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"Ergonomic" Brass Slide

I could never get on with glass slides, too thick, i have tried many metal ones in various lengths and thicknesses and always gone back to my old chrome 42mm x 19mm (inner) x 1mm i've used for years, even on 6 stringers!

I found a Brass slide on ebay marketed by Yamaha which had exactly the same dimensions except longer so i decided to buy it as a standby. The one that came looked roughly finished so i decided to buff it up with a wire brush attached to an electric drill, great "roadworn" result, and shorten it to the 42mm length of my old slide but cut it at a slight angle (42mm / 44mm) so it would sit more comfortably i hoped!

Great result, fits my ring finger more firmly and less "resistance" at the finger joint which had really got on my nerves sometimes...there ya go - one ergonomically designed brass slide! (-;

New "roadworn" ergonomic brass slide on the left, old slide on the right...(picture distortion has made them look a bit stubby)

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Permalink Reply by RTZGUITARS on November 1, 2012 at 6:32am

thanks Steve my 3 string is almost done and i'm sure the big glass slide i use on my 6 string wont work. brass is alot easyer to work with then glass. I dont like the idea of cutting my chrome slides down either. I'm a 50 year old newb.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on November 1, 2012 at 8:17am

Gentlemen,

If you like brass, try copper. Easier to cut, easily worked, easily acquired for less than 2 bucks at the local Lowe's Depot, and gives a nice grind that compliments 3-string bronze wound blooziness. But I like my chrome and various glass bottleneck and Coricidin slides for different tones. I just can't play 'em worth snot. But I tend to reach for the copper slides most often.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on November 1, 2012 at 10:10am

yeah i did think of copper, wondered about tarnishing but if used often enough should stay bright - right, off to the plumber's tomorrow then! (-;

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on November 1, 2012 at 2:24pm

Slide Rules: None, really.  People will tell you what sounds warm, what sounds bright, etc.  They will tell you glass, metal, copper, etc. is the way to go.  Short? Long? Stubby?   We’ve all got our opinions and a lot of us end up with quite a collection.

The thing is, we just have to experiment.  Left to Right, these are:

1.    a gift from Maddog.  Wine bottle.  Fits my ring finger very well.  I like it.

2.    A gift from Toby in K. C.  a polished steel pipe made by a relative of Toby’s.   Heavy.  Works fine.

3.    A store bought by Dunlop.  Heavy brass.  This one gives seems to be most forgiving of my poor technique.

4.    A 15 mm deep socket.  I went to a hock shop that had a bucket of loose sockets and cheap.   Tight fit on my ring finger.  Heavy.  Works well on the pinky.

5.    A ceramic one bought on evil-bay with Velcro inside for a nice fit on my pinky.  This was my fave for a while.  Still like it.

6.    cut off socket.  (these things do not cut easy)  I personally do better with a bit more length.

7.    beer bottle slide I made – too big for my fingers –

8.    beer bottle slide I made – too big for my fingers

9.     a steel coupling joint from the hard ware store.   Works pretty well.

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Permalink Reply by Medicine Man CBG's-Mikel Doktor on November 3, 2012 at 2:42pm

Great collection,Uncle John.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on November 1, 2012 at 2:38pm

http://www.therockslide.com/

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on November 3, 2012 at 7:45am

I've got one of these, but I find it a bit too heavy. More of a problem though, is that after only a bit of use it's started to acquire grooves and nicks from the strings...a neat idea and nicely engineered, but my Diamond glass bottlenecks are still my favorite.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on November 3, 2012 at 8:22am

I've been using a nickel plated one for over a year now. It's quite light and is free of nicks and grooves...

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on November 1, 2012 at 2:43pm

http://silicasound.com/

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on November 1, 2012 at 7:53pm

slides seem to have a whole scientific interest here, maybe we could set up a group for them? (-:

"Anyone can grab a hacksaw, cut a piece of pipe, chrome it if desired, and call it a slide."

...yep! ...and it will work the same and only cost a few pennies (-;

the silliest one i ever tried was a "half-slide" chute shape with a metal band going round it, damn thing nearly sprained my finger, despite the "thousands of satisfied customers" statement they refunded - must be some strangely disfigured players out there! (-;