I ordered a Rock Slide from Danny Songhurst a couple of weeks ago, and I love it because it's so comfortable. However, I found it to be just a little long. So I contacted him and he offered to make me a custom "stubby." Can't wait for it to get here. Super guy and excellent product.
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Gents,
Not to take anything away from Danny and his gorgeous Rockslides, but I found a really quick cheapo solution that worked well for me. I went to Home Depot's Plumbing section, and found the 1" to 1-1/2" length precut pieces of 1/2" and 3/4" diameter copper tubing. They also had a 3/4" X 1/2" diameter step-down connector that is about 1-1/2" long, that works well. The 3/4" diameter fits my ring finger pretty nicely, and the 1/2" diameter fit my pinky perfectly. The nice thing is that the 1" - 1-1/2" lengths are just about perfect from the typical neck widths on 3 and 4-string CBGs. These precut pieces range in price from $0.95 to around $1.38 each. Really interesting to play with was the 3/4" X 1/2" diameter step-down connector; it allowed better fingering, because it was a "stubby," across the fretboard, and also took into acount the changing diameter of my 3rd finger joints.
For the record, I have also purchased both steel and glass Dunlop slides (which indeed do not fit my fingers as well), $2 short shank and $4 long shank sockets a la Shane Speal, got a bottleneck slide and mojo bag from Keni Lee Burgess as part of his CD lessons, and spent a couple days last week making glass bottleneck slides from various craft ale and beer bottles I sampled over the holidays ("Dead soldiers never die; they just slide into retirement!"), using Dremel cutoff wheels / grinder bits, and stone grinder attachments. In the past, I also made slides from cutoff pieces of chromed steel bicycle handlebar tubing, bought a Dunlop reproduction Coricidin bottle (a la Duane Allman), and am considering purchasing a Jet Slide, and variants on the Peaceland Guitar Ring.Heck, I've even used my fairly wide gold wedding band, on occasion. I'll also get a couple of Danny's Rockslides; I like the way they look.
Those of you with time, tools and DIY inclination, can cut out the very nicely polished semicircular finger joint relief as pictured in Danny's Rockslide, using copper tubing, a small diameter grinder, a Dremel grinding wheel, etc. You can do the same thing on glass bottleneck slides.
Just sayin' (now to go off and order a couple slides from Danny...)
Here ya go:
http://www.therockslide.com/new/specs.php
Well, I don't really qualify myself as a slide player (yet!), but I find that the stubby doesn't work all that well on my other guitars. It's too short. But it's perfect for my cbg. That's why I got it.
Hey Doug,
I contacted Danny at Songhurts, and asked him if they still can make me a custom stubby slide. Apparenly, it depends on the workflow, but in theory it should still be possible.
He remembered making your custom stubby, but did not remember all the details.. Do you perhaps remember what modifications were made in respect to the original slide? Is it just shorter? If you could send me the specs, I would be gratefull..
Thanks
Ben
Do you prefer your Stubby for all guitar playing or is it just better suited for use with a cigar box guitar?
Currently I have a Dunlop slide of 6cm / 2,36", which does not feel right for my cigar box playing.. Maybe it is also the fit which is not really great.
I am not sure if the the standard M rock slide will suit me, or if I will be happier with a stubby version..
Yes, I got it. And it's the best! If you're interested in a shorter version just contact Danny at Rockslide. He's a great guy and I"m sure he'll accommodate you. I'm a very satisfied customer.
Hey Doug,
How do you like The Rock Slide? Did you already recieve your custom stubby?
I am thinking of buying one too.. Mainly for use with my cigar box guitar. I also have the feeling that the Medium one will maybe be just a bit too long..
All the best
Ben