#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

This is strange

So I Finished my guitar today, and I started to play it some to loosen up the strings. After swapping my kitchen back to a kitchen and making dinner, I sat down to play some. The action is low but not too low, and I thought I kept hearing my slide drag along the neck. After correcting my playing for lower action, I still noticed this strange sound. I know the slide is not contacting anything.

The sound is weird. When I slide down towards the nut, there is a harmonic overtone that slides up. So you get that weird walk on the wild side effect on a single string. You slide down, it goes up, and you slide up it goes down... It's not anything I've heard of before and I'm wondering if it's some type of resonance issue. Does that description describe anything someone here has encountered?

Thanks

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Skeesix on February 10, 2014 at 9:30am

That is the natural harmonics of the string. You can use your other fingers to lightly mute the strings to dampen the harmonics. I cover how to get a good clean slide tone in this beginners video:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/beginning-slide-by-skeesix

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Yankee Dog on February 10, 2014 at 10:21am

As Nathan said, just let one of your trail fingers lightly touch the string and the extra sound will vanish. Sometime I dampen, sometimes not. Depends on what you are going for.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Muddy Creek Guitars on February 10, 2014 at 3:50pm

I get this all the time. When you play with a slide, you divide the string into two sections and both of them vibrate. Where the slide touches is a nodal point (point where it doesn't vibrate). Some people use a finger to mute the section between the slide and the nut. I like to let it ring. When play well in tune, it sounds awesome and the guitar sounds louder.
When you play at the twelfth fret, both sides are equal and produce the same note. When you move toward the nut, the section between the slide and the nut is shrinking. So, when you play lower, that other quiet note will be higher.

Have fun and play on!