What makes a good Slide?

[rbrick]

Hi everyone,

I know what you guys are going through.I have a drawer full of unused slides myself.I call it my slide of the month drawer.I have expensive ones(Diamond),cheap ones and everything in between.I have glass ones, metal ones and even one that has both glass and metal.

I went to see a European slide player named Hans Tessink(sp)and asked him about the slide he was using.He said it was a "Chrome Dome",you could find it on the internet.It is a light metal which has a suprisingly big sound.

I havent bought a new slide since and I dont plan to.This one slide takes care of all of my needs.

[andys]

I have used a few different ones, I love the sound of glass slides but they never seem to last. I either drop them and smash or chip them too often. I like brass, I actually like the draggyness of them, and I polish them periodically on a buffing machine. I have a couple of cheap chrome ones, they work ok on thinner strings, but I have just got myself a Rock Slide, which is very comfy, it has a tapered inside, and little flats on the side to rest your other finger(s). I like it, it feels and sounds good, especially for amplified playing.
I would love to find someone who can make a nice solid stainless steel one, now that King Slides are no longer available.

Andy S

[edshred]

This is a very interesting thread.

I started playing slide guitar in a friend's kitchen more than 15 years ago with the back of a kitchen knife on dreadnought acoustic.

Soon after, I very roughly cut the necks off a couple of wine bottles with a sharpening stone, and used them for the next few years. They were really rough, they had scratches all over the faces of the slides, and the ends were rough too. But I played a lot with them.

Then, other things took over, and my playing dropped off, and for many years I hardly tuned my acoustic down to an open tuning. I did however acquire a thin steel slide (too narrow and too light), a pyrex slide (too big and too light) and a heavy brass slide (great tone, a little big, but ok with a bandage on the little finger) in the meantime.

I recently realised that I actually care a lot more about guitar playing than I thought I did, and have bought a resonator guitar and started practicing again. My old slides are not at hand, so I started again with a Dunlop pyrex - very weedy tone. Next step was bottlenecks, and I have about ten at the moment. The funny thing is, you never know how a slide is going to sound and feel until you try it. However much you like the one you are using, the neck on the next bottle could easily sound and feel better. Wine bottles are all slightly different, in weight, density, hardness, straightness of the neck, and internal diameter, so I imagine I will keep on cutting the necks off bottles for the forseeable future, and I reckon that 20% of the bottlenecks I cut are in the 'keeper' category. The others I will just give away to anyone who is interested, I reckon.

My current preference is for a wine bottle neck, cut to about 65mm, straight in profile, which fits fairly snugly on my little finger. Heavier bottles are best, which usually means more expensive wine. For some reason, I find that I've had more success with south american wine bottles; I can't exactly say why though.

One thing I'm curious about how board members who cut their own slides from wine bottles do it; I came up with a fairly reliable method, but I'm curious to see what you guys do.

My method is:
-score a line on the bottleneck where you want to cut it with a glass cutter. I've found that two rings of tape around the neck with a very small gap between them act as a good guide;
-take the tape off, and fill the bottle with boiling water. I always try to warm the bottle up gradually, so as not to crack it where I don't want it cracked, although I have never cracked one yet;
-take an ice cube, hold it firmly, and run it around the neck where you have scored the bottle. Try not to touch too much of the bottle. The idea is to make the hot glass next to the score mark contract, and open a crack in the glass. When you hold the bottle to the light, you will ideally see a tiny crack in the glass where you have scored it;
-empty the bottle, and let it cool. I find for some reason that letting the bottle cool helps with the next next step;
-hold the bottle, and gently knock the neck on something hard like a piece of wood. You may have to do it a few times, but be patient, and keep knocking and turning. The neck should fall off; make sure it can't fall on a hard floor where it could break. About 50% of the time, the break is exactly where the score line was;
-clean up the sharp edges, and round the top edges off with emery paper, in progressive grades. While you are doing this, make sure to mask the sides of the neck with masking tape to prevent scratches;
-start sliding around! I usually just clean the bottleneck up enough to be safe, then try it. I only spend the time really smoothing off the edges if it is going to be a real player.

Any other methods? I suppose an angle grinder would cut a bottleneck off pretty cleanly. Also, what is the best way of polishing glass past the level of smoothness from 800 grade emery paper?

