Guitar slide textures

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have seen a LOT of different slides out there, and all of them have a relatively smooth texture. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen- and hopefully TRIED- a slide with a rough surface texture?

[Caevan O’Shite]

I have seen a LOT of different slides out there, and all of them have a relatively smooth texture. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen- and hopefully TRIED- a slide with a rough surface texture?

 

Traditional, old-fashioned bone slides tend to be pretty rough in texture over some or all of their surfaces. Traditional, old-fashioned glass bottleneck slides can vary, and some may be a little rougher in texture than others. Traditional glass bottleneck slides also sometimes have a seam-line in the glass, that may offer a rougher textured surface, as well.

 

Personally, I tend to like slides to be very smooth, capable of almost silently gliding across the strings if deliberately done with care.

 

I do have a couple of ebony slides; "West African Crelicam⢠Ebony" (named for the company that oversees and distributes the ebony used, see more below*), carried by Taylor and Thalia.

 

While these ebony slides are highly polished, being wood, there is an inherent texture that makes them just a little rougher and less silent than typical glass, ceramic, or metal slides. They're also light and being wood, they offer less sustain than most other slides do, as well- which partially negates any string-sound that their subtle texture might induce. I like them, they're just the thing when a little somethin' 'different' seems called for, yielding what I'd describe as a dry but warm tone with a subtle bloom that's over almost before it starts. Really nice on the top three or four strings with plain 1st and 2nd and flat-wound 3rd and 4th and on; sometimes a little lacking on the low 5th and 6th, being so light in mass and sustain- and sometimes, alright there, as well.

 

 

Now... Many years ago, Martin Simpson showed me a metal slide that machinist friend had made for him. It was quite large in diameter- VERY large- and fairly heavy; I don't recall what exactly it was made from. If I remember correctly, one side was highly polished to a mirror-smooth surface, and the other- or, perhaps the entire slide surface, 's been over thirty years- had uniformly straight micro-grooves from end to end, perhaps spiraling, so that he could agitate the strings to whirring and scraping sounds as he pleased. This also allowed him to sustain notes and chords on an acoustic guitar far longer than usual.

 

(He currently has some rather highfalutin, but completely smooth-polished signature-model slides produced by Wolfram in England, made of high-end materials like coated steel or solid tungsten carbide.)

 

 

* "Crelicam⢠is an international supplier of ebony, and yet much more. Located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, our company has set a new standard of socially and environmentally responsible business around the country"s forest resources. We are committed to cultivating a better future within Cameroon by producing high-quality ebony products at our factory, and by supporting scientific research and replanting efforts that help safeguard Cameroon"s forest resources."

[KuruPrionz]

Buy a smooth brass slide. Buy several grits of sandpaper, maybe 80-120-150-180-220. Start with 220 and sand part of the slide so that the sanding marks will be vertical or perpendicular to the strings.

If you like that, you are done. If you want a rougher texture, try the 180 and on down the line until you find the texture you like.

 

You can sand glass but it's slow going and will take more sandpaper since it's harder. Chrome should work but may start flaking around the edges.

 

My favorite slide is a Shubb with the rounded nose. It's designed for lap steel, you place it in between your fingers rather than wear it like a bottleneck style. It's smooth. I rarely play slide live, more of a studio thing for me.

 

Some beer bottles are rough, it's an old bar band trick to get an empty beer off someone's table and play slide with it by holding the neck above the strings and hanging the body of the bottle down onto the strings. Done it many times, a popular stunt. Doesn't seem to matter if you are just pretty ok at beer bottle slide but save it for later in the evening so your audience has "adjusted" their temperament.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Buy a smooth brass slide. Buy several grits of sandpaper, maybe 80-120-150-180-220. Start with 220 and sand part of the slide so that the sanding marks will be vertical or perpendicular to the strings.

If you like that, you are done. If you want a rougher texture, try the 180 and on down the line until you find the texture you like.

 

Good call.

 

Some beer bottles are rough, it's an old bar band trick to get an empty beer off someone's table and play slide with it by holding the neck above the strings and hanging the body of the bottle down onto the strings. Done it many times, a popular stunt. Doesn't seem to matter if you are just pretty ok at beer bottle slide but save it for later in the evening so your audience has "adjusted" their temperament.

