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Post by littlebobby on Aug 20, 2022 15:10:36 GMT
Up to now only ever used cheap slides and decided it’s time to look into quality ones. I have skinny fingers and I’m struggling to figure out whether the sizes (S-M-L etc) refer to length or the internal size? Also, any suggestions of brands? I’ve heard diamond are the business
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Post by Michael Messer on Aug 20, 2022 15:17:45 GMT
Hi little bobby, You really need to try a few to find out exactly what feels right for you. Everyone has their preferences for how they wear them and their fit. My advice would be to call Ian McWee at Diamond Bottlenecks and have a chat with him. Diamond Bottlenecks are glass and are completely different to steel, brass and German silver. Start with a couple of glass ones and see how they feel. You can't go wrong with Ian's Redhouse with rolled round edges. After that, well you have to try them. www.diamondbottlenecks.com/TheRedhouse.htmlHave fun, Shine On Michael |
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Post by littlebobby on Aug 20, 2022 15:43:28 GMT
Top man. Thank you.
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Post by bonzo on Aug 20, 2022 16:03:37 GMT
As MM sez Ian is the go to man for glass slides, but keep an eye out for lonely jelly's posts on tin can alley, he knows slides inside out (literally)!
But be warned, slide collecting is a slippery slope.😉😊
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Post by snakehips on Aug 20, 2022 17:14:45 GMT
Hi there !
I’m gonna write down my take on slides for you - take any parts you like :
1. Don’t worry if you have skinny fingers -
Choose a slide with decent size internal diameter larger than your finger.
This way you have room to bend your knuckles inside the slide - and have an active grip on 3 points inside the slide : finger tip pad, the outside side of your big knuckle (where you’d normally push a ring past), and the palm side innermost finger pad.
I feel it’s easier to hold & control a slide this way.
I advise not wearing a slide all the way up your finger as far as it goes - let it sit on the finger pad (palm side) just inwards from the
2nd knuckle a ring usually goes past - AND bend that knuckle !
This bend already brings the slide around the guitar neck to sit over the fretboard, without you having to bend your wrist much.
The back of your hand faces down towards the floor.
It’s requires more of a wrist bend to get the slide onto the strings IF the slide is right “up to the hilt” of your finger (and the back of your hand faces your audience.
I broke my left wrist 2yrs ago and never realised until then how much you have to bend your wrist to fret a guitar (and play slide), until I tried to play guitar again. That inner knuckle bend makes everything so much easier. I was able to play slide again, way before I could fret the strings with my fingers. I still can’t bend my left wrist inwards as much as my right wrist - and would probably still struggle to play slide if I put the slide “up to the hilt” of my finger and relied on bending my wrist.
3. Slide dimensions ? I’m always amazed how many people have slides way longer than the width of a fretboard.
Any extra length not needed is gonna be more cumbersome and sticks out beyond your finger - so more of the overall slide weight is dangling off the end of your finger taking the centre of gravity, if you will, further off your finger) risking it flying off and smashing - and may be why some people prefer metal sides (that don’t shatter!).
I think 5cm long for electric guitars and 5.5cm long for acoustic resonator guitars is all that is needed.
4. Sure, it’s fun to try out all sorts of slides - but if money is a limiting factor, cut out wasting money (trying slides that might be just OK) and go straight for a Diamond Bottleneck.
Some people believe the heavier the slide the better the tone (so many favour thick metal slides. I think heavy metal slides make fast movements (eg. Vibrato) quiet difficult.
I personally believe the larger the external diameter, the better the tone. Thick-walled glass gives large external diameter, but no where near as heavy as metal. And if not too long (eg. Less than 6cm long, you het the best of all the parameters.
I thoroughly recommend Ian McWee’s Diamond Bottlenecks - specifically the German glass slides
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Post by snakehips on Aug 20, 2022 20:44:16 GMT
Oh, and which finger should you put your slide onto ?
Well, everyone has their own opinion of this too - and you will find many famous/good players for each finger.
Me - I much prefer my pinky.
I can do the finger-bend-to-hold-the-slide with my pinky yet all my other 3 fingers are less affected by what my pinky does.