[maxxengland]

I think T-cut or other car body finishing compound is the next step. Personally, I'll stick to my chromed zinc executive toy stand. If I need to replace it, it'll be a trip to a tool supplier and match the finger to a long socket.

And how many of you here have deliberately freaked punters with a genuinely smashed ofo piece of bottleneck? You can't carry it anywhere in your pockets without risk of injury, but it's worth doing it occasionally for the stunned expressions on people's faces.

[toom]

I started with a junior aspirin bottle - the whole bottle, as it was so small. I liked the sound, and even played live as a floor singer with it several times. I heard someone laugh, and say, "Look, he's got a junior aspirin bottle on his finger!" I then changed to a metal one.

[Ian McWee]

Hi edshred.

The angle-grinder method is okay - but the #1 rule is to use a lot of water when glasscutting to cool down the cut...and as health & safety says - remember water + electricity can = death if not used safely .

Before we became 'Diamond Bottlenecks' & moved into our workshop i used to hand-make our bottlenecks in the cellar of 'Slide & Picket' in Worcester (Oh - the memories ) and i always used wet 'n dry emory cloth with grit values up to 1500 G from the Machine Mart depot up the road, then final-polished the shaped cuts with motor-trade quality T-Cut cutting paste as Maxx mentioned earlier...you'll achieve a lovely satin finish using this stuff

Best of luck & if you need any more pointers please drop me a line via our website

Slide On!

Ian.

Diamond Bottlenecks

[Michael Messer]

The most reliable and cowardly method I know, although not so hands on, is to get a good bottle and post it to Diamond Bottlenecks. A few days later you will get a perfect bottleneck delivered to your door

I have made a few over the years, but none of them compare to a properly cut one by a skilled craftsperson.

Shine On,
Michael.

[bluesdude]

Best slide i've found for me is,a piece of shotgun
barrel,10 gauge canadian made goose gun, polished
down good,heavey steel fits my finger perfect,
hard to find though!

Kenny, ;D

[BigBadDom]

Hi,
Yes, I'm with Michael on this one. For not much money you can get a properly cut and polished slide from Diamond Bottlenecks. Mr McWee is a thoroughly nice chap and does a top job.

I was going to resurrect the 'what were you drinking at new year' thread as the bottle of buzet i had the pleasure of imbibing is now my most bestest slide! I'm hoping to post a myspace or youtube clip of this slide and my latest cigar box guitar soon. I've also just wound my first pickup on my heath-robinson diy pickup winder - video of how it works in the pipeline. Been busy - first gig with my band 'The Shambolics' last night ! Err, ok getting off the subject now...

So, if you think you're bottle is a little special, let the pros do the job and send it to Diamond Bottlenecks. For less than a tenner you can get the ultimate slide. I love mine.

Dom

PS - the above is not meant to sound like an advert, it's just my opinion.

[blueshome]

Still got my Red House slide from 1994 bought from S & P in Worcester. Ian polished out a chip a few years ago & it still gets used every day.

[snakehips]

Hi there !

Well, I drop my glass slides all the time ! Bust them often.

How is my new slides order coming along, Ian ?

Post some pics too !

[maxxengland]

Feb 27, 2009 16:05:22 GMT bluesdude said:

Best slide i've found for me is,a piece of shotgun
barrel,10 gauge canadian made goose gun, polished
down good,heavey steel fits my finger perfect,
hard to find though!

Kenny, ;D

I know what shotgun gauges refer to - it's the number of lead balls required to add up to a pound/454g in weight. 16 is a smaller barrel than 12, and 12 is smaller than 10. This 10 gauge goose gun, do you actually put shot in it or just load the goose instead? ;D

[wolvoboy]

I remember going to my local supermarket looking for wine bottles and trying the neck of the bottles next to my finger ,the guy behind the counter thought that i was mad and asked me what i was doing ,when i tried to explain what i wanted it for he was even more confused,i took the bottle over to Ians at Diamond Bottle necks and he sorted it out for me,now i have a great slide with that personal touch,i tried making my own slides but its not the same,get ian to make you one you cant go wrong
wolvoboy

[andys]

Ian made me this one from a wine bottle. Fits my finger well, and sounds lovely. I don't use my other slides as much. Glass is nicer to get a mellower tone IMO, and works better with lower actions.


I also have others. A double skin brass one, which is a Dunlop 224 with a thinner Dunlop slide on the inside to make it heavier and fit my finger better. Oh and a chrome steel one made from a socket set.