I have a 3 string fretted CBG that I bought from ebay a few years back. I am wanting a frettless 3 string one too, and am thinking about the C. B. Gitty basic kit, with a piezzo pickup also.
I play 6 string guitar also, and like to play slide. I find that, with guitars, it is not easy to have a guitar set up for both slide and regular playing. My CBG works pretty well and has a nice, gritty sound, but I still want a frettless CBG. One problem, is that most slides are made for 6 string guitars, and are much longer than needed on a 3 string. I have some glass, some brass, and a chromed slide. I bought a couple of short copper pipe (like water pipe), but they are a bit too short, and I think that metal doesn't work well for slide, as it has a kind of a dead sound. I'm thinking a good length for 3 string CBG might be around 1.5".
What are some of your favorites in a slide, as far as both material (glass, brass, chromed metal, ceramic). and as far as length overall for 3 string use? I have never tried a ceramic slide myself.
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Copper isn't much good for a slide - it will work, but not very well. To get a clear sweet, ringing slide tone, you need a material that is hard, and a slide with a fair bit of weight to it. Copper is relatively soft, and the typically available tubing has a very thin wall thickness, so it's very light. A good thick walled glass, steel, ceramic or brass slide will give you the hardness and weight that you need.
Beyond that it's very much a matter of personal preference as regards the feel and fit on your finger and how it feels in action. My preference is for a thick walled "Diamond Bottlenecks" glass slide, although recently I've also been using "StarSinger" ceramic slides. Most ceramic slides are just too inconsistent in their straightness and glaze finish, every one I've tried before the StarSingers was either slightly distorted during firing, or the glazed was unacceptably rippled. These are very nice - super straight and smooth and a nice weight. Personally I find some brass slides just a bit too heavy, but theres no "best" slide, it's whatever works for you.
Yeah, the copper has a very dead sound. Not happy with that material at all.
I use copper when I run guitar making workshops, as it's quick and cheap way to give everyone a starter slide...and when they try a proper glass bottleneck the difference is obvious...so I usually make a few sales!
IMHO, I like both a glass and ceramic slide. The Dunlop heavy wall slides are good. I also like my ceramic slide, anything over about 1.25" in length should be fine, as long as it fits your finger well.
I haven't used Gitty's kit, but they look good, and every other one of their products that I own is good.
This is a good interesting discussion. On my fretted 3 string, I too have a problem with tapping the slides on the frets. I usually play through an amp, so it makes a whole lot of noise. On the copper pipe, I bought two, that were very short sections. Too short really, as it makes it kind of hit and miss when I want to cover all three strings. And, the sound is a might dead sounding. Hadn't thought about trying to polish these copper ones. I got them from Home Depot. I'll have to go through my sockets. Since I worked on the big rigs for many years, I have quite a few tools. I watched some youtube videos about ways to cut glass bottles and how to make a slide.
I use my pinky for slide work, and will stick to that, as that's what I'm used to. That finger is pretty skinny, and some of my slides are way too big in inside diameter. I'm going to sit down with my slides and a set of calipers and measure, and see if I can come up with what I think would be the perfect measurements of inside diameter, and length, and see if I can find some that size on Amazon. They show some shorter slides. I'll watch and listen to the videos mentioned above also.
As a last note, anybody else a fan of Samantha Fish and her band? I stumbled across some videos of her maybe a year ago, and just found some more. A great trio with a fine drummer and bass player, and she often plays a CBG, and a tin can 6 string guitar. She's great!
Hi Jon, part of the beauty of using a socket for a slide is you can find one that fits well pretty easy. If a 3/4" is too big, just try a 5/8". My favorite is a 3/4" deep socket that I cut shorter with an abrasive chop saw. They are sort of like CBGs, no rules, make them how you want them.
I've got several dozen slides. You'll end up making and buying a lot of them before you settle on what you like. I prefer a heavy brass Big Heart Robert Johnson slide for resonators and most acoustics. For a CBG (and most electrics), I usually use a Dunlop 222 brass slide or a soda glass medicine bottle slide. I've managed to collect a number of medicine bottles over several years of antique picking, including a couple of original 60's/70's Coricidin bottles. I prefer the sound and feel of the soda glass bottle over the more modern, and less breakable, Pyrex tubes and bottles.
I find copper pipe slide to be a good compromise between the lightness of glass and the grittiness of brass or chrome. I use one sometimes but it isn't my first choice. The trick with them is getting them polished well so that they move smoothly and don't sound 'dead'. Of course, you can cut them to fit the length you want.
Ceramic and porcelain slides can be interesting. I think they also benefit from a 'break in' period.
Lengthwise, I've found the regular sized slides and bottles between 2 and 3 inches work fine for me on anything from a one string diddley bow to a 12 string acoustic.
So far my favorite slide for three string fretless CBG is a 3/4"craftsman socket. I find the weight helps and the chrome steel doesn't seem to impart any odd sounds to it. That said, two of my friends who have played my CBGs on stage used a standard glass slide and another friend swears by his ceramic slide. Try different things and see what you prefer, there is a lot of variety out there to chose from.
Hi Jon: I make both fretted and fretless 3 stringers, and here is what I've experienced. Copper pipe slides are too screechy for me. It might be my technique, but I use a Jim Dunlop glass slide and it is smooth and warm. It is full size, @ 2 1/4", but it works well for me. Fretless is way easier for me to play slide, because I tend to bang the fret ends with my slide. Again, likely poor technique. If I set the action high enough for me to slide without bangin' the frets, it's too high for me to fret easily or well. With my 2 string electric lap diddley bow, I use a 7/8" Craftsman deep socket. Nice smooth chrome, easy sliding, too big to put on my finger for CBG playing. There are many different slide lengths available, from 7/8" long stubbies to 3" long in various materials. Once I got glass, I quit experimenting, but all styles have their proponents. Check out Youtube "vintage rural blues" and you will see players using true bottle neck slides, tabasco bottles, pocket knives, beer bottles, and every manner of hand-held items with at least one smooth surface. The world is full of slides. You must try and then establish what is the best fit for you and your style of playing.
As far as your next CBG, I definitely encourage you to build your own. I started with a kit myself. Now, @ 25 or so later, I cannot and don't want to stop laying out and building. One caution (tongue-in-cheek): rare is the man who builds only one....
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