Try this - stick a slide on a finger - and try to touch the strings with the slide but keep the other fingers from touching the strings. Now, with the slide still on the same finger, lift the slide off the strings and see how easily you can fret with other fingers without the slide accidentally being lowered and touching the slide onto the strings ?
Try this again and again, with the slide on another finger each time.
Some fingers are “linked” to other fingers more than other fingers.
I find having my slide on my pinky is easier to keep off the strings when fretting with my other fingers, and can control my other fingers better when using the slide.
NB. This is with the slide NOT up to the hilt.
I imagine it’s even more difficult with the slide all the way up whatever finger you are using !
Happy for you if this isn’t the case for you !
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Post by Ian McWee on Aug 22, 2022 13:03:00 GMT
Hi littlebobby!
Lots of useful information here from the guys ~ please feel free to drop me a line & I'll be most happy to help you in your search.
The S.M.L sizes referred to by pretty much all of the commercial big boys are internal diameters ~ but even those differ slightly from company to company.
Slide On!
The Flaschenmeister.
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Post by littlebobby on Aug 23, 2022 6:38:05 GMT
Hi littlebobby! Lots of useful information here from the guys ~ please feel free to drop me a line & I'll be most happy to help you in your search. The S.M.L sizes referred to by pretty much all of the commercial big boys are internal diameters ~ but even those differ slightly from company to company. Slide On! The Flaschenmeister. PM incoming. |
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Post by kim on Sept 29, 2022 13:55:41 GMT
Hi there ! I’m gonna write down my take on slides for you - take any parts you like : 1. Don’t worry if you have skinny fingers - Choose a slide with decent size internal diameter larger than your finger. This way you have room to bend your knuckles inside the slide - and have an active grip on 3 points inside the slide : finger tip pad, the outside side of your big knuckle (where you’d normally push a ring past), and the palm side innermost finger pad. I feel it’s easier to hold & control a slide this way. I advise not wearing a slide all the way up your finger as far as it goes - let it sit on the finger pad (palm side) just inwards from the 2nd knuckle a ring usually goes past - AND bend that knuckle ! This bend already brings the slide around the guitar neck to sit over the fretboard, without you having to bend your wrist much. The back of your hand faces down towards the floor. It’s requires more of a wrist bend to get the slide onto the strings IF the slide is right “up to the hilt” of your finger (and the back of your hand faces your audience. I broke my left wrist 2yrs ago and never realised until then how much you have to bend your wrist to fret a guitar (and play slide), until I tried to play guitar again. That inner knuckle bend makes everything so much easier. I was able to play slide again, way before I could fret the strings with my fingers. I still can’t bend my left wrist inwards as much as my right wrist - and would probably still struggle to play slide if I put the slide “up to the hilt” of my finger and relied on bending my wrist. 3. Slide dimensions ? I’m always amazed how many people have slides way longer than the width of a fretboard. Any extra length not needed is gonna be more cumbersome and sticks out beyond your finger - so more of the overall slide weight is dangling off the end of your finger taking the centre of gravity, if you will, further off your finger) risking it flying off and smashing - and may be why some people prefer metal sides (that don’t shatter!). I think 5cm long for electric guitars and 5.5cm long for acoustic resonator guitars is all that is needed. 4. Sure, it’s fun to try out all sorts of slides - but if money is a limiting factor, cut out wasting money (trying slides that might be just OK) and go straight for a Diamond Bottleneck. Some people believe the heavier the slide the better the tone (so many favour thick metal slides. I think heavy metal slides make fast movements (eg. Vibrato) quiet difficult. I personally believe the larger the external diameter, the better the tone. Thick-walled glass gives large external diameter, but no where near as heavy as metal. And if not too long (eg. Less than 6cm long, you het the best of all the parameters. I thoroughly recommend Ian McWee’s Diamond Bottlenecks - specifically the German glass slides |
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Post by kim on Sept 29, 2022 14:03:46 GMT
@ snakehips that's a great bit of technical info on slides, thanks,
Most of my commercially bought slides like Dunlop etc all are 6cm long, do you think I should cut them
down to 5.5cm ? I have been using the 6cm one's and a one glass at 5.5cm, I think your right 6cm
is too much weight for the pinky especially the metal ones, thats it I'm away to get the hack saw out !
best regards Kim
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Post by snakehips on Sept 29, 2022 16:43:16 GMT
Hi Kim !
