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Strings & Slides. Hey, Spike. What do you like?

Talking CBGs, here folks. I think cheap strings work fine. And lately I am liking electric strings. I think they sound about as good played acoustic and that they are easier to play and slide on.

Slides. How many types do you have? What is your current fave? I've tried a lot and like a lot. But my tapered Dunlop brass slide seems to forgive my errors more than the rest.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on May 5, 2014 at 1:23am

Reeds, I pretty often use my Maddog bottle necks too. I have two that fit my slide finger really nicely.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on May 4, 2014 at 2:06pm

I've got good results using dental floss strings and a Tootsie Roll slide!

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on May 4, 2014 at 2:10pm

Barbed wire and a rasp work well for that gritty old time sound!

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on May 5, 2014 at 1:24am

Clock, you turd. I just broke a G string and abraded the others trying a rasp. You were full of crap on that idea.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on May 4, 2014 at 4:26pm

Actually I used a set of barbed wire strings. A good 30 or more years ago. The old Black Diamond brand. They were the most skin ripping things I'