Inexpensive Martins or other acoustics good for blues?

I like playing Muddy and Chicago style blues on my Tele, but also on an acoustic (think Folk Singer album). I have a resonator so I'm not looking for one of those.

I've been looking at the reasonably priced Martins in the $500-750 range. I also just saw this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gretsch-Guitars-G100-Archtop-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=517748

Looking for something that has the retro bluesy feel of this Gretch or a small body acoustic. But I'm pretty much open for anything. Dreadnoughts are a little boring but those cheaper Martins look mighty nice...

I'd look for a used Martin 15 series.
I think the 000-15S is the bomb but it's a little more expensive.
The d-15 is great, though.
Try the classifieds at www.umgf.com
best
Allen

I agree with allen st. john, the 000-15 is a great guitar for your purposes around your price range used.

look for one of these (http://cgi.ebay.com/Harmony-Sovereign-H-1260_W0QQitemZ220229550293QQihZ012QQcategoryZ2385Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) great guitars, sound great.

Also, look for a used larrivee 03 series.

Those all Mohoghany D-15s wood be sweet for blues.

epi L-00

I agree with allen st. john, the 000-15 is a great guitar for your purposes around your price range used.


+1

The 000-15 is a great guitar, and a fine choice for blues. A 00-15 would be cool too if you want even a smaller body. They're reminiscent of 50's era small bodied Gibsons (LG's) & Guilds (M20's & F20's). Good luck!

the 15 series from Martin is great, the 12 fret model is the jewel. Recently I bought one of these. Right in your price range and a cool guitar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Washburn-R316SWRK-125th-Limited-Edition-Parlor-Case-B_W0QQitemZ370048711093QQihZ024QQcategoryZ2385QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Here's mine:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/talkovich/DSC_0075-1.jpg

the 15 series from Martin is great, the 12 fret model is the jewel. Recently I bought one of these. Right in your price range and a cool guitar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Washburn-R316SWRK-125th-Limited-Edition-Parlor-Case-B_W0QQitemZ370048711093QQihZ024QQcategoryZ2385QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Here's mine:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/talkovich/DSC_0075-1.jpg

:shock:

Me likey!

the 15 series from Martin is great, the 12 fret model is the jewel. Recently I bought one of these. Right in your price range and a cool guitar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Washburn-R316SWRK-125th-Limited-Edition-Parlor-Case-B_W0QQitemZ370048711093QQihZ024QQcategoryZ2385QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Here's mine:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/talkovich/DSC_0075-1.jpg

If that sounds as good as it looks the its a steal at the $560
Good luck with it

:grin: Any cheap acoustic is ok. You have to string it with wire stolen from your screen door...

look for one of these (http://cgi.ebay.com/Harmony-Sovereign-H-1260_W0QQitemZ220229550293QQihZ012QQcategoryZ2385Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) great guitars, sound great.

I agree.....these old Harmony's are very cool blues guitars. Be careful though, most I've encountered were in need of a neck reset. Subway Guitars in Berkley usually has quite a number of these and other cool, older acoustics that are great for what you're after.

Love Woodmans Washburn! That thing is so cool!

There was a thread a while back about the Art & Lutherie Parlor guitars. A local shop has two that have been there for at least 5 years.....I play em whenever I go in. Excellent guitars for da blooz.

Another one I'll recommend that may be a bit harder to find is the Seagull S-6Folk. Small body, big blues tone.

an Alverez 5014. a 70's model or an 80's with SLM on the truss rod plate.
These are great 000 guitars! I have had two, still have one!

There is one on Ebay right now. The seller has his info on the 5014 all wrong but it's a super 000 guitar.

Epiphone makes some nice, reasonably-priced acoustics. Like the previously mentioned EL-00 (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-EL00-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=518369), or the EF-500M (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Masterbilt-EF500R-Fingerstyle-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=519061), or the DR-500R (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Masterbilt-DR500R-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=519059) (if you're looking for a dreadnought size). I'd give those a try.

