with older brothers, i look up to him, and half way through i found myself wanting to play like him...so I want (no...NEED) to learn slide!

But I dont want him to know that i am learning slide...over the last few years I have become a better player than him...and I want to learn slide secretly, and then the next time we meet up i want to surprise him with some cool licks and techniques.

so...to the slide playing elite on this forum...what are some good things i can look up and practice? who are some good slide blues players I should listed to? and what kind of slide should I buy (glass...brass...?)

I need info, and I need info now...

koneguitarist

Look at Sonny Landreth then give up and copy everyone else. Elmore James for nasty old blues slide, Clapton for open G country blues. Ry Cooder for class and tone, And Derek Trucks for odd tunings.

richardhomer

Heavy glass slides give me the tone I'm looking for. Metal ones sound sharper - which you may prefer if you use a lot of drive.

Light weight ones (of any material) are best avoided. They sound thin and lack sustain.

Open G is my favourite tuning - though I'm not suggesting I'm in the 'Slide Elite' btw.

HoraceB

Sorry, I misread the title. I thought it read who plays Slade. 

bingefeller

Sam I have some slide printouts from an old issue of GFTPM, that I just got today.  I will post here in a few minutes for you.  

bingefeller

OilCityPickups

I used to do exclusively 'tunings' for slide ... but lately I have gotten into Rory Gallagher style slide in standard tuning ... and love it ... though it's frustrating at first. 

samzadgan

Thanks for the advice guys...and big thanks @bingfeller thats really helpful!

IanSavage

Personally I tend to use glass or ceramic slides, and occasionally metal on electric - I get me glass from Diamond Bottlenecks ( http://www.diamondbottlenecks.com/ ) and was very kindly bought a Star Singer ceramic one by Mark (Guitar Slinger) at the Guitar Show this year ( http://www.starsingerslides.com/ ).

Thickness and length are kind of a personal preference (missus) so if you've got access to somewhere that sells a few it's worth spending half an hour working out what works best for you (tiny upside of living in the Black Country, I got to go to Diamond and try out everything before I picked a couple out).

Once you've got one...open tunings definitely make things easier, and the thicker your strings the better, hence it's worth having a dedicated guitar for playing slide on (jacking up the action by a few mm will also improve matters). Personally I use open G, but open E is more easily transferred from standard tuning as your root notes on the lowest string are where you'd expect them to be.

Some good players mentioned so far, I'm going to refrain from mentioning the bloke I always mention for this

Samgb

Open D is used as often as Open E or G.

I think Ry Cooder is an Open D guy isnt he? Great player. 

equalsql

Here's a really nice example of slide playing by Kirk Lorange that I chanced upon when checking out compressors for slide use.

The main thing is you can really see is how Lorange mutes the strings with his right thumb and fingers. Being able to do this well is fundamental to being able to play cleanly.

samzadgan

i am finding that muting is the biggest issue for me...something i need to work on...thanks for the video.

ToneControl

I'd recommend playing lap-style

get a nut raiser for £5, use a proper heavy chromed "steel"I like the Shubb SP-1 the best

use heavier strings, tighter than normal, 13s on a normal guitar, on a proper lap steel, 15s

you can get a proper lap steel for £50 or so new from Thomann

lento

As has been mentioned, Derek Trucks: He's also far more eclectic than blues players .......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0hr2HWOohM

 

George Harrison was a well respected and tasteful slide player too

slacker

A lot has been covered previously, but I'll add this...

Derek Trucks did a tutorial video where he explains his technique, damping and vibrato. Well worth googling or searching on Youtube.

RE Harrison look up Handle With Care by the Wilburys on Youtube and learn the solos. They are simple, soulful and more importantly musical.

For simple raw riffing youtube Seasick Steve.

xSkarloey

@bingefeller

Great to see that old Guitarist piece. I read that first time round as a kid and it is a really good headstart.

As for inspiration, I really like George Harrison and Ritchie Blackmore playing slide. Both are non flashy but just so melodic and tasteful in what they do.

The first Rainbow album has some nice moments and George's Cloud Nine album is great too.

frankus

One of my favourites is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG91Y62T4C0

thomasross20

Really look forward to reading this at home later - great thread (and good clippings!!).

I'll never stop the technical playing but I'm so tired of all the shred these days. Been doing a lot of fingerpicking and I've a slide so will check this out!

millstudios

Go look up a guy called Johnny Dickinson

digitalkettle

millstudios said:

Go look up a guy called Johnny Dickinson

Wisdom!

cbilly22

I've started a few people off playing slide and one thing to experiment with is the slide itself. Sometime they can be too light or too heavy depending on your playing style, string gauge, action etc. There are no hard and fast rules but a good all round slide is one of the ceramic ones by Dunlop (they do a few). Glass and thin wall stainless steel can sometimes be a bit light, brass can often be a too heavy but the ceramic or thick walled glass ones are often just right. Most slides are cheap enough to own a few, I think I have 12 dotted around at the minute.