New Member in the States

gregory70 · #1 September 27th, 2006

Howdy all - new member here. Been playing guitar for years and decided it was time to try a new style after seeing Derek Trucks play with Clapton. Also a big fan of Joe Bonamassa. I honestly didn't even know you could play slide in standard tuning... this changes everything!

Now... who am I... I am a research psychologist at a middle-sized university in the US midwest... I play single guitars thru different amps... I am a guitar gear whore... I love the blues... currently playing in a newish blues/rock band... hoping to learn something new...

Good to meet you all.

allthumbs · #2 September 29th, 2006

Hi gregory.

Kirk Lorange · #3 October 10th, 2006

Pleased to meet you, Gregory, thanks for joining. It's a pretty quiet forum these days, but don't be shy about asking any questions.

marjorie · #4 October 11th, 2006

Hi Kirk:
I am new this forum. I have been working with PT now for about a month. I have played acoustic, classical and electric for the past 20+ years. I have only recently begun to get into slide guitar. I have several questions about your Slide DVD:

- I am trying to build finger independence while I reinforce the muting habit with my thumb on the E, A and D strings and my ring(a) and middle(m) fingers muting E and B. I am start working the G and D string with my index and middle finger over internal chord voicings. I start by playing the strings with my left fingers and then attempt to repeat with the slide. Is this the right approach?
- Do you mute the D, G and E strings when slide over power chords?
ricktalk

gregory70 · #5 October 11th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirk

Pleased to meet you, Gregory, thanks for joining. It's a pretty quiet forum these days, but don't be shy about asking any questions.

Thanks for the reply Kirk - I was starting to feel a little lonely! Been working with the slide a bit lately - more challenging in standard tuning than straight tuning, but it certainly lends itself to more options. Bought a couple of Rockslides... they certainly are nicer than the plexiglass Dunlop I was using - much better tone.

Do you use any compression when you play? I've heard that helps a bit.

As nice as slide sounds on my regular guitars, I think it'll sound better on a dedicated slide guitar. My regular guitars are strung fairly high with 11's, but I think I'll have better luck if I get a an Esquire/Tele type guitar strung with 13's (this will match my acoustics).

Anywho, I have a gig in a couple weeks and I might try to introduce slide on ONE song. We play Leopardskin Pillbox Hat - a sloppy, bluesy Dylan tune. Since my slide playing is fairly sloppy at this time, this will be a great chance to give it a go. Will let you know how it turns out!

Kirk Lorange · #6 October 11th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricktalk

Hi Kirk:
- I am trying to build finger independence while I reinforce the muting habit with my thumb on the E, A and D strings and my ring(a) and middle(m) fingers muting E and B. I am start working the G and D string with my index and middle finger over internal chord voicings. I start by playing the strings with my left fingers and then attempt to repeat with the slide. Is this the right approach?
- Do you mute the D, G and E strings when slide over power chords?
ricktalk

Sounds good to me Rick ... as many ways as you can come up with is the way to go. I'm constantly experimenting, refining, chopping and changing ... the aim I think is to get both hands ready to respond instantly to anything and everything that may come their way. Conscious, deliberate practicing is the only way to get there.

I mute the G, B and E strings for those bass string power chords ... I think that's what you meant, isn't it? I leave the D string ringing, since it's part of the power chord. I assume you're talking about dropped D?

Kirk Lorange · #7 October 11th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregory70

Do you use any compression when you play? I've heard that helps a bit.

As nice as slide sounds on my regular guitars, I think it'll sound better on a dedicated slide guitar. My regular guitars are strung fairly high with 11's, but I think I'll have better luck if I get a an Esquire/Tele type guitar strung with 13's (this will match my acoustics).

Anywho, I have a gig in a couple weeks and I might try to introduce slide on ONE song. We play Leopardskin Pillbox Hat - a sloppy, bluesy Dylan tune. Since my slide playing is fairly sloppy at this time, this will be a great chance to give it a go. Will let you know how it turns out!

I used to use compression, but one day years ago my pedal board was stolen from my parked car and I never bought another one. I found that heavy strings were enough to keep a nice sustain and I never really did like that compressed sound anyway.

As for string gauges, 11s are still very light for slide. 13's would be much better. I have 16s as E strings, which are really B strings ... I get a BIG note out of them as not only are they thick but they're very taut as you can imagine. They have their drawbacks, of course, like being unbendable and quite painful after a while, but I live with it just for that fullness on the top end. I got sick of sounding like a mosquito up there.

Have a good gig ... I love that tune!

marjorie · #8 October 12th, 2006

Thanks Kirk,
Yes, I meant muting the G, B and E strings when working through
power chords. So the trick, the drill which you emphasize in the DVD is the speed or instaneous repositioning of the muting fingers. That is going to take time, but the more I work with it the
better I get. I pretty much do that now in whatever I play (maybe with the exception of the classical stuff). Thanks, Rick

Kirk Lorange · #9 October 12th, 2006

Yes, Rick ... plug away at it and one day all, of a sudden, you're doing it without thinking about it.