One of the biggest problems  for a new slide player  to overcome  is  “slide rattle” and clang  ,when the  slide  catches the  wrong string  in the wrong way and the string rattles against it . it can make your  tune sound like  2 skeletons  humping on a tin roof  using a tin can as a condom .  ;-)

So, I pondered for a while on what would help new slide players avoid this discouraging hurtle.

I came up with an idea.. and  thought  , “that might  work”  , but  I  never  really  got around to trying it  out  .  till last  night  .  And guess what?  It    not only works,… but works damn well! 

I  figured  guitar  mutes  have  a felt  or furry surface  ,  but  I  would need something that  the string could  cut through  or find its way through  to get to the hard surface of a slide,  yet dampen it on the way in, and out ,and to a lighter accidental touch  .

 The solution  ?....wrap the slide in yarn . in a spiral   fashion , no  glue   , no  cross-knit     , just  wrap it  like a string  on a tuner . the  string gets through  the “fur” and  hits the metal  ,  but  is  buffered  on the way in and out  . and any accidental contact with other strings  is hushed  , as  is  open ringing  . Giving you a warm ,  clear,  un-klangy sound  .  it’s actually  hard to  make it  rattle  deliberately   it works so well.

I could not believe this worked so  well   and after a google search  is seems nobody else has tried  it  .

I could sell  these like hotcakes  , but the concept  is so  simple  to diy. . so  , I am sharing it with  you  .  anywho  ,  this is  how  I   made  mine  .

Use “SWIRL” type yarn.  (normal  yarn  may  work   but, this is what I  used  . )

Pull out a long piece of yarn about the length of your arm x3  and cut it  ..   run a piece  along  one side of the slide , hold the    top   , take the  other  end of yarn and start wrapping around the slide  (leave the short   piece running along the slide and cover it as you  wrap it  .

Full wrap  then cut and tie the ends in a double  knot  .

Tada !  try  the witch wrap  .  you will  be  glad you did  , and your  rattle is gone  / cured !  but you can still play  slide as usual  . (maybe  pushing a bit harder   or you may   loose some sustain , but you'll  get  it, , and eventually  it  will train you  to  not need it by  adding natural confidence  ) 

 Yer  welcome  ;-)