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Bought a Glass slide...
I wanna practice my Duanisms and what not, but my technique is all wonky.
Any suggestions? Hand position, dampening techniques, optimal guitar setup, string type?
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06-30-2022 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by minellix
I use variously a Mudslide (ceramic slide - thick yet lightweight), a Dunlop Pyrex slide, or a stainless steel slide my son crafted for me. On my brass-bodied resonator, I like the relative mass of the Mudslide. On electric, with lighter strings, I'll go for the pyrex. The steel gets called on for medium strings. I damp as needed behind the slide. You will want to raise the action at the nut - Duane used a section of a butter knife to slip in and then re-tuned to compensate. You do not want to bang a heavy slide agains your nickel-silver frets. Ask me how I know.* 
*Also, never, ever let anyone else use a slide on your guitar. Ever.
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DGB strings make a major triad.
(Edit
GBe make a minor.
Don’t try to play what you already know with the slide. The magic is when you accept the slides limitations and work with them.Last edited by AllanAllen; 07-03-2022 at 09:36 AM.
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I got this recently to play around with:
Black Mountain Slide Ring – Black Mountain Picks
It allows you to do most chordings even barre chords, while being able to slide when you want to. While being good in theory, it is hard to apply in practice, as it takes a lot of work to make it sound as effortless as guys like Justin Johnson.
It would probably help to take some lessons or watch some videos, I have just been too lazy to do that so far.
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How? Seems like a Dsus4 to me. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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I think anything guitar-related takes a lot of work to make it sound as effortless as that guy. Looking at his hands he's somewhat of the Paganini of roots guitar... Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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Here's a slide primer I wrote way back in the days - maybe it's helpful for you:
action: definitely use a higher action, one that allows you to slide cleanly without rattling on the frets and that's still low enough so you can fret the occasional note - especially on the bass strings, where you'll play rhythm. Would be good if you have one guitar that's devoted to slide.
string gauge: you'll want a bigger string for tonal reasons and to get more resistance against the slide. At least a set of .011-.049 for standard and higher tunings (open E and open A), .012 - .050 or .052 would even be better. For lower tunings (open D and open G) at least a .012 or .013 set and maybe you'll want to swap the first two strings for heavier gauges. I am using a custom slide set of .0145 - .052 with a medium high action in open D and G tuning.
string type: whatever sounds good to you - steel or pure nickel and if you don't like the noise that a slide can make on the strings you might consider a flatwound or half round wound.
radius: some say they prefer a totally flat radius so they can play all six strings at the same time, but I prefer a slightly radiused setup, because I rarely play all of the strings at the same time and you'll apply a little pressure anyway so the slide can touch all the strings even when radiused.
slides: get a few of different materials to see what you like best in tone and feel. Some guitars seem to prefer a certain material. As for length, it shouldn't be longer than the finger you put it on. I get the most control when the slide's top is just where the top of my sliding finger is. My current favourite is "The Rockslide".
finger: I would advocate to use the pinky because you'll have three adjacent fingers left for fretting, then. Ring finger gives you a little more control over vibrato but can be a little arkward.
The most important thing is damping: behind the slide (towards the nut) where you should barely touch the strings with your index and on the picking side to get rid of unwanted noise and strings not being played. But: you can use this noise or the “ghost” notes between the slide and nut for good effect, too, especially at the 5th, 7th and 12th fets.
You can use a flatpick, thumb- and fingerpicks or just your natural fingertips, whatever comes natural and sounds / feels best to you.
Starting out it's not the worst idea to start in standard tuning because you already know where your notes are and with standard tuning you'll be forced to practice your damping technique.
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I’ve only dabbled in slide a bit, but I saw a good video once by a guy called Warren Haynes. He usually plays in standard tuning, and for single-note slide solos he picks with his RH index, and uses his RH thumb and middle finger to mute the string above and below the string being picked (if you see what I mean). I remember he called it ‘making a little picture’ with his RH of the string being played. This allows him to play amazingly fluid lines without unwanted notes etc.
I think this is presumably in addition to the LH damping mentioned above, no doubt all that is in the video too.
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FWIW, Justin Johnson has a DVD course about slide guitar using standard tuning.
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whoops, GBE is the minor. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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LOL--a slight understatement. One of THE geniuses of guitar currently playing. In fact, I'm listening to ole Warren right now, on the ABB album Live at the Warner 2005. Some of the best post-Duane playing they ever put on record. Originally Posted by grahambop
Of course no one, not even Warren, can hold a candle to his buddy Derek Trucks on slide. But Warren can sing too, so there's that.
I saw Warren at the airport when we were flying into Jamaica (Montego Bay) about 3 years ago. Gov't Mule was playing at a festival not far from us. As I walked past I said fairly loudly Hey Warren, and he looked up, probably thinking it was one of his bandmates. I waved, and he just smiled and waved back. He was with his whole family, wearing swim trunks and flip flops, obviously ready for a little R&R in addition to RnR. I figured he didn't need to be bothered with any selfies with fanboys. Unfortunately I was not able to make the show, since I was there for a week of providing medical care at the Methodist Church Clinic in Falmouth, and schedule just didn't allow it.
I've seen the Allmans with Dickie and Dan Toler, but not with Warren and Derek. I did see Derek with the Tedeschi Trucks band a couple of months ago--one of the best concerts I've seen in recent years. TBH he's such a wizard with the guitar it's almost impossible to learn anything from watching his hands. All you see is a blur.
Anybody know if Duane and Dickie always played in standard tuning? I assume they did, since they played rhythm and fretted lead and didn't really have the chance to change out guitars easily. I read somewhere that Duane stuck a butter knife under the nut when he played slide to raise the action. Don't know if that's true.
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I’d never heard of Warren Haynes, I just remember seeing this DVD he did. In fact I’ve still got it here (just found it!) and I know I didn’t buy it, so I can only assume my son bought it at some point. (I guess he went through a slide guitar phase - I don’t remember that either!)
But I agree Warren sure can play, I remember he was really good on the video. In fact I might watch it again.
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Duane played some slide in standard on certain tunes (Dreams) but usually retuned to open E. Shows back in the day were a laid back affair where you could take your time tuning / retuning between songs. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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As captured on many of their records… Originally Posted by TOMMO
And no tuners. Supposedly he was obsessive about being in tune. I think he had a good ear—got to, to play slide.
Warren Haynes plays an excellent solo on Dreams on the album I posted above. And of course Duane’s from the Fillmore record is iconic.
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