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Post by lonelyjelly on Sept 30, 2022 8:14:36 GMT
"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." - M. Messer
I knew it! 😬
On a "serious note" I find anything beyond 60mm on my pinky is a bit cumbersome and unnecessary but as all the above have said that's just an opinion and it is worth trying a few different sizes and finding what suits you best. Which finger you use can make a big difference of course.
The nice thing with clever folk like Ian McWee and Ben Burrow is that you can always start a bit longer and then if it's too long ask them to shorten the slide for you. A bit more economic than buying lots and lots of slides like some pillock we all know 😳🤪 "who me?!!"
All the very best
Lew
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Post by slide496 on Sept 30, 2022 8:56:41 GMT
Thanks for the comments on flexibility which is the camp I am in, though interesting to read the reasoning of those players who are somewhat set on one way or length and what they look for in a slide.
I use different brands of slides, different lengths, both pinky and ring finger depending on song and have learned that for my acoustic woodbody parlors I might need to revisit choices when the humidity changes. Pigment coloring is something I pay attention to and as I believe the density of the pigment material and color influence the sound.
It might detract from the sound but most of my slides I use either moleskin or a bit of paper towel rolled up to keep a firm position as I don't want my finger joints to contact with the wall of the slide for the extended time I practice or to keep the finger crooked as the main way for anchoring despite the control if offers - I think its different risk with my small fingers.
Harriet
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Post by kim on Sept 30, 2022 13:18:07 GMT
I followed snakehips advice and I cut a silver Dunlop and a brass slide I had down to 5.5cm, I like the logic of 10mm roughly half of the pinky pad sticking out the end, that idea makes a bit of sense mechanically to me, so after cutting the Dunlop and a brass slide, I super polished with a mesh polishing kit from amazon 1500 grit to 12,000, get it here its class for anything even glass that has scratches- www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003RTABUK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1I could not believe the finish I got using the 9 sheets from 1500 to 12000, I then decided to use it on a glass slide to polish it up as well. The results I got were amazing, now not sure if it was all the polishing or the shorter length, or a combination of the two, personally I think it was the polishing alone. The result to me was the sound was much warmer, louder, and the tone seemed nicer, maybe when a slide loses its sheen that this might effect the tone and volume. Now I'm only new to slide playing but it now seems I'm much better at doing it and it sounds fab. So any advantage I can get mechanically at this early stage of my practice is a bonus. I wish I had recorded the differences, but I never thought the difference would be this vast an improvement. regards Kim
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Post by Stevie on Oct 1, 2022 8:25:51 GMT
I think everyone knows I'm the last person to come to for advice, so I'm going to restrict myself to indicating my own conclusions. I learned from one of my two MM videos about using the slide on the ring finger and I immediately found that I agreed with him, it affords better note precision, particularly with damping, but it comes at the cost (for me) of reduced flexibility in "reach" and also what I can do with the other three fingers which is in agreement with Richard's comment about individual digit independence. After those videos, I now routinely swap from one finger to the other depending upon what I'm trying to play. (Emphasis on the words play and trying!) I know it's a subjective thing but I also concur with Richard regarding crooking the finger in the slide. Also, whilst I know when a slide is too long or too short, I don't think too much about length of the slide, and frankly provided a glass slide has some heft to it I'm not too worried about whether it's fashioned from glass or metal. I reckon 40-odd years in factories with non-stop banging and constantly leaking airlines put paid to the discernment of what are for myself subtle niceties, but that said, I CAN hear many things down in other noise (like the alarm on the cooker or washing machine in the kitchen when someone here has The Archers on the wireless in the sitting room. I put that down to decades of listening to morse code radio transmissions so I can't be that badly affected. The best advice has already been provided repeatedly by others which is that experimentation is the key.
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by pete1951 on Oct 1, 2022 9:24:32 GMT
Remember the first Rule of Slide Club.....
There are no rules!
Pete
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Post by tomgiemza on Oct 3, 2022 20:09:46 GMT
I'm just a humble amateur, but here's my 2 cents. I use bottleneck slides and I never bought any slide. Since I play slide, I have a habit of putting my finger into every bottle of wine (or something else) after finishing it. When I think it'll do, I keep the bottle. Then I cut it (with cotton thread and kerosene). it's fun. Every slide have a different feel and sound. My go-to slides are the ones from Primitivo wine bottles (thick glass). Lately I made a slide from the bottle of georgian brandy and I like it much. I guess it's not a preferable way of obtaining a slide for non-drinkers
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Post by tokyo on Oct 3, 2022 20:48:26 GMT
Thery are ok Tom but lately I have found certain Prosseco bottles are great heavy wall and the devil to cut and polish but well worth the effort.Regards
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 3, 2022 22:15:21 GMT
My late friend Louisiana Red was a slide fanatic. I remember one evening after a show while checking into a hotel, Red noticed a glass candlestick on display in a glass cabinet. He asked the receptionist “could I try on the candlestick please?” And then was offering her money for it. The poor girl was rather confused and became even more worried when Red suggested I try it on, which of course I did, exclaiming “it’s perfect!”.
Great memories of my dear late friend. Red would tell people that we were Slide-ologists!
Shine On Michael
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