Slide guitar

I use my Tele for slide. The action is just a bit on the high side, but not like a dobro or anything.

I use 11s on this guitar (10's on all the others).


I prefer open tunings for slide. You can play slide with standard tuning but in a much more limited way.



or

Slide guitars some have a resonator-

Here we have a picture of a guitar which is usually used for slide guitar. These are sometimes called "Slide Guitars"
Presently however this one is set up for "normal" playing.

:smile:When people ask me what it is I say "It's a rare, "Chevy Dope"---Bro!".

If I wish to slide I use an extension nut which is like a big hollow nut which is placed over the reglar one. This raises the string to allow for better bending and much more emotive playing style.
This one is an electric guitar but it can be recorded with close miking. It is not as loud as a normal one but usable acoustically and the metal imparts a certain quality which is appealing to some.
Most are designed for acoustic style and have a aluminum resonator to increase the volume. Famous Brands may be Dobro, National, Regal and many others.

They originated to try and over come the horn section I think, they wanted it loud.
For further info search "Dobro, or Hawiian Steel guitar or Resonator...

I hope this helps to answer your question, at least in one area.

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Coustfan'01 said:

Ok , I know absolutely nothing at all about slide guitar , so these questions may sound dumb .

Can you play slide guitar on a "normal" electric , or is it necesary to have big strings and high actions ? Where should I start , just buy a slide and mess around or there's some things I need to know ?

Click to expand...

You certainly can play on a normal electric. (as has been said in other replies). I for one played in normal tuning and with my normal action for years. Then about 20 years ago I got more "into" it and needed to expand my horizons. I started playing in open tunings G,E,D and C and had slide dedicated guitars with high action and very heavy strings. I can't say one is better than the other. And you certainly don't need to have a slide dedicated guitar to learn and enjoy it. As mentioned before, in one band (The Allman Bros.) you have one great slide player (Warren Haynes) that plays in standard tuning and another great slide player (Derek Trucks) that plays almost exclusively in open E. They are both absolutely valid ways of playing slide.

Gawd... back in the late eighties when I was playing with Cindy and The Slammers. I used to take one guitar tuned to E, one tuned to C, one tuned to G, a double neck lap steel with one tuned to E6 and one tuned to G and then of course a standard tuning with a backup to that. I was a bit obsessive to say the least. But damn....I had fun.

Depending on the gig, I now usually will take one dedicated slide guitar. I bought a very cool bridge from Hipshot called trilogy bridge. This gives me three different set tunings. So with the flick of some levers, I can go from open E to open G to open D. I have reasonably heavy strings (13-60) on it. The action is highish, but I can still fret behind the slide and play without the slide if I choose to. Here is a picture.



At any rate, Go out buy a slide, find some music with slide that you like and/or find a book that will give you some guideance. Playing slide is a LOT of fun