Don't try cutting glass slides unless you have the right equipment (including water irrigation to keep the glass cool).
You also need polishing equipment to remove sharp edges AND polish it up.
The reason I love Diamond Bottleneck's German Glass slides so much is that something about the type of glass AND the way Ian McWee polishes the playing surface of the slides, feels like molten glass on the guitar strings. Thick-walled ones are heavy enough without being too heavy, especially if not too long (5cm to 5.5cm is perfect, IMHO).
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Post by twang1 on Sept 29, 2022 22:14:37 GMT
Hi there,
yes, Diamond Bottleneck is the way to go, in my opinion, if you are after glass or crystal.
I have two Diamond's Ultimates, with the right internal diameter made for my fingers. They are expensive but worth it.
I ordered them 5 cm long, because that lenght is comfortable for me. That's all I use, but many fellows forumites
here play with a good variety of slides of different material.
Actually, just last week I had a plumber working in my house and I got a 4,5 cm chromed brass piece with a closed top from him, and it sounds fine.
A bit short but very usable.
And a slide costs much less then a guitar so...you can experiment! ;-)
Frank
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 30, 2022 0:18:35 GMT
I’m sorry but there are no rules about slides dimensions and to tell someone that a particular length is the way to go, is not right. I have been playing slide professionally for around 45 years and for most of that time I have used a longer and heavier slide than Richard is recommending. I do use glass for certain things and when I do I still tend to use the same dimensions because I can achieve things with that size slide that I can’t achieve with a smaller one.
German silver or solids steel.
Length - 70mm
internal diameter - 22mm
Wall thickness - 3mm
Rounded ends both inside and outside.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by twang1 on Sept 30, 2022 7:23:55 GMT
Michael, you are absolutely right. There are no rules about it and I don't want to give the impression that I was "spreading the gospel truth". Far from it...
The thing is that if I wanted to buy a slide in a shop I'm pretty sure that I would end up with a stainless steel tube, 6 cm long and not very thick.
So what I want to say is that we should experiment and go to the right places (like this one) to gain some good info.
Frank
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 30, 2022 7:52:54 GMT
Michael, you are absolutely right. There are no rules about it and I don't want to give the impression that I was "spreading the gospel truth". Far from it... The thing is that if I wanted to buy a slide in a shop I'm pretty sure that I would end up with a stainless steel tube, 6 cm long and not very thick. So what I want to say is that we should experiment and go to the right places (like this one) to gain some good info. Frank Frank, I agree completely with what you said that people should experiment with slides and try everything, both size, material and which finger to use. I have so many slides and even after all these years I still experiment with different ones just in case I have missed something I should know about. Of course there are certain materials and dimensions that make no sense, but within certain parameters, a developing slide player should try everything going. There was a time before all the current companies that make bespoke and beautiful slides, when the only way was to find a piece of glass or metal tubing and turn it into a slide, and for ten or so years I bought or stole "borrowed 😎" every candle stick, metal tube, wine bottle, bullet cases and bicycle handlebars that I saw. We are all very lucky and we are spoilt that we are living in a time where companies like Diamond Bottlenecks, Daddy Slides, Ben Burrows.. etc are hand making such beautifully crafted tools for us. As well as playing slide every day for too many decades, I have also taught a lot of people. If I include my time teaching at Euro Blues events for thirteen years, Pocklington for twenty years and numerous other one-off masterclasses, seminars and private sessions, I must have taught around a thousand people, maybe more. I have dedicated my life to playing slide guitar. it is not my hobby, it defines who I am. So while I never try to force what tools I use on anyone, I believe that am coming from a position of knowledge and experience on this subject. You have to find out for yourself, it's the only way. Shine On Michael |
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