Electric slide guitar

[mrbluesy1]

Hi guys. Is there a particular way that you need to set an electric guitar up for slide? I appreciate that a slightly higher action and heavier gauge strings are required, but is there anything else I need to do?

[RavenMadd]

there are videos on youtube on that subject ....I just do it .......on a regular setup ...but thats me

[sliding tom]

Slide Primer:

action: definitely use a higher action, one that allows you to slide cleanly without rattling on the frets and that's still low enough so you can fret the occasional note - especially on the bass strings, where you'll play rhythm. Would be good if you have one guitar that's devoted to slide.
string gauge: you'll want a bigger string for tonal reasons and to get more resistance against the slide. At least a set of .011-.049 for standard and higher tunings (open E and open A), .012 - .050 or .052 would even be better. For lower tunings (open D and open G) at least a .012 or .013 set and maybe you'll want to swap the first two strings for heavier gauges. I am using a custom slide set of .0145 - .052 with a medium high action in open D and G tuning.
string type: whatever sounds good to you - steel or pure nickel and if you don't like the noise that a slide can make on the strings you might consider a flatwound or half round wound.
radius: some say they prefer a totally flat radius so they can play all six strings at the same time, but I prefer a slightly radiused setup, because I rarely play all of the strings at the same time and you'll apply a little pressure anyway so the slide can touch all the strings even when radiused.
slides: get a few of different materials to see what you like best in tone and feel. Some guitars seem to prefer a certain material. As for length, it shouldn't be longer than the finger you put it on. I get the most control when the slide's top is just where the top of my sliding finger is. My current favourite is "The Rockslide".
finger: I would advocate to use the pinky because you'll have three adjacent fingers left for fretting, then. Ring finger gives you a little more control over vibrato but can be a little arkward.
The most important thing is damping: behind the slide (towards the nut) where you should barely touch the strings with your index and on the picking side to get rid of unwanted noise and strings not being played. But: you can use this noise or the “ghost” notes between the slide and nut for good effect, too, especially at the 5th, 7th and 12th fets.
You can use a flatpick, thumb- and fingerpicks or just your natural fingertips, whatever comes natural and sounds / feels best to you.
Starting out it's not the worst idea to start in standard tuning because you already know where your notes are and with standard tuning you'll be forced to practice your damping technique.
If you care for video lessons, here's two that are good for starters but also useful for advanced players alike:

[Thumpalumpacus]

I play it on my everyday guitars, in standard tuning. I play 11s already and don't run shredder action, and it's fine.

[capt_goodvibes]

How To Setup a Slide Guitar - YouTube

How To Setup a Slide Guitar - YouTube

[toneguy86]

Some good suggestions. I don't have dedicated slide guitars anymore. I play everything in standard...but so do most of my current influences like Warren Haynes and Greg Martin. I also use 9s on all my guitars, but do go with just a slightly higher action then normal...just a touch. I occasionally fret behind the slide so this helps make that happen. Keep in mind that Billy Gibbons uses 7s or 8s on his guitars...and plays slide with great tone. Heavy stings and dedicated guitars with action an inch off the fretboard are not a must.

I also wear the slide on my pinky, which gives me three fingers free for fretting (not everyone does this). I have tried on other fingers and it just feels strange so I stick with what works. This is important...stick with what works and what's comfortable.

Slides: I have a bunch of them. Current faves: an old chunk of brass I found when I was working in sheet metal shop. It was made to be a slide and blows most everything else I have found away (even other brass slides). I have no idea why it is so good. My other current fave is a ceramic one I found in a shop somewhere. I like it much better then most regular production slides. FYI...most glass slides you find suck. They are pyrex and sound bad. Last summer my band opened for Heartsfield (a big country rock band from my early days...I'm a big fan). One of their guitar players showed me a bone slide that Fred Dobbs (original Heartsfield member) gave him. It was amazing. Such tone. I am doubting all bone sounds this good, but this was amazing.

Damping: The key. I damp in 3 ways: behind the slide, with the fingers of my right hand (on adjacent strings if I am playing single note runs) and with my palm on the bridge. The palm on the bridge is really good and allows a lot of control. I learned that trick from Greg Martin and he has amazing slide tone with great control and just the right overtones. I find that I damp unconciously these days and switch back and forth based on what I am doing and how it sounds.

There is no real right way to do this. I played slide in open tunings with dedicated guitars with heavy massive strings for years. I just got tired of it and noticed that lots of players I liked weren't doing that so I went on a quest to simplify and get to the point where I could be more versatile. I think I became a better slide player actually and, since I play often in a 3 piece band, I needed to cover lots of territory and switch back and forth from slide to fretting...so this works. Truth is, you loose a few things when you go to standard, which is why fretting behind the slide like Sonny Landreth does helps. But to be honest...you don't loose that much...or at least there are always ways you can adjust to compensate.

Regardless of the tuning, there are consistent things to work on:

Work on getting a good, single note tone and vibrato. This is harder then you think.

finding your adjacent notes--IOW those notes you slide into from adjacent strings. Where you find these on the neck depends on how you are tuned, but the principal is the same from open tunings to standard--the location is just different.

Try different damping techniques to get things clean. You want overtones and adjacent strings to ring out at times...but only the ones that sound good.

That's enough for now. It's a blast when it starts to come together.