I read line of necks and neck set angles on every guitar I pick up. I look across the top of every guitar I pick up. I do these things before I play the guitar.
I use a mirror to look inside every guitar that has any issue with the top. When there is an issue with a concave top and/or a 'rolling' bridge, I expect to see loose or broken braces. When there are no loose or broken braces, there is a possibility that the guitar has dried out, the top has 'shrunken' and therefore the top no longer does what it was designed to do....hold the bridge in place (maintaining proper scale measurement) and pump air. It still pumps air, but the air carries intonation-problem-plagued notes adn action issues interfere with playing. Most guitars that I have seen with this type of problem with the tops will come back with humidification. I use humidification of dry guitars with 'shrinking top' problems before working on them. IF long and gradual humiditification of the woods doesn't bring the top back into shape, there are other issues.
Then I start looking again at the bracing. Popsicle braces don't impress me. I have seen them in two lines of guitars....one USA and one made in ASia..just one guitar actually from Asia. I have seen a number of guitars from the company in the U.S. that have this construction technique. I have seen numerous examples of this type of guitar lose the integrity of the top and develop serious playability issues. I do live in a dry area, and the winters are hard on guitars. Most dryness issues can be dealt with. These gutars have not responded like other guitars with more traditional bracing methodss used in their construction.
A mirror is a valuable tool when looking at guitars. KNowledge of line of neck and neck set angle is basic and important, imo. Looking very critically at every guitar I pick up has broadened my understanding of what the machines are supposed to be, what happens to them and what to do about those problems. I am still learning after all of these years, and I have learned that I personally would not recommend any guitar with popsicle braces to any of my friends or customers. I do not buy those guitars for personal use or resale purposes.
YMMV

http://brenthutto.com/Guitars/Mahogany0002.jpg

Find a spry old girl like this one out there somewhere and she'll sing the blues for you all night long...assuming you're up for it. Life begins at 60!

Brent, that guitar was probably intended for slide 'Hawaiian' playing. Note that the saddle is perpendicular to the strings.

Here is an interior shot of an 'inexpensive' Martin.....modern nomenclature.
The 'popsicle' brace/tone bar is different from what Martin has done for decades, and every guitar that I have seen with this type of construction has eventually had problems with the top. The top will go concave and the bridge rolls forward. This affects the neck/bridge relationship with regards to actio and also places the saddle too close to the fretboard thereby making proper intonation imipossible....every fretted note is sharp.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o175/Wally051/IMG_1060.jpg
You can see the curvature of the 'popsicle' stick/top.
Here is a view across the top showing the forward roll of the bridge and the concave top forward of the bridge.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o175/Wally051/IMG_1064.jpg
I have two of this type of Martin in the shop right now that are unplayable.
When I want a Martin, I will look only at the traditional nomenclatures and pay the requisite higher dollar.

Wow, I have never seen that kind of bracing on any Martin no matter what the price point was.

I have an X series (DCX1E) with the HPL (High Pressure Laminate) back and sides and the solid spruce top wit "X" bracing. It is built like, and sounds like a Martin should.

What model are these Martins?

Rotelli, those are not the X braces that I photo'd, and yes your guitar is one of the ones that looks like this on the inside. Mirrors are very revealing instruments.I hope your experiences are different from those of the folks I know. These guitars that I have known over the past 10 years that have this problem do not suffer from the problems that one usually sees when a top goes in like this....loose or broken braces...X or side braces. These guitars simply did not have sufficient support from these braces that come off of the side of the X bracing.
All of the Martins that are 'inexpensive' and have modern nomenclature are built this way ime.

Wally,

That's an interesting point, I had not noticed the saddle being square to the strings. I wonder if that geometry was original or if it was done when the guitar was renovated a few years ago (by the guy I bought it from). You can't see from the picture but the bridge was removed and reglued about 2mm below its original position to get the intonation to work right. But the marks from the old placement were parallel to the current placement.

Is it unusual that the guitar now intonates correctly with the squared-off saddle? According to my strobe tuner it's pretty darned close, at least up to the twelfth fret which is as high as I checked.

Brent, ime, there is no way that a saddle that is perpendicular to the strings will come anywhere close to accurate intonation with a 'normal' set of steel strings.
The bridge should be oriented the way it is....no slant; but the saddle should have a slant placing the bass side farther away from the 12th fret than the treble side. Steel string gutiars that have perpendicular saddles(to the strings) work for slide, but fretting the strings incurs inaccurate intonation.
If you want to know if the bridge slot is somewhere near where it hsould be, measure from the fret-side of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret. Thsi distance shoulud measure to the middle of the slot/saddle in bewteen the G and D strings...roughly.

