Slide players of OSG, talk to me.

[marqueemoon]

I think I want to take another crack at this.

When I was younger I bought a brass slide because I thought at least I wouldn’t break it, but it’s huge and heavy, doesn’t fit my ring finger, and flops around on my little finger.

I have a lap steel I keep in C6, and I grew up playing violin and have a pretty good ear for pitch, but I’ve never felt comfortable playing slide on a conventional guitar.

Some folks can really get around just in standard tuning, which for the sake of convenience is pretty appealing. It seems like I’d need some kind of half or ring-style slide to switch between fretting and sliding.

I think I’ve only really played around in open D, but certain tunings seem to have strong connotations. I’m not sure I could do open G without hearing Keef.

Please share your thoughts on technique, slide material and design, tunings, favorite players, etc…

[MechaBulletBill]

i use the thickest/heaviest, narrowest dunlop glass slide on my little finger. i think it's the second-tallest/longest one as well. i can do pretty much all the open chord shapes, chord the top 3/4 strings in all the right places, and the slide is there when i need it.

the key for me is playing with fingers, no plectrum, and muting with the right hand to keep it sounding "clean". play loud, get sustain from amp volume and distortion if you need it. if you're struggling, try a little more relief on the neck, a little higher action, or go up a string gauge.

[marqueemoon]

i use the thickest/heaviest, narrowest dunlop glass slide on my little finger. i think it's the second-tallest/longest one as well. i can do pretty much all the open chord shapes, chord the top 3/4 strings in all the right places, and the slide is there when i need it.

the key for me is playing with fingers, no plectrum, and muting with the right hand to keep it sounding "clean". play loud, get sustain from amp volume and distortion if you need it. if you're struggling, try a little more relief on the neck, a little higher action, or go up a string gauge.

Thanks for the tips! Muting with my picking hand is something I need to work on in general.

I’ll probably hit my local shop soon and check out a few different designs and materials.

[Sweetfinger]

Use different slide materials for different tones. A thin chromed steel slide sounds trashy, but not as low down and trashy as a chunk of copper plumbing pipe. Glass is smooth and zingy. Brass, depending on how it's polished can be anywhere in between the copper pipe and glass.
Thicker walls on the slide will give more sustain and a fuller sound.
Slides with a tapered side or contour can help if you're playing on a standard guitar with strings set to a radius.
I like open D and tunings with those same intervals: open E, open C, open B.
I've played in open G/open A but not much anymore.
I treat standard tuning like half G tuning and half open E.
Right hand muting along with left hand muting (both behind the slide to keep overtones down, and in front to silence what the right hand might be missing) is the key to clean, articulate lines.
If you're trying for "tear in your beer" steel guitar tones, use single coils, and roll off the treble and the volume. That's the key to those sounds.