New to (and loving) the slide.

[hawaii5_o]

So I used a glass slide for some accent parts and a lead in service today and it was great! I don't have a ton of experience with slide so it stretched me quite a bit. It was so much fun to do something outside of my normal guitar comfort zone. I got some great tones with it using my Barber LTD. I may just have to add this thing to my normal setup.

[GuitarDude]

slide is a great tool to have up your sleeve. throw some verb and delay and you've got some synth-pad type tones going with swells. and it definitely makes you think differently and it requires a different discipline. welcome to the slide club!

[tholle1]

i started playing guitar only to play slide. only been playing about a year and have really just played along to music..allman brothers, derek trucks, etc.. Ive tried to learn scales and songs but i always seem to end up putting some music on and just playing with it, and i guess just adding my own part to songs that i know. I have no clue if i am any good at it, but i love it anyways.

and i have never tried delay or other effects with it (i do use a litle reverb), but im sure it would be pretty cool.

[Seegs]

been trying to add slide to my bag of tricks for awhile now and have bought a bunch of different slides trying to determine which finger is more comfortable...have done some reading about technique and visited some sites dealing with slide...

after all this I find that I suck miserably at it...this is my story so far...I'm not giving up but boy it's a lot tougher than I thought...

Chow,
Seegs

[mad dog]

Seegs: Don't give up. It takes the longest time to feel comfortable. Your left hand has to loose and comfortable, curled naturally into the right position. Very hard to learn how to relax. Over time, it just happens.

[Seegs]

thanx for the encouragement MD...there are times I feel it but they are very short and fleeting...lately I havn't had the time to play let alone devote to learning slide but I hope to soon as it adds another flavour/gear that I want in my arsenal...

Chow,
Seegs

[shihanderek]

I really dig slide playing also, but don't spend much time with it. I have very little interest in bringing an extra guitar in an open tuning with the action set a bit higher just to play slide.

I use a ceramic (blue) slide on my ring finger. After experimenting with lots of slides and all my fingers, that seems to be the best combo. Every instructional vid or book I have ever seen will demo one or two things in standard, then spend the bulk of the time addressing open tunings.

[decay-o-caster]

I've been messing with it for a while, primarily standard tuning, sometimes open E, but I'm really starting to concentrate on standard now. I'm fine for playing parts, my note production is good, my muting is good, but my improvisation, well, blows. Or sucks, depending on how you look at it. So I just recently started playing over (and recording over) some backing tracks to try to get serious about it. It sounds really really painful to start, but every time through there's another few seconds that aren't totally heinous. I'm hoping to work my way up to a full verse of non-heinous-ness by maybe the end of the week. Gotta have a dream... :o

[heavysoul]

i've always wanted to experiment with slide—i've tried it and i know i'm doing it all wrong.

any video tutorials to recommend?

[tholle1]

i've always wanted to experiment with slide—i've tried it and i know i'm doing it all wrong.

any video tutorials to recommend?

www.learningguitarnow.com (http://www.learningguitarnow.com) is a good site by john tuggle. He has dvd's and downloadable slide lessons that are pretty cool. I got the packagae that had statesboro blues, one way out, and done somebody wrong by the allman bros. he does a good job of explaining each song, and breaks them down into a number of licks that make it easier to learn and piece together. the videos show a big shot of the neck and a small window of his hand doing the picking. Very cool lessons IMO and have helped me out a great bit.

[decay-o-caster]

Geoff Hartwell has a very fine DVD.
The Warren Haynes DVD is mighty fine as well.
Both of those guys are into standard tuning, btw.

And I'm starting to get started at starting on the Kirk Lorange stuff online.

[joseph]

The Pink Floyd sound is/was more slide than I realized-



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je0AHdofgf8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3yG8ecnJRQ

[?&!]

I've never been too impressed with Warren Hayne's regular single-note soloing. Not that he isn't a great player, but I just didn't see what all the fuss was about. I saw his instructional video, which reinforced my opinion, until the slide section came up. OH MY GOD. His slide playing in standard tuning is UTTERLY transcendent. I've been playing slide in open G for a long time, but that video definitely made me start practicing slide in standard tuning very seriously.

[snoggin]

Funny this came up.. I have tried slide a number of times since I started playing again about two years ago.. Now all of a sudden it's working!!??

I am using a hybrid style where I have the slide on my pinky and can either play standard licks or use the slide or mix em up totally.. gives me lots of options.. Certainly not perfected but somehow my technique just clicked and I can switch between pretty seamlessly.. It will be awesome if I can develop it.

[Franklin]

slide is all about muting and intonation! Warren is definately no slouch on the slide, he's blown me away a couple dozen times watching him play the slide in standard tuning....

[zombywoof]

I started over 45 years ago totally mesmerized by guys like Son House, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Blind Willie Johnson. Over the years I continued playing blues in open tuning but started to use the slide less and less. As I goofed around and noodled I figured out dozens of ways to play major, minor, 7th, 6th, and whatever chords and triads I started using my fingers more and more.

Still love playing slide though. Once it gets in your blood it never lets go.

[Franklin]

..... I figured out dozens of ways to play major, minor, 7th, 6th, and whatever chords and triads I started using my fingers more and more.

:jo

That's where I'm very weak in open tunings! I've got the major/minor and M7 chords down, but that's about it. I don't spend enough time in open tuning. I play slide in standard tuning about 100% of the time when I play live. Every once and a while I'll tune up for special tunes...

[EataPeach]

I have recently started (8months now) to dedicate my time to playing slide..I like open E,and use a ceramic slide,sometime a thick glass one too.
I'm in the process of relearning all of my chords,scales in open E. Its taking a bit longer than I wish,but last night I had a some great moments where it starting to come along. Plus my new Victoria amp is a perfect fit for my LP JR!
Good Luck to you!

[hawaii5_o]

I started playing with the slide on a whim at a gig a month ago. I've been using a glass slide in standard tuning and haven't been able to put it down! I've had the glass slide and a brass one for a couple years but never had much luck with them. I like playing around in DADGAD for fun because it's a fairly easy tuning to sound OK in. But mostly I've been loving the standard tuning.

[Bart]

My favorite slide has to be a cheapo Craftsman 9/16 deep socket wrench that I got from Sears. It has the right weight for my guitar's action. It fits nicely on my pinkie so that I could still bend it when playing. I couldn't get used to playing the slide with my pinkie straight. It strains my wrist too much.

[mad dog]

Over the years I continued playing blues in open tuning but started to use the slide less and less. As I goofed around and noodled I figured out dozens of ways to play major, minor, 7th, 6th, and whatever chords and triads I started using my fingers more and more.

Still love playing slide though. Once it gets in your blood it never lets go.

+1 Zomby. I'm right where you are on this. Actually more likely these days to play in open E without slide. I started off treating slide and altered tunings as some kind of effect ... over time came to realize open tunings are different chordal landscapes, with their own potential for rhythm and lead playing. It's less about slide now, but every time I pick up the slide, it's like coming home.

[Tone_Terrific]

I couldn't get used to playing the slide with my pinkie straight. It strains my wrist too much.

That's where I wear it, too. There's a good player for every possible finger position, it seems, but Johnny Winter and George Harrison are also bendable pinky wearers, so that's pretty good company.

On electric, a bit of compression and a little od with standard tuning for rock tone will work, just keep shakin' it so noone can tell if you miss the note!

[Frankenstrat2]

Hey y'all
We have our very own Slide Guitar thread here at TGP in the Playing and Techniques section
Lots of info and links there.
I'll give it a bump back to the top.
C'mon over
Barry