Bone slides

[Richard]

I was asked by someone from foreign climes to enquire if anyone here knew of, or even used, bone as a slide material and what the results were as regards tone, wear, etc etc - I thought it might make any intersting post anyway.

I'll stick to glass myself as a pinkie up a cow's ulna would probably result in knocking oneself out.

Ian, as you are the slide man...?

[Michael Messer]

Hi Richard,

I have a couple of bone slides, they were made for me by Mike Lewis (Fine Resophonic) back in the early 90s. They are nice to have and useful for demonstrating what a bone slide sounds like, but the tone is not great. These days we have higher expectations of what a slide should sound like and we are not happy with a thin copper tube or a piece of bone. This is not because we are more sophisticated (although it does come into it), but because we record ourselves on better equipment and generally use better instruments.

I do think however, that we have become too fussy & sophisticated about the tools we use to play folk music.

Shine On,
Michael.

[Larry Conrad]

I saw Roy Book Binder recently, and he used a bone slide for a few numbers. It sounded fine to me, but that was in a small club. RBB said he has had that slide since the 60s.

I liked Michael's comment about things getting too sophisticated. When I was a kid all I ever saw were pieces of pipe sawed off with the rough edges ground down, then later on bottle necks, glass pill bottles, and so forth. Didn't John Jackson use a piece of pen knife or something like that?

Last time I was in the States I showed my Dad the various odds and bits like we all accumulate in the slide department, and he was very interested, but amused that anyone would actually buy a slide (as opposed to a "steel" - his term for the bar for lap style). I asked whats the problem, and his answer was well, isn't it a bit like going out and buying a tire swing or taking your car to a carwash? I had to think about that one a bit!

[Ian McWee]

Nope, sorry Richard - i have to hold my hands up here & confess to never using - or even having the chance to hold - a bone slide But....the caretaker of the school where i work is a master butcher by trade though...i may just ask what he can scrounge from the waste bins....

Slide On!

Ian.

www.diamondbottlenecks.com

[snakehips]

Hi there !

Problem with bone is it wears down too fast.
If you are after real tone but want durability - what you want is tooth !

Perhaps human teeth would be too small, but perhaps a tiger tooth or something ? Real mojo value if the tiger was caught with your bare hands and the tooth extracted there and then.

I wonder what type of tooth might give the best tone ?
Root canal'd or not ?
You get my drift ?

Got to stop bringing my work home with me.
(not tigers ! I do humans !)

[Richard]

Thanks folks, I shall pass the info on - or, better still I'll get him to join!

As regards using some teeth, that sounds very sensible as playing lap one could do some pretty fancy slants with two roots orff a big molar

Ian, we could be onto something here.... even if it was only supplying the glass jar into which the aforsaid chopper lived every night

[snakehips]

Hi again !

It would bring new meaning to "playing with your teeth" !!!

[Alan]

Why would anyone want bone?

What next ? Toe Nail

I think glass is fine...