Slide Guitar Options

im not sure but i think to pick your guitar a slide guitar, all you need to do is raise the action so the strings won't hit the fretboard, I may be wrong becuase Im thinkin about it now anf if the strings are farther from the pickups, you might need to raise them to continue picking up sound

Thicker strings like 12s. You may need the to widen the nut slots.

The tele's a fine choice though I've seen Sonny Landreth play a strat fitted with a floyd rose.

Hmmm, Landreth on slide with Knopfler on LP, my favourite rock intrumental duet :)

You don't want a really high action to play bottleneck slide. No extension nut or anything like that. If you put on a set of 11s or 12s without adjusting the truss rod, the action will rise a little and it'll be very easy to slide, while you still can fret, which you need to be able to do.

A skilled slider can slide on any guitar. My teacher would grab any random new guitar off the music store racks, tune into whatever tuning I was using for the day, and knock my socks off with his beautiful sliding. The key is developing "muscle memory" to know exactly where to stop the slide in proper contact with the string(s), not relying on the tension of the string to stop it. But when you're still in that mode, heavier, tighter strings and a moderately high action make it a lot easier not to bang into the fretboard all the time.

I use a squier tele for electric slide, I got the local music shop to fix me up with a custom set of strings 13, 20, 28, 38 all unwrapped 48 and 54 for a and e wrapped. The unwrapped strings give you a much clearer sound, don't get the "buzz" you get sliding on wrapped strings. I do have my action raised fairly high. The reason for this is so I can fret behind the slide, a trick I learned from an article by Sonny Landreth.

Teleplayer...I didn't even know you could get plain strings so thick!!!! I'd probably use something like 11's...but see if I could get a custom set with the 3rd and 4th the same gauge, but plain, not wound...anyway that's a really interesting idea, thanks man!!!

I'll try the music shop tomorrow, Dawson's is a pretty good chain...and I think they should know me by now!!!!

Looking like it's going to be the squier tele...in open tuning, I mean...

:D :D :D

Vic

You don't need a really high action for fretting behind the slide, either. Having it up just a little more than "shredders" usually like is good, though. A very arched fretboard and strings (like Fender uses) works against you. You have to have the action a little higher to compensate for that. Don't raise it high enough to throw your intonation way off. I've never heard Sonny Landreth, but fretting behind the slide is a really handy technique. You can play minor chords in a major open tuning, sevenths, sus2s... If you wear your slide on the ring finger, you can use your pinky to comfortably fret one fret in front of the slide. I often use that for a sus4 (which you also could do in a different voicing by fretting two frets behind the bar on a string tuned to the fifth.) You can get an augmented chord this way, too, or a sixth by going two frets up. On the very rare occasions when I want a chord like that (I mostly play straight blues), I usually get the slide out of the way and fret. Bottleneck's best done with a good bit of simple fretting mixed in with the sliding, IMO. That's why I don't want a sky-high action. Lap style's another matter.

Hey teleplayer, it's a matter of personal taste, but I'll disagree with you over the plain strings having the advantage of not getting the "buzz" you get from plain roundwound strings. I think that's part of the sound you're supposed to get with slide guitar, and I'd miss it if it were gone. Also, keeping slide vibrato going with roundwound strings constantly excites them in a similar manner to a bowed violin string. You get infinite "sustain" that way, as long as you want it. Lots of players do prefer the tone of a plain third string (because it's pulled to a higher tension than an equal-sized wound string at the same pitch.) Most folks don't like the tone of flatwound strings (which also don't make as much "scraping" noise as roundwounds.)

You do have to watch the total string tension on the neck when using heavier-than-standard strings. Lots of electrics have pretty skinny necks! The tunings you plan to use will heavily affect your string gauge choices.

D'Addario's got a string tension calculator on their website that can help you stay out of trouble.

It's funny, I like the "buzz" on acoustic slide but don't like it on electric. I had the guy who does my setups setup up this guitar for the heavier strings so all is well with it

aaaaargh........now I'm getting confused!!!!

Plan A was to decide which guitar to keep for slide...I think that's decided, it's going to be the Squier Tele....and keep it in open G (hey, I like open G, you still have the 2nd 3rd and 4th strings tuned the same...and you can play a nice 12-bar boogie riff with 2-3 fingers...full barre at any fret, up two frets on the 5th string for a 6th chord, up one fret higher for a 7th chord...)

Part two of plan A was to put 10's on instead of 9's, but still with a plain G string....all my acoustics and electrics wear D'Addario 9's....I'm used to them, and I like them....

Maybe....if i used 11's with a plain 3rd (G) string? Seems to me, everyone is advocating, the heavier the strings, the better the sound...for slide, anyway?

Vic

You can do fine with a plain set of 11s. (Lately I've been doing my electric sliding with a plain set of 10s and stock setup.)

Alot I think, and this is just my opinion, depends on how heavy a slide you use. I use a really heavy brass slide most of the time so I use heavier strings and setthe action higher to compensate, but I use heavier stings in general on all my guitars from what I see mose folks here using. I've played my brother in laws LP which is strung with 9's using a light pyrex slide and it works fine.
Alot of it Vic, isn't hard and fast rules, it's finding what sound you like. You will find higher action will help at first to get a good sound, but as you get more comfortable with the slide you use whether it's glass, brass or an old steakbone and develop more control with it you will find you can slide on guitars with low action just as easy.

You're right, Tele, heavy strings and heavy slides go together well, and it's easier playing on light strings with a light slide. A too-light slide will bounce off of a heavy vibrating string and buzz. I've been disappointed that I can't make my JetSlide work well with my reso for this reason. It's strictly for light electric strings. (Basically for standard tuning fretters who want to throw in a slide solo now and then.)