Duane and Slide

[amsalem]

I'm playing guitar for 15 years now.
I have always loved to hear slide guitar and even bought a glass-made one a few years ago, but NEVER used it until it broke (I was too lazy to learn how to use it).

For the past year I've been listening to the Allman Brothers more and more and I really fell in love with their music.
In specific, the Les Pauls sound from Dickey and Duane.

Yesterday I bought a new brass slide and OMG. this is so much fun.

TIP of the day: get a slide and learn how to use it ASAP.

 

[61LPSG]

Duane used glass. His slide of choice was a Coricidin (allergy med.) bottle. The old Badger air brush bottles are almost identical.
He said that he wrote to Coricidin and said how he liked the bottles, and they sent a whole box of them,lol.

 

[Christosterone]

If u don’t play this then u are not doing it right
ill back u up on the Steinway

-Chris

 

[mgenet]

Love playing slide on an LP Studio electric or a Reso. Both are in D.

I found that having three (or more) different slides helps with the tonz.

Brass - heavy, loud and dark.

Glass - small, short sustain, bright. Great for leads or fills.

Steel - Bright, nasty tone, bluesy as hell.

I haven't tried a ceramic slide yet. Gotta get one.

Any experience with ceramic slides out there?

 

[rogue3]

The thing i've read about Duane that always impressed me,was his use of slide in standard tuning.

Yes,open tunings sound great and he used them(?). But you can be sloppy with the adjacent strings,and all sounds well because they are tuned to a key signature.

Based on what i've read(and practiced myself),Duane used his fingers to effectively mute the other strings in standard tuning when playing single note slide...only letting the note he was playing ring out .This is a highly effective way to flip quickly,from a quick slide line,back to standard riffing and chord playing.

In my own basterdized technique,i keep the slide(standard dunlop glass,5 cm long, the small one that fits the pinky), on my 5th finger.This allows me to continue,normally,three finger style,at the drop of a hat for chord work,or,standard lead lines.I tend to use the 3rd and 4th strings,in sympathy for slide chording(just move up and down the neck to stay in key),then quickly switch to single note lines in other positions,ala Duane,dampening all other strings,with a combination of palming,and finger mutes. After years,it comes natural.

I have never stepped up onstage at local gigs,or open stages, without a slide handy.But its not my dominant style.It is great for backround fills when everyone else is fretting,gives the music another dimension.but stay in tune,lol!!!

I've been priviledged to play onstage and jam with an outstanding,original, pro double slide player,and he approved of my technique(as simple as it is)
rip Brian Cober. .

 

[Bend'n'Slide]

From left to right:
- Heavy brass (had it nearly 30 years!),
- Leaded glass (for density),
- RockSlide shaped glass slide (really want one of their brass models too!)
- An actual bottle neck (also nearly 30 years old; cut this one off with a tile saw blade and ground down the rough edge on a flat concrete step with a bit of water).

For years I had one of my strats set up with huge strings and high action in open-E tuning but then I decided I liked it too much as a standard player. These days I’m mostly using the Tele or one of the acoustics in open-E or open-D.

Slide is a lot of fun and opens up a whole other range of styles and tones and can really add emotion to your playing.

Brass gives weight on the strings and a brighter tone; glass is much smoother. The custom-shaped RockSlides are really very good and come in a variety of materials, sizes and shapes. Well worth a look.

I would love to be able to emulate Duane Allman’s technique in standard tuning — just phenomenal!

My mid-gig “party piece” was to deliberately re-tune the guitar from standard to open-E between numbers and then borrow an empty glass or beer bottle from one of the front tables and use it to dive into a big bluesy slide riff. Cheeky and a bit staged but it always got a good reaction..! Couldn’t play anything flashy using something that big but it works and you can get away with a lot using overdrive and echo and adding harmonics in open tuning!