Acoustic Slide Guitarists...

McSwaggerty

I use a cheapo Gretsch Jim Dandy Guitar with a Fishman Soundhole Pick-up
Heavy Brass slide and D'Addario EJ16 strings.
I'm most comfortable in Open G.
I'm curious - What about you guys ?

bertie

an even cheaper Harley Benton  - Messer 16s  and star-slinger ceramic slides -  really dont play that much any more but if I do,   G mostly,  E when Im doing Skynyrdy things (Four Walls  etc) 

oh and I use my pinky,  can't get on with any other finger

queue  @Lewy ;;; for the officiando's run-down 

Lewy

bertie said:

an even cheaper Harley Benton  - Messer 16s  and star-slinger ceramic slides -  really dont play that much any more but if I do,   G mostly,  E when Im doing Skynyrdy things (Four Walls  etc) 

oh and I use my pinky,  can't get on with any other finger

queue  @Lewy ;;;; for the officiando's run-down 

I don't actually have dedicated slide guitars any more - I was forever playing a guitar set up for slide and thinking "ah this would be so good for standard" and vice versa so I just changed my approach to be able to use any of my guitars for anything. That involved moving to lighter glass slides from heavy brass ones but that's about it. That and practicing a lot more!

So generally everything has got what I consider to be a medium acoustic action and either .012 - .053 or  .013 - .056 strings (D'addario Nickel Bronze). I sing higher these days since I actually started studying proper singing technique (Mrs @bertie would be proud!) so where I always used to tune down to Open D and Open G I now do E and A. Also make use of Em and Asus4 tunings.

Slidewise I don't bother with fancy ones any more - if I'm wearing it on my ring finger I use the Dunlop Derek Trucks (I don't actually like Derek Trucks that much but that's irrelevant) and if it's on my pinky it's Diamond Bottlenecks' version of the same slide, but smaller. These days I just want something where if I lose or break it I can easily get an identical replacement. The choice as to which finger to have my slide on depends on the arrangement...what the fretted parts are and also how prominent the actually sliding is. If it's featured very strongly then I'll aim for ring finger because I get better control and vibrato that way, even if it makes fretting trickier. 

Here are the axes….Custom Shop D-28, Dave King Matilda, Messer Blues, Larry P-01, CS Strat:

Mellish

@Lewy ;; very nice collection. Regarding Dave King, I've heard good things. Ever used him for a setup? (apologies to OP)  

bertie

Lewy said:

 I actually started studying proper singing technique (Mrs @bertie would be proud!) 

@Lewy ; I'll tell her      -  she's "hung up her mic"  now    -  certainly for live work -  did one jingle for TV last year (Fabulosa) but nothing else for 18 months now.........

Lewy

Mellish said:

@Lewy ;; very nice collection. Regarding Dave King, I've heard good things. Ever used him for a setup? (apologies to OP)  

Thanks!

Dave is the best in the business, especially when it comes to resonators and the classic American designs. Thing is I'm not sure what work he's taking on these days if you don't already know him. His website indicates he's only doing warranty/repair work for a few select clients (one of which is C.F. Martin so I imagine that keeps him pretty busy).

Richard Pilkington in Reading trained under Dave though so would be a good alternative.

Mellish

Lewy said:

Mellish said:

@Lewy ;; very nice collection. Regarding Dave King, I've heard good things. Ever used him for a setup? (apologies to OP)  

Thanks!

Dave is the best in the business, especially when it comes to resonators and the classic American designs. Thing is I'm not sure what work he's taking on these days if you don't already know him. His website indicates he's only doing warranty/repair work for a few select clients (one of which is C.F. Martin so I imagine that keeps him pretty busy).

Richard Pilkington in Reading trained under Dave though so would be a good alternative.

Very useful info. Much appreciated. Thank you. Have a wiz  

Mellish

In response to the OP, I don't do slide on acoustic, only strum. At a gig I'll sometimes use a Strat tuned to open G for things like the Stones' Little Red Rooster (09 gauge, medium brass, that kind of thing)  

Voxman

I use brass, chrome and glass slides including a heavy duty true green bottleneck that I made myself and is my favourite. Normal tuning, open G, open E, but sometimes double drop D. Mainly electric but some slide on acoustic too. I don't raise actions or use different strings for slide. 

menamestom

I use a Dunlop 212 short, heavy wall glass slide on my little finger.  I use the same for electric and acoustic.
I’ve had fancier slides like Diamond Bottleneck ones but I find the Dunlop perfect.

I use 13’s on Acoustic and 12’s on electric, tuned mostly open D.  Action usually higher than standard but not so high fretting is easy, with reasonably heavy strings I find action doesn’t need to be so high.

wellsyboy

Mellish said:

@Lewy ;; very nice collection. Regarding Dave King, I've heard good things. Ever used him for a setup? (apologies to OP)  

He did a fantastic neck reset on a National for me - like. a new guitar. He can just be a bit tricky to get hold of.

Mellish

@wellsyboy cheers mate reason I was asking is that I've heard good things about Dave King but don't know his work. You know how it is when approaching a luthier for the first time, you're not quite sure  

wellsyboy

Mellish said:

@wellsyboy cheers mate reason I was asking is that I've heard good things about Dave King but don't know his work. You know how it is when approaching a luthier for the first time, you're not quite sure  

I was beyond pleased with the result- highly
recommended

equalsql

Another Jim Dandy slide player here. Open E with a thick heavyweight ceramic slide mrs equalsql bought for me one Christmas. It does sound glorious, very boxy delta blues. I love playing Vigilante Man by Ry Cooder on it, the sound is so authentic.