 

Haahh! Yeah, that tends to go over very well, and it doesn't have to be a virtuoso performance to get 'em to like that. Hehhehhehh... What would you call that state of audience pitch-perception, 'filtered temperament'... ?

[Scott Fraser]

Some beer bottles are rough, it's an old bar band trick to get an empty beer off someone's table and play slide with it by holding the neck above the strings and hanging the body of the bottle down onto the strings. Done it many times, a popular stunt. Doesn't seem to matter if you are just pretty ok at beer bottle slide but save it for later in the evening so your audience has "adjusted" their temperament.

 

A Danny Gatton trick!

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here"s what"s going on: I"m thinking about using a rougher slide on the pinky of my picking hand for a technique that should produce a staccato bowing effect.

 

I"ve done this 'bowing' technique with some of my picks, usually with one of my stone ones which- even polished- sem to have a bit more texture on their edges than do others. The result is not like a pick slide, but an almostâ¦throbbing effect.

 

But (of course) I can only do 1-2 strings at a time.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Here"s what"s going on: I"m thinking about using a rougher slide on the pinky of my picking hand for a technique that should produce a staccato bowing effect.

 

I"ve done this 'bowing' technique with some of my picks, usually with one of my stone ones which- even polished- sem to have a bit more texture on their edges than do others. The result is not like a pick slide, but an almostâ¦throbbing effect.

 

But (of course) I can only do 1-2 strings at a time.

 

I wonder how it'd work out for you, if you took one of the various 'slide-ring' type slides that are out there, and roughed it up?

[Scott Fraser]

I have a river rock, a flat oval about 1.5" x 2" that I use in my picking hand for that sort of thing. It's been polished by being in a river, but still has plenty of texture for bowing & is rounded enough to be able to hit up to 3 strings at a time. Of course, I have to hold it, as opposed to it being attached to a finger, so I can't pick & use it simultaneously.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I"m thinking about using a rougher slide on the pinky of my picking hand for a technique that should produce a staccato bowing effect...

 

You might want to look at the Black Mountain Slide Ring, the Jetslide, the SlideWinder Ring, the Peaceland Guitar Ring; I'm sure there are others...

 

One of these, with a little surface-texturing treatment, might be just the thing for you there; might be even better than a conventional slide.

[KuruPrionz]

Some beer bottles are rough, it's an old bar band trick to get an empty beer off someone's table and play slide with it by holding the neck above the strings and hanging the body of the bottle down onto the strings. Done it many times, a popular stunt. Doesn't seem to matter if you are just pretty ok at beer bottle slide but save it for later in the evening so your audience has "adjusted" their temperament.

 

A Danny Gatton trick!

 

I'm guessing more of a Charley Patton trick, young Danny was not alive and kicking the first time somebody did that.

I know I had no idea who Danny Gatton even was the first time I saw it done. That would have been about 50 years ago and I'm sure it was old then.

 

Still works every time.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Still works every time.

 

[Scott Fraser]

I'm guessing more of a Charley Patton trick, young Danny was not alive and kicking the first time somebody did that.

I know I had no idea who Danny Gatton even was the first time I saw it done. That would have been about 50 years ago and I'm sure it was old then.

Still works every time.

 

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks Scott, that's awesome!

I never meant to imply that Danny Gatton was not an absolute monster guitarist and one hell of a showman.

 

He is, truly one of the greats.

 

Considering the origin of the term "bottleneck" as a style of guitar playing, it seems unlikely that Danny originated it.

And you probably weren't implying that either so I jumped to a conclusion. Ah... forums... so it goes. Meanwhile, here's a jam with Danny Gatton, Albert Lee and Vince Gill. Shredders shredding shredders.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I"m thinking about using a rougher slide on the pinky of my picking hand for a technique that should produce a staccato bowing effect...

 

You might want to look at the Black Mountain Slide Ring, the Jetslide, the SlideWinder Ring, the Peaceland Guitar Ring; I'm sure there are others...

 

One of these, with a little surface-texturing treatment, might be just the thing for you there; might be even better than a conventional slide.

 

I was hoping there was just one I missed out there, and hadn"t thought of modifying anything yet, but those could be prime candidates.

