Do you have guitars dedicated to slide playing?

[Chiogtr4x]

I do not have dedicated slide guitars, as I ( try to...) play slide at gigs in Standard tuning only.

( I just bring one guitar to a gig, and don't want to change tunings)

I play simple blues/Country slide here and there, but do work at home, on learning where the I-IV-V chord positions in any key ( and similar minor shapes) are to be found on the fingerboard, on the fly...*

Plus always tweaking intonation (slide placement) getting a strong clean tone.

I may play slide on acoustics, Strat, SG, Dano. My Tele does not sound as good on slide ( unless really overdriven)- just doesn't sustain as cleanly, at low volume

So slide is always a 'work in progress'- but I do like the familiarity of the fingerboard in Standard, that comes with many years of lead and rhythm playing)
* as often I will be 'tracing' these chord shapes with the slide, when playing in Standard

 

[Fiesta Red]

Nope.
I play slide on all my guitars, I use light strings (9’s), low action and a heavy slide (an old 5/8” Craftsman deep wall socket with the drive end chopped off).

I put the slide on my pinky and adjusted my touch and technique to make it light enough to slip/slide over the strings, not bang/bonk onto the frets or fingerboard.

EDIT:
I use several open tunings, especially Open G and Open D (and capo up as needed for other keys). I also do some open minor tunings which are great for jazzy, atmospheric tunes. I can play slide in standard/440, but don’t do it very often.

 

[telequacktastic]

Yes, I have Gibby SG for open E, a LP Special for standard, and a Melody Maker RI for everything else.

Sure came in handy a couple weeks ago on a note for note gig with lots of slide songs

 

[badscrew_projects]

OP doesn't say what slide he's using, but I find a heavier slide is better for me on guitars with lower action and lighter strings. It needs virtually no downward pressure so makes fewer rattles. Took me a while to work that out. This one's about 120g (4.6oz).

View attachment 1043564

It's all very personal though. Try all the variables.

120g, oh my! My finger would fall off with that much weight on it

 

[AAT65]

I have a lap steel (in C6 tuning) and a cigar-box 3-stringer (in open G) which are dedicated to slide (obvs): but I play bottleneck slide on whichever guitar I have at the gig without too much problem, usually on one or two songs per night. It is easier on the flatter radiuses, I think, but I manage alright on the 9.5" Fenders too, with 10s and a fairly heavy slide. I prefer the bottleneck on my ring finger FWIW, I think it's easier to control the pressure than using my pinkie.

 

[fakeocaster]

I have a Les Paul Jr a dobro and some lap steels

 

[Tommy Biggs]

Just my National. tuned to open E (dropped down to D)

 

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

Nope.
I play slide on all my guitars, I use light strings (9’s), low action and a heavy slide (an old 5/8” Craftsman deep wall socket with the drive end chopped off).

I put the slide on my pinky and adjusted my touch and technique to make it light enough to slip/slide over the strings, not bang/bonk onto the frets or fingerboard.

Nice control that I'm sure took some practice. I'm impressed by both you and Chiogtr4x ability to pull it off.

​

 

[naneek]

Warren Zevon talks about legendary slide players, his inability to play slide, zen, and then proceeds to kick ass on his 12 string regardless of his skill level.

Playing slide on a guitar with normal action is extremely difficult. Sure some legendary players do it, but they're legendary for a reason and we shouldn't be trying to do what they do.

 

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

Warren Zevon talks about legendary slide players, his inability to play slide, zen, and then proceeds to kick ass on his 12 string regardless of his skill level.

Edit: Very nice. I always loved his unique voice, and sense of humor, and how he used them both.

 

[jaxjaxon]

I use my resonator for both when I want to make it a slide I use a nut riser that fits over the existing nut. I use standard tuning and 10 gage strings.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I don't use low action because I pick pretty hard when I dig in for emphasis. I still definitely find slide easier on .010s than on .0095s or .009s. Probably could learn to make it work with lighter strings and lower action but it would require a substantial change in my playing style.

My heaviest Les Paul is just under 10 lbs, too heavy for me to play a whole set on now that I'm 65. Still okay with it for one or two songs at a time. Have been thinking about raising the action for slide use, maybe even replacing its wonderful Sheptone PAF types with some midrangier DiMarzios for a more compressed character.

I've also got a Gibson robotuner sitting unused - too much of a pain for regular full-time use. But for slide it'd be great to have various open tunings on tap with the press of a button.

