by Liquids » Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:39 pm
After years of playing guitar, and only trying slide briefly in my first few years of playing, I realized I should get back into it now that I'm considerably more solid in my 'fretted' playing, for fun and for versatility.
I ran down to the closest store and grabbed a thick walled 'short' glass slide and got practicing. Slide is fun! It's a bit of work, but really a meaningful option in one's repertoire.
I also got to researching and realizing maybe a metal backup would also be good over time...so I ordered a (cheaper) backup glass slide for when (not if) it breaks...and three different metal slides too...
by now I've spent as much time thinking/researching actual slides as I have put slide to strings! But that's just how I am and how much time I have available while in front of a computer,,.
Anyhow, went to the hardware store yesterday, found a brass 'nipple' (more or less just a thick, threaded pipe 1-5" in length or so depending) that fit nicely, as well as a small copper sweat fitting (or something) and a steel spacer, got them all, and my online order of slides arrived.
Sawed the pipe last night too....tons of stuff to try!
I agree, that copper seems pretty nice. It may be a little lower on sustain, like glass is, but no one ever seems to complain about sustain with glass. Easy to find and cheap. Soft, but not smashable. Kind of awkward with that 'T' pipe shape you got there, but most hardware stores will also cut a straight copper pipe for you if you buy a length of it, and then potentially you'd be ready to go. Sand the edges with rough sandpaper if need be.
I like the thick walled brass slide I've fabricated, but after all the work put into making the pipe into a slide, the thin & light chromed slide I ordered (ernie ball) is the easiest to work with and control accurately for my kind of playing, more so than the glass is, even....for me.
I think the 'tonal' aspects of the chose slide are interesting, but when I tried the thin walled metal (thin compared to the heavy glass or brass pipe), the control I had from my finger feeling that much closer to the string rather than behind a thick wall, and the nice fit compared to glass and anything else was really helpful, and surprisingly became 'more important' than any other factor (mass, thickness, tone) or benefits another slide has. Sounds good to boot, so to speak.
For me the copper fitting fit nicely too, much like the above slide. But it turns out the one I had was only a 1" length just to cover from my fingertip to the first knuckle. I thought I'd like that length after trying out using some of well fitted sockets from a socket set, but it ended up needing to be a bit 'too' exact and getting caught on the high strings when I moved it to the lower strings for various reasons.
Only thing I personally found 'unusable' were full length slides. Especially if they don't fit snugly. It's just too hard for me to control such a large piece THAT disconnected from my finger, especially if it's kind of flopping around on my finger loosely and needs to be hugged so tightly by my supporting fingers.
There are lots of options for shape/fit/material/size of slides, and I continue to try, order, and return a variety of them...but as a great teach & musician once told me when it came picking and playing with my fingers...in general, whatever approach you choose to take, "like anything, if you do it that way for long enough, you'll get pretty good at it." And so it is with one's chosen slide...after trying out so many variations back to back last night, the differences were notable, some more comfortable than others...however after a while, I suspect getting used to a slide, sticking with it, and keep doing it is the best thing I can do for my tone and comfort level...