 

Soâ¦any suggestions on HOW to rough up something like this? (Keep in mind I"m a klutz, so I"d be using hand-tools only.)

[KuruPrionz]

I"m thinking about using a rougher slide on the pinky of my picking hand for a technique that should produce a staccato bowing effect...

 

You might want to look at the Black Mountain Slide Ring, the Jetslide, the SlideWinder Ring, the Peaceland Guitar Ring; I'm sure there are others...

 

One of these, with a little surface-texturing treatment, might be just the thing for you there; might be even better than a conventional slide.

 

I was hoping there was just one I missed out there, and hadn"t thought of modifying anything yet, but those could be prime candidates.

 

Soâ¦any suggestions on HOW to rough up something like this? (Keep in mind I"m a klutz, so I"d be using hand-tools only.)

 

Read my post above regarding sandpaper and which grits to use.

[Sharkman]

Some years back I had a friend make me a slide on his metal lathe. I thought he was going to use stainless steel, but he used a piece of aluminum instead. The guitar strings, being a little bit harder than the aluminum, scratched up the surface of the slide, producing the effect that Dannyalcatraz is talking about. I'm pretty sure that slide is still around here somewhere.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Read my post above regarding sandpaper and which grits to use.

Missed that!

[hurricane hugo]

There has to be a hardware store solution for this. Something like those pieces of tubing that one uses to connect pieces of chain link fence rods, but smaller maybe? Hell, you could try super-gluing some metal washers together or some crap like that.

[Sharkman]

If you are going to make or have a slide made for you, the first thing you do is go to a bowling pro shop and try out those plastic sleeves on your slide finger to determine the proper inside diameter. The slide has to be tight enough to stay on your finger, but loose enough to put it on and take it off with ease (and without any messy lubricants). Once you know the right size, then you either make one, or have somebody make it for you. If you have somebody make it, be sure you are very specific about the inside and outside diameters, the length, and what material is to be used. My personal choice would be 416 stainless steel with a bead blast finish.

[Caevan O’Shite]

If you are going to make or have a slide made for you, the first thing you do is go to a bowling pro shop and try out those plastic sleeves on your slide finger to determine the proper inside diameter. The slide has to be tight enough to stay on your finger, but loose enough to put it on and take it off with ease (and without any messy lubricants). Once you know the right size, then you either make one, or have somebody make it for you. If you have somebody make it, be sure you are very specific about the inside and outside diameters, the length, and what material is to be used. My personal choice would be 416 stainless steel with a bead blast finish.

 

Good points! Although the possibility of anyone's using "lubricants" inside a slide had never occurred to me...

 

Soâ¦any suggestions on HOW to rough up something like this? (Keep in mind I"m a klutz, so I"d be using hand-tools only.)

 

Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!

 

 

I was hoping there was just one I missed out there, and hadn"t thought of modifying anything yet, but those could be prime candidates.

 

Hmmm, you might also check out, and maybe contact the good peeps at:

 

BigHeart Slides

 

Perhaps particularly about their BoneyFingers slide offerings:

 

BigHeart BoneyFingers Slides

 

Note that all of their "Porcelain Slides are available as Custom Orders only"- which could be to your advantage here. And their prices seem to be pretty reasonable!

 

From their site:

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you are going to make or have a slide made for you, the first thing you do is go to a bowling pro shop and try out those plastic sleeves on your slide finger to determine the proper inside diameter. The slide has to be tight enough to stay on your finger, but loose enough to put it on and take it off with ease (and without any messy lubricants). Once you know the right size, then you either make one, or have somebody make it for you. If you have somebody make it, be sure you are very specific about the inside and outside diameters, the length, and what material is to be used. My personal choice would be 416 stainless steel with a bead blast finish.

 

 

As a lifetime bowler, I know whereof you speak. I actually have bowler"s tape for my gear, and use it for those slides that I find are slightly too large (after I lose weight for whatever reason).

 

Another potential solution is to check in with one of my jeweler buddies.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Caev, I forgot about those Boneyfingers!

 

Right now, I"m thinking either a custom porcelain, stone or the Jetslide are the best options for giving me the full-length required to cover all 6 strings simultaneously.