OK, just about correct between the G and D strings. The distance from nut to 12th fret is 327mm. From 12th fret to middle of the saddle is between 327mm and 328mm, probably closer to 328 (hard to read my plastic office ruler to less than a millimeter). But it's almost dead square, that distance being about 327mm on the treble E string and closer to the 328mm on the sixth string, that's either my measuring error or slot slop away from being square.

I'll take a closer look at intonation when I get home tonight. From your description it sounds like I should expect to see it go flat as I move up the fingerboard on the treble strings and go the other way on the bass, right?

Apoloigies for this slight hijacking....
Brent, yes, ime your high E will be flat and your low E will be sharp....at the 12th fret....

Rather than continuing to thread-jack, I sent PM to Wally.

You've got mail!

No problem with the thread hijacking.

I do have a major problem with the guy who posted the pic of the Washburn though.

I now have major GAS. Thanks a lot!:lol:

I have one Martin 15 and two 16's but I also have A D12X1 12 string (part of the X box entry level family) and the 12 string has been bulletproof even when I go from frozen car trunks to warm gigs. My little LXM travel X box has gone from a frozen car trunk to the beach in Mexico about 20 times.

I have never had a worry with my entry level Martins.

Martin warranties all their guitars except the LXM travel guitar for life. If they were selling guitars with bad tops and weak braces, those guitars would bite Chris Martin in the rear end.

Buy a 000-15. Keep it forever.

My woodpile..........

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/Lopo-Epi072.jpg

Martin bracing......

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/johnlg-2006/Lopo-Epi072.jpg

I ... a D12X1 12 string ... and the 12 string has been bulletproof even when I go from frozen car trunks to warm gigs. My little LXM travel X box has gone from a frozen car trunk to the beach in Mexico about 20 times.

I have never had a worry with my entry level Martins.

Martin warranties all their guitars except the LXM travel guitar for life. If they were selling guitars with bad tops and weak braces, those guitars would bite Chris Martin in the rear end.


+ 1

:grin: Any cheap acoustic is ok. You have to string it with wire stolen from your screen door...

This is probably the best advice your gonna get for your question. The blues is an art form it is indiviualistic and stylistically varying from artist to artist outside the pentatonic scale moving from one blues man to the next is like moving from one woman to the next...it may seem the same at first but once you get into it, it all brand new. And I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere.

Worrying about the type of guitar you need to play the 'blues' is a bad place to start. ANY guitar will do. Most of the 'blues' guitars that people are after today were popular with the blues greats because being poor southerners, they chose cheap instruments. They moved around a lot and could not afford to be sentimental. Robert Johson tuned his guitar in open A almost as his standard turning, can you imagine how many guitars he must have went through?

Josh White says it best...' my guitar is my baby, it does what i want it to' if you take that attitude to guitar...it doesnt matter what kinda guitar you have...working around the guitar's limitations pushing its limitations learning how to make the guitar do WHAT YOU WANT IT TO. That's the blues, man...and if you can't do that with a $99 beater....a $2000 Martin ain't gonna help you....people will just wondering why does this guy have a Martin.

MOST IMPORTANT: Only those with blessed or well developed ears can tell the difference between Martin and Ibanez, to the guy on the street buying CDs it won't make a difference.

If you want a Martin by all means buy a Martin; I just don't like when people think that a Martin is going to make them a better player. Taking Mr. White's advice will make you the best player you can be and then Martin will probably ask to build you a guitar.

This is probably the best advice your gonna get for your question. The blues is an art form it is indiviualistic and stylistically varying from artist to artist outside the pentatonic scale moving from one blues man to the next is like moving from one woman to the next...it may seem the same at first but once you get into it, it all brand new. And I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere.

Worrying about the type of guitar you need to play the 'blues' is a bad place to start. ANY guitar will do. Most of the 'blues' guitars that people are after today were popular with the blues greats because being poor southerners, they chose cheap instruments. They moved around a lot and could not afford to be sentimental. Robert Johson tuned his guitar in open A almost as his standard turning, can you imagine how many guitars he must have went through?

Josh White says it best...' my guitar is my baby, it does what i want it to' if you take that attitude to guitar...it doesnt matter what kinda guitar you have...working around the guitar's limitations pushing its limitations learning how to make the guitar do WHAT YOU WANT IT TO. That's the blues, man...and if you can't do that with a $99 beater....a $2000 Martin ain't gonna help you....people will just wondering why does this guy have a Martin.