One of these days I'll probably set it up as a dedicated slide axe, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I like the guitar, but if I don't find a way to make it useful, I may have to let it go.

 

[wulfenganck]

I play slide mainly with my resonator.
It has a slightly higher action than my 2 main electrics, but I somehow feel it's more about the neck shape instead the string setting.
I have a really cheap semiacoustic (bought for less than 100 Euro), it's nothing special, but it sounds nice with slide. It has a pretty substantial neck, bigger than most of my guitars.
The neck of my resonator isn't that big, but it's still a good grip.

 

[Jeremy_Green]

It really depends what you are doing. If I was recording some thing important that was slide intensive then yes I would absolutely.

But if the goal is to be able to play slide alongside your traditional playing, then it’s probably best you learn how to do it on one instrument.

You might have to split the difference on the height of your action and the thickness of your strings. But if you want to be able to pull out slide lines in the middle of a song or show, then it sure is a lot more convenient if you can do it on your main instrument.

Really depends on the player you want to be.

 

[hemingway]

Nope. I can't bring myself to sacrifice a guitar to slide setup.

I play slide on my guitars with a standard setup, 9-42 strings mostly, standard tuning, with a heavy brass slide. It just takes some practice to get a lighter touch.

I don't get it when someone I see a thread along the lines of "it's not a great guitar, but I'll set it up for slide". Like that's a last resort.

 

[naneek]

I don't get it when someone I see a thread along the lines of "it's not a great guitar, but I'll set it up for slide". Like that's a last resort.

In some cases, it is the last resort. I have a beautiful old Kay that became warped at some point early in its lifespan, and someone made misbegotten attempts to repair it by slathering 1970s era superglue on the ski jump end of the floating fretboard and the gaping neck joint. They removed the hardware and thumbscrews from the floating bridge to compensate for the messed up neck angle.

if it was warped but all original, or if the repair attempts had been made with hide glue, maybe someone would give it a shot even though it is a relatively low value vintage instrument. No one will want to work on that guitar now.

The electronics are perfect, the guitar still looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. But it would cost 1000s to actually repair the warping, neck reset, and internal braces, and nobody wants to do the work anyway. It just doesn't make sense to sink that kind of money and labor into a guitar that is only worth $200 in present condition, and probably only worth approx $850 if it was fully restored.

As it is, it's only playable in tune up to the 9th fret.
Better to leave the guitar as a time capsule, and make it playable by simply swapping out the floating bridge, and adding a nut extender. This will solve the neck angle and bridge break angle problems.

The carved back of the guitar also makes it incredibly comfortable to sit on your lap, so it works out perfectly for playability.

 

[hemingway]

In some cases, it is. I have a beautiful old Kay that became warped at some point early in its lifespan, and someone made misbegotten attempts to repair it by slathering 1970s era superglue on the ski jump end of the floating fretboard and the gaping neck joint. They removed the hardware and thumbscrews from the floating bridge to compensate for the messed up neck angle.

if it was warped but all original, or if the repair attempts had been made with hide glue, maybe someone would give it a shot even though it is a relatively low value vintage instrument. No one will want to work on that guitar now.

The electronics are perfect, the guitar still looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. But it would cost 1000s to actually repair the warping, neck reset, and internal braces, and nobody wants to do the work anyway. It just doesn't make sense to sink that kind of money and labor into a guitar that is only worth $200 in present condition, and probably only worth approx $850 if it was fully restored.

As it is, it's only playable in tune up to the 9th fret.
Better to leave the guitar as a time capsule, and make it playable by simply swapping out the floating bridge, and adding a nut extender. This will solve the neck angle and bridge break angle problems.

The carved back of the guitar also makes it incredibly comfortable to sit on your lap, so it works out perfectly for playability.

Yeah, it's fair enough if it saves an otherwise doomed guitar.

 

[thebowl]

The Martin is tuned to D; the Dobro is tuned to G.

 

[Jimclarke100]

My first build is a Les Paul Junior on which the neck angle is fractionally wrong so the action is a little high. I could probably sink the bridge posts so the flanges are flush and it’d be fine, but I’ve left it as is and it sits tuned open e and is a dedicated slide instrument. It actually doesn’t get played that often to be honest as I’m equally as likely to play slide on what ever standard tuned guitar I’m playing.

 

[Dr Improbable]

This one is in open E. But I HAD too......