[steve]

Whats up everybody,

I can't seem to get slide guitar down for some reason. I used to have a steel slide, but I lost it and picked up a pyrex one. I've never been able to get a clean sound while using a slide. If anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated.

[amyjared]

Some questions first:
What kind of guitar are you using?
Which finger do you put the slide on?
What tuning are you using?
Are you playing atop the fret bars or attempting to play in between the bars?
What kind of strings and action does your guitar have?
Are you attempting to write new things or play cover songs? If covers, which ones?

All this info will tell folks a lot more about what we can do to help.

[steve]

My electric is a Modulus Genesis Two, acoustic is a Taylor. I put the slide on my pinkie finger. Standard tuning and I have 10s on (electric that is). In terms of slide placement, I guess I put it over the fret bars, unless I'm moving around of course. I'm playing older blues stuff, like T-Bone Walker and other stuff of that sort. I also like to try it on songs in which Bobby uses one. The action is pretty nice. But like I said, I am unable to get a clean sound.

[amyjared]

For me, learning slide was easier in an open tuning such as G or E. I worked on easy songs like Little Red Rooster or Walking blues (both in G) or No Expectations and You Got the Silver (both in E). I like the action high for slide and I prefer a metal slide. Start off only playing on one or two strings to get the feel down. Try the slide on your ring finger to see if you have any more control and you can brace it with both your middle finger and your pinky. Remember to stay atop the fret bars and slide into place (duh). If all else fails, there's a nice homespun dvd/tape by Roy Rogers that teaches some slide techniques. Good luck and keep trying! And, not to ruffle any feathers, but remember that Bobby learned slide on stage and was incredible poor at it for many years!

[spilly]

I prefer a brass slide, it's real easy to get a crisp tone out of. I defenatly agree with the ring finger placement. I found a great song to practice was "one way out".
open tunings are alto easier to use, and much more popular. Bobby however, would usually play in standard tuning using the A barre formation as the basis of his format. this came about because he learned on stage, for a while it was sort of a pop it on my finger and see what noises i can make kind of a thing.
by the way, nice set of questions ther amyjared, got all the needed info allright.

good luck man

[Guest]

slide is all about muting (both behinde the slide and with the picking hand) sorry i don't have time to elaborate. if i remember tomorrow, i'll check back here and add more