MOST IMPORTANT: Only those with blessed or well developed ears can tell the difference between Martin and Ibanez, to the guy on the street buying CDs it won't make a difference.

If you want a Martin by all means buy a Martin; I just don't like when people think that a Martin is going to make them a better player. Taking Mr. White's advice will make you the best player you can be and then Martin will probably ask to build you a guitar.

Awe, Dad. I had my heart set on a Martin!:lol:

Actually if people saw me playing a Martin, they'd REALLY wonder why I owned a Martin.:lol:

Actually I agree with you. Blues is all about feeling. I just watched one of Stephen Grossman's videos and he said the same thing - get a cheap guitar. When playing slide, you don't want a great guitar because it will bring out too much of the unwanted sounds.

I have a nice Epiphone resonator that I'm putting a National cone into. Can't wait. Thing is going to kick butt. Also have a nice Tele, Strat, and Fender amp too for learning electric blues.

I'm looking for a regular acoustic too. I think the "cheap" Martins are nice, but I really like the look of that Washburn. I'm not in a hurry though and might lower my price point. I like the smaller body styles.

I'm basically a hobbyist that loves learning to play the blues. I'm actually pretty content with what I have for gear right now -- I'm blessed with pretty nice stuff -- but wouldn't mind adding an acoustic.

Anything you can suggest at a lower price point? Like I said I like the Washburn pictured above and like the smaller "blues" style guitars like Epiphones EL-00, which is only $300.

Check Maury's Music (http://www.maurysmusic.com/blueridge_vs__martin) and look at the video comparisons between the Blueridge guitars and th Matins they're paired up against.

I've played Blueridge guitars and I feel they are significantly better guitars than their price tags suggest.

MOST IMPORTANT: Only those with blessed or well developed ears can tell the difference between Martin and Ibanez

I disagree. If you are any sort of guitar player or music listener and you cannot hear a tone difference between a plywood guitar and a solid top Martin, you might want to consider a new hobby or interest.

I sold Martin (and plywood) guitars in college. We bought pallets of plywood guitars at Christmas and sold them in $99 starter sets and many parents who never bought a guitar in their life would spend up and away from the $99 packages because they could hear the difference in solid topped Yamaha or other guitars These shoppers were not even guitar players and the sound quality difference was clear to them.

I appreciate the history lesson. Leadbelly was another amazing player who had a humble guitar and I'm a huge fan. I think the tenacity of your dismissal of quality new construction is silly.

I disagree. If you are any sort of guitar player or music listener and you cannot hear a tone difference between a plywood guitar and a solid top Martin, you might want to consider a new hobby or interest.

I sold Martin (and plywood) guitars in college. We bought pallets of plywood guitars at Christmas and sold them in $99 starter sets and many parents who never bought a guitar in their life would spend up and away from the $99 packages because they could hear the difference in solid topped Yamaha or other guitars These shoppers were not even guitar players and the sound quality difference was clear to them.

I appreciate the history lesson. Leadbelly was another amazing player who had a humble guitar and I'm a huge fan. I think the tenacity of your dismissal of quality new construction is silly.


First, I didn't mean to offend you, I don't have stock in Martin, but for the record, I think they are superbly constructed instruments. My point is so is a Shelby GT500, but I'm not gonna buy a 40000 dollar car when a 15000 dollar one will get me where I need to go. I think we were just talking about getting where you need to go, not necessarily getting there in style.

I think you prove my point, yes if you are a guitar player(which would mean you either are blessed with a good ear or have trained it through diligent practice and repitition).

The average person on the street can't tell the difference between a V-8 and V-6 by sound (or sight for that matter) but a seasoned mechanic can hear a car coming and tell you what block is in it and possibly what is wrong. Again, the average person listening to you will not be able to tell the difference between a Martin and an Ibanez....specifically because they aren't listening for the difference. They are listening to the music.

Once you come over, in a music shop behind the authority of expertise, and physically demonstrate the difference for them, of course, they will notice the difference. It's like where's Waldo he's a tricky SOB to find but once you see him you can't lose him again. I'm willing to bet a lot of those conversations parent to child after they brought those guitars home had a lot of 'The guy at the shop said...' references; because unless their kid was the next guitar phenom, the child didn't know the difference.

