Choosing the perfect slide

Finding the right slide is critical - you might have to do some experimenting, and it’s OK to have a collection of them :-)

Size

It's nice if the slide fits your finger snugly, but it's not essential (people manage with bottlenecks and Coricidn bottles after all - you just use an adjacent finger to support the slide).

Some companies I'd recommend if you wanted a slide to fit your finger nicely would be - Diamond Bottlenecks in the UK for glass slides, and DaddySlide in Germany for metal slides. I have slides from both these companies and LOVE them.

Material

Glass, brass, stainless steel, ceramic, wood etc etc.

There are SO many materials you can use for a slide and they all have their own sonic characteristics.

Glass is generally a bit warmer than metal, and wood doesn’t sustain as long…
You'll also find that the thickness of the slide impact the tone of it (as well as the weight).

Probably the best place to start is with what your heroes use, if you're trying to chase their sound.

Weight

This is an important consideration for a number of reasons.

A heavier slide will lead to fatigue quicker if you're playing for a long time.
The balance between action, string gauge and slide weight is crucial - a heavier slide means you'll need thicker strings to maintain a lower action.

Finding the right slide for your music is very important - at the end of the day, slides are reasonably inexpensive, so try out a bunch of them and have fun!

There's more info in the free Getting Ready to Slide course HERE.

What’s your favourite slide?!