What Kind of slide do you use?

I get all my bottlenecks from Diamond Bottlenecks,- I've always loved glass bottlenecks, and DB's are the best I've come across so far. For me, glass bottlenecks just feel and sound right and DB has been great to deal with, going that extra mile to provide me with exactly what I'm looking for.

My favorite overall is a Diamond Ultimate that Ian had made to my preferred dimensions and color (red.) It's of a perfect size and weight, with a very slick finish, and is just a joy to play with and sounds great for most sorts of sliding. For loud crash-bang playing, you can't beat a Craftsman deep socket, sized to fit your finger, the sort that has the smooth chrome finish all over with the size laser-etched in a patch on one side that you can keep turned away from the strings. I also love my old reliable Dunlop #224 large heavy brass slide and my Bigheart Bronze Bomber, especially for playing on heavy gauge strings. And it's great fun to cut your own wine bottle necks and play with them! They're often curved nicely to fit the arch of the strings on a guitar with arched fretboard and strings, which can be handy.

Depends upon the guitar type, strings and sound I'm after. For generic electric - country, rock and blues - plain, "vanilla" stainless from Dunlop usually does fine for me. There is a slighty smaller sized version I favor. It's somewhere between the most "popular" size and the tiny pinky slide. If the electric has light gauge strings (9's or lower) and/or very low action, I may use a lighter mass (e.g., glass) slide to better control fret chatter. But I prefer medium to heavy strings (and tension) with slightly higher action for slide playing. That allows use of a heavier slide for a thicker tone, more sustain and helps me get to more "liquid" sound for some tunes. Going lighter on strings and slide produces a thinner tone -- good for high register country fills.

For acoustic, in addition to the standard chrome, I will use Dunlop brass, a Mudd Slide (thick ceramic) and occasionally generic glass.

I also own, but rarely use a Coricidan bottle (a real one, found somewhere in my parents house) and a short ultra-thick and heavy chromed piece -- too little mass, and too much mass, respectively.

glass is good then is it? i have Never used a glass one, i have a perspex but i think a steel one sounded better.

Glass is good. Perspex won't give you much sustain.

Glass is enough of a standard that we call it "bottleneck guitar," after all.

Thanks again for all the kind words guys :wink: . Hey hydeparkhaz - we have a Diamond Bottlenecks dealer selling our glass slides in your hometown! If you check out 'Vintage Guitar' in Brideswell Alley, Norwich (say 'Allo to Séamus from me :D ) they have a nice little selection of 'Redhouse' slides in the shop for folks to try out.

....and i think you meant a Pyrex slide - not Perspex :wink:

Thanks again guys - and Slide On!

Ian.

Yes, Pyrex is quite common and works fairly well. There actually are Perspex ones out there, though the maker I'm familiar with doesn't use that term, he calls them "cast acrylic." They work better than I expected, but they are short on sustain.

Mine is solid brass. Forged by a friend of mine. It weighs a ton (sort of) and sounds very thick.

I bought one of these for when I finally start to learn slide :?: :

http://www.music123.com/BigHeart-Robert-Johnson-Legacy-Bronze-Slide-363040-i1130334.Music123

It was kind of spur-of-the-moment because it looked so good with its leather bag. :oops:

I play rock on my slide so i prefer a heavy metal such as brass or chrome, glass is too sweet for me

2" Dunlop with about 3/16 wall...Pyrex.

I use it for acoustic & electric.

I have all kinds of slides around depending on which guitar I am playing.

My favorite is a Diamond Bottlenecks glass slide made from a wine bottle. Fits well, and sounds great.

I have a Rock Slide, which is OK, I have a very heavy brass Dunlop slide with a lighter slide inside it as a shim, which sounds superb but makes your hand ache after a while.

I also have a brass radiused slide which I use on my electrics, and also I cut down a Chrome Vanadium socket for a different tonality.

glass or brass, home-made or dunlop, depends on the tone i'm trying to get, guitar etc.

I have three,a Dunlop pyrex,a brass slide and a bottle slide.I use what ever works.