But again, this is not what I mean. I mean to say, that first a Martin will not make you a better blues player or any kind of player than a shoebox with shoe strings. Second, just because your ear has learn to discern the difference between your 300 dollar box and a 3000 dollar martin, does not mean the people listening have. Most people are blown away when they hear music stoned...I tell them its not the drug making the music better, but you're finally HEARING IT.

You misunderstand. I was not dismissing quality new construction. I was dismissing the notion that you need a 2000 dollar guitar to play the blues.

Personally, as a standard for myself, I wouldn't pay more than 500 dollars for a guitar unless you plan on making some of that money back with it. If you can buy a 2000 dollar guitar for hobby sake...then you can't play the blues, because you ain't got em.

Lastly, in the words of my old soccer coach: "I know our practice field sucks, but if you can learn to control a ball effortlessly on a bumpy muddy grassless field; you will be surprised how well you'll play on the smooth grass."

Awe, Dad. I had my heart set on a Martin!:lol:

Actually if people saw me playing a Martin, they'd REALLY wonder why I owned a Martin.:lol:

Actually I agree with you. Blues is all about feeling. I just watched one of Stephen Grossman's videos and he said the same thing - get a cheap guitar. When playing slide, you don't want a great guitar because it will bring out too much of the unwanted sounds.

I have a nice Epiphone resonator that I'm putting a National cone into. Can't wait. Thing is going to kick butt. Also have a nice Tele, Strat, and Fender amp too for learning electric blues.

I'm looking for a regular acoustic too. I think the "cheap" Martins are nice, but I really like the look of that Washburn. I'm not in a hurry though and might lower my price point. I like the smaller body styles.

I'm basically a hobbyist that loves learning to play the blues. I'm actually pretty content with what I have for gear right now -- I'm blessed with pretty nice stuff -- but wouldn't mind adding an acoustic.

Anything you can suggest at a lower price point? Like I said I like the Washburn pictured above and like the smaller "blues" style guitars like Epiphones EL-00, which is only $300.


Slide is where it is, man. Slide and harmonica really helped me UNDERSTAND how to talk blues how to phrase and crash and all those things that make it do that thing to your soul.

I got one of those Silver Creeks everyone is talking about and a Epi Les Paul for slide work. Go cheap with slide mostly because open tunings can literally be a pain in the neck. I am commonly told in a "Don't cross the streams manner" to never tune my favorite guitar in open A. Honestly, sometimes I think guitarists are more superstitious than old folks and half this stuff is just people's idosyncries. Get guidance don't take direction.

But in my opinion for the blues I find that size of body makes more difference than manufacturer (to a reasonable degree). And the smaller body you can get the closer you'll get to the sound of the 'blues' depending on what you're playing. a parlour or a really compact Grand Concert and you'll get a sound like Robert Johson or really early tingy delta stuff get a Grand Auditorium and you're gonna be more light and airy like piedmont. Im not a fan of dreadnoughts in blues music, but maybe you are. Since they are bigger bodies its not uncommon to hear them in piedmont because they got that bouncy overriding bass and piedmont is defined pretty much by rag rhythms and walkin basslines. Again, its personal preference, on that.

But generally smaller the body more tingy and 'old school' the bigger the body gets the more light and airy the sound gets I play mostly piedmont (which doesn't include much slide work, but lots of harmonica) so the Silver Creek 000 body works perfect for my tastes.

Personally, as a standard for myself, I wouldn't pay more than 500 dollars for a guitar unless you plan on making some of that money back with it. If you can buy a 2000 dollar guitar for hobby sake...then you can't play the blues, because you ain't got em.

Lastly, in the words of my old soccer coach: "I know our practice field sucks, but if you can learn to control a ball effortlessly on a bumpy muddy grassless field; you will be surprised how well you'll play on the smooth grass."

Well if you look at the first post, I'm not interested in purchasing a $2,000 guitar, but a $500 guitar.I'm not just starting out, so I'm not looking for an expensive guitar to make me sound better. I'm an intermediate player, who has been playing electric blues for years who is now looking for a reasonably priced acoustic to learn some bottleneck.

Slide is where it is, man. Slide and harmonica really helped me UNDERSTAND how to talk blues how to phrase and crash and all those things that make it do that thing to your soul.

I got one of those Silver Creeks everyone is talking about and a Epi Les Paul for slide work. Go cheap with slide mostly because open tunings can literally be a pain in the neck. I am commonly told in a "Don't cross the streams manner" to never tune my favorite guitar in open A. Honestly, sometimes I think guitarists are more superstitious than old folks and half this stuff is just people's idosyncries. Get guidance don't take direction.

But in my opinion for the blues I find that size of body makes more difference than manufacturer (to a reasonable degree). And the smaller body you can get the closer you'll get to the sound of the 'blues' depending on what you're playing. a parlour or a really compact Grand Concert and you'll get a sound like Robert Johson or really early tingy delta stuff get a Grand Auditorium and you're gonna be more light and airy like piedmont. Im not a fan of dreadnoughts in blues music, but maybe you are.

But generally smaller the body more tingy and 'old school' the bigger the body gets the more light and airy the sound gets I play mostly piedmont (which doesn't include much slide work, but lots of harmonica) so the Silver Creek 000 body works perfect my tastes.

Okay. Good advice.

Any slide player you can recommend? I've been really into Muddy. Lately I've been listening to Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Okay. Good advice.

Any slide player you can recommend? I've been really into Muddy. Lately I've been listening to Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Hmm..well this my methodology...Robert Johson influenced Elmore James...Elmore James influened Duane Allman...try to find the common thread among the three and the differences. So those three I would say are the kings.

Then you have Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton to a degree, I like a lot of old Hank Williams, Sr songs I don't know his steel player's name but I'm heavily influenced by him as well.

But I'd say start with the kings and then just research. Look up the music you like (I happen to classic rock and country and r and b and soul). Again like I said earlier, you'll be surprised how much slide has been under your nose once you start looking for it.

Don't limit yourself to guitarists...listen to horn sections, listen to jazz (Coltrane, Dizzy, etc) listen to soul (how Otis comes down on those notes and lets them go....crucial to slide).

Slide is about making the guitar talk.

Well if you look at the first post, I'm not interested in purchasing a $2,000 guitar, but a $500 guitar.I'm not just starting out, so I'm not looking for an expensive guitar to make me sound better. I'm an intermediate player, who has been playing electric blues for years who is now looking for a reasonably priced acoustic to learn some bottleneck.

Cheese I was defending myself, against the accusation that I'm somehow am against quality constructed guitars. And I don't know of many Martins selling for less than 4 figures. And those HPL ones...I'll wait and see what they're looking and sounding like in a couple years. Again I am not against quality constructed instruments but I am also not against the idea that quality is relative to necessity.

Hmm..well this my methodology...Robert Johson influenced Elmore James...Elmore James influened Duane Allman...try to find the common thread among the three and the differences. So those three I would say are the kings.

Then you have Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton to a degree, I like a lot of old Hank Williams, Sr songs I don't know his steel player's name but I'm heavily influenced by him as well.

But I'd say start with the kings and then just research. Look up the music you like (I happen to classic rock and country and r and b and soul). Again like I said earlier, you'll be surprised how much slide has been under your nose once you start looking for it.

Don't limit yourself to guitarists...listen to horn sections, listen to jazz (Coltrane, Dizzy, etc) listen to soul (how Otis comes down on those notes and lets them go....crucial to slide).

Slide is about making the guitar talk.

Yeah, been working on Elmore James some too. And Duane a little bit, but he's the graduate level course. :lol:

Good idea about looking for other influences. I've been working on Albert King a lot and his monster bends really lend themselves to slide - I think Johnny Winter's (one of my favorite sliders) slide play has been influenced by Albert.

Cheese I was defending myself, against the accusation that I'm somehow am against quality constructed guitars. And I don't know of many Martins selling for less than 4 figures. And those HPL ones...I'll wait and see what they're looking and sounding like in a couple years. Again I am not against quality constructed instruments but I am also not against the idea that quality is relative to necessity.

No worries.

Yeah, been working on Elmore James some too. And Duane a little bit, but he's the graduate level course. :lol:

Good idea about looking for other influences. I've been working on Albert King a lot and his monster bends really lend themselves to slide - I think Johnny Winter's (one of my favorite sliders) slide play has been influenced by Albert.

Winter is a guy I hear about all the time, and I've read some interviews with him...any suggestions?

Progressive Blues Experiment is an awesome album. Also the three albums he did with Muddy Waters - Hard Again, King Bee, and I'm Ready - are my favorite blues albums. Two won Grammies. His slide playing on those albums is what I aspire to, and Muddy's is good too.

I've been working on his song Dallas, which is a kickin' song for the resonator.

Also check out:
-8siLZ4zNbY