Bottleneck slide on a Bass Guitar

[bassmantam]

Having recently tried out an Ebow on my basses and found it to be fairly good but limited, and a whole bunch of effects pedals, which I always end up dropping, I'm up for experimenting with a slide on my basses (fretted and fretless) to see what can be done.

Has anyone done this in the past, any examples, and if there are any guitarists reading this, do you have any tips for using a slide?

 

[Stefan Verbeeck]

The artist Mark Sandman comes to mind (RIP). Check out his work.


(I'm not sure if this thread needs to be in 'effects' though.)

 

[chaak]

 

[bassmantam]

Thanks for the replies and I take the point about effects btw but not sure what the category would be.

I've never used a slide so it takes a little effort to get used to it (still not sure which finger to wear it on) but you get some great sounds. Not dissimilar to sliding a harmonic, but wearing the slide does affect my ability to play some things.

 

[ga_edwards]

I'm not a slide player by any stretch, but I have found when I've dabbled that it helps if worn on the ring or even pinky finger. This way you mute the other strings behind the slide with the other fingers, and as a pinch, you can fret individual notes or chords whilst still wearing the slide.

 

[Brian Dupre]

I dabble in it now and again. They aren't cheap, but I'd recommend a Peaceland "Glassmega" for bass slide because they are heavy (the extra weight seems to help on getting the right pressure on bass strings without having to press too hard) and because you can select the length of the slide, so if you want you can get one short enough that will only cover a single string, reducing the need for muting if you aren't planning on doing chords.

 

[Rumbles]

I dabbled when I first started playing, though nothing like the video above, just through a Boss CE-1 Chorus ensemble into a valve amp
I used an actual bottle neck, or a piece of chromium steel pipe I knocked off from work

 

[bassmantam]

thanks for the replies everyone, as ever great advice. I've been having a go trying a glass slide on my 3rd finger and pinky and it feels a bit like learning to play again. On the fretless it makes a pretty sound but it loses the Pwah effect and lacks vibrato. Still worth its experimenting with.

 

[equill]

Worth experimenting with; it may work better for you than it did for me. Try adding phaser or flanger.

 

[Sunset Shalom]

I have an Aria P/J with fairly high action, and it plays pretty well with a slide. Combined with the ebow it has a really great thick cello like sound on some notes. Pretty cool into a phaser or wah and with some dirt.

 

[Blaargh]

As everyone else has basically said, it sounds really cool with some effects added (I'm not so hot on the sound of it without mind), especially modulation. Big fan of octaves, vibrato and distortion.

 

[Hues]

Having recently tried out an Ebow on my basses and found it to be fairly good but limited, and a whole bunch of effects pedals, which I always end up dropping, I'm up for experimenting with a slide on my basses (fretted and fretless) to see what can be done.

Has anyone done this in the past, any examples, and if there are any guitarists reading this, do you have any tips for using a slide?

I'll just put this here...

 

[Mosfed]

Having recently tried out an Ebow on my basses and found it to be fairly good but limited, and a whole bunch of effects pedals, which I always end up dropping, I'm up for experimenting with a slide on my basses (fretted and fretless) to see what can be done.

Has anyone done this in the past, any examples, and if there are any guitarists reading this, do you have any tips for using a slide?

Chris Wood of Medeski Martin and Wood and the Wood Brothers uses a slide a fair amount. Here is one of their tracks called Just Like I pictured it - starting at 1:45 is the slide. He uses a Hofner and a glass slide.

 

[fermata]

Wear the slide on your pinky or ring finger--and try a few to find one that fits right.
Choosing a Slide for Slide Guitar » Cattail Music

Drag your other fingers behind the slide to mute the strings behind the slide.

Use roundwound strings.

 

[Hues]

Another popped up....


Which linked to this....

 

[cosmicevan]

Depending on what you are going for, it might be more fun to experiment with anything as a slide. If you plan to incorporate a slide into your songs or writing that's one thing, but if you are looking for a random way to do something odd in a gig to catch some attention...we've all seen someone pick up a beer bottle, use it as a slide and then take a swig of beer at the end. Alternatively, I always find it to be a cool little visual/trick when someone uses a mic stand as a slide on their instrument. You can also cheaply make a pretty solid slide...I find that pvc tubing gives a really nice tone and is easier to use as a slide (at least for my kids) than glass (plus won't break when inevitably dropped).

 

[play4sanity]

Been taking lessons on slide guitar for the last 6 months or so. My biggest take away so far is take care with muting strings. I'm used to muting the strings I'm not playing on bass. That carried over easily but I also had to learn how to mute the strings behind the slide. And yes it did make a difference at least on guitar. Unmuted there are harmonics from the strings on the backside of the slide. My 2 cents .... and probably not worth much more than that ....

 

[Rumbles]

I'll just put this here...

That would be a pretty cool counterpoint to a lead guitarist using a slide too