slide question

[funkalicious101]

i know it is odd for a bassist to use a slide, but i use them quite often and i was wondering: do metal or glass slides work better on electric bass?

[Swift713]

In my home town there once was a band called Agitpop. The bass player used a beer bottle as a slide. I think it was Budwiser. They were great.

[funkalicious101]

yeah, i used a glass for a couple weeks before i bought a slide.

the tone is better with metal but it seems to interefere with the pickups when i get close to them. would a non ferrous metal like brass or something work better?

[BullHorn]

What's a slide?

[DemoEtc]

Brass would be good. There's also ceramic slides you might check into, like the Dunlop Moonshine, the Rocky Mountain slides, or the BigHeart heavy bronze.

For bass you probably want to stay on the heavy side, with thicker walls.

[werbo1]

I have a glass one, somewhere. It's missing lcoation shows how much I liked it.

I think a metal one will sound better and be louder - Glass was very quiet.


Morphine fan?

[bassgod0dmw]

I had a glass one. It broke in my case.

Then I bought a metal one. It works, but I'd try out a few for variety before you decide. Whatever sounds good to your ears is what you should use! Personally, I'd go with a ceramic one...the metal is too metallic sounding for me. Odd huh?

[Alun]

Glass is a bit quieter, but I much prefer the tone to a metal slide- I find metal too harsh on bass strings. Haven't tried ceramic yet, but no doubt will eventually.

Cheers,
Alun

[BassMan250]

I have a solid metal one, that you hold in your hand instead of over your finger (watch Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii for a demonstration). After trying traditional-style ones that slip over the finger, I greatly prefer my solid one for bass. It provides a more consistent tone and doesn't slip around as much (from the heavy vibrations) as hollow ones. It's a bit awkward to hold, but nothing too bad.

[funkalicious101]

Originally Posted by BassMan250

I have a solid metal one, that you hold in your hand instead of over your finger (watch Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii for a demonstration). After trying traditional-style ones that slip over the finger, I greatly prefer my solid one for bass. It provides a more consistent tone and doesn't slip around as much (from the heavy vibrations) as hollow ones. It's a bit awkward to hold, but nothing too bad.

hah, you described what i do a tee, except i use a hollow one, thought it is rather thick.

i much prefer to hold it in my hand rather than on my finger, it seems to be more "agile". I hold it in my right hand and swoop from the nut to the bridge, makes a really cool effect.

i think i know what scene your talking about aswell.

[JimmyM]

I prefer glass. Metal always sounds too harsh to my ears, plus I like a low action and glass makes it easier to keep off the frets.

[DocBop]

From my guitar days I learn to use metal for electric guitar and glass for acoustic. Then for metal slides you try to use different thicknesses based on gauge of your strings. The heavier the string the thicker the slide. I liked the brass slides.

[BassMan250]

Originally Posted by funkalicious101

hah, you described what i do a tee, except i use a hollow one, thought it is rather thick.

i much prefer to hold it in my hand rather than on my finger, it seems to be more "agile". I hold it in my right hand and swoop from the nut to the bridge, makes a really cool effect.

i think i know what scene your talking about aswell.

Yeah doing nut-to-bridge swoops are cool, make a sound almost like a more brittle stringed version of my theremin. Paired with delay, phase and step shifter makes crazy sound effects.

[BassMan250]

Usually also with slide I use alternate tunings and flatwounds, roundwounds make way too harsh a sound when moving between notes and also have volume loss and not as much sustain, at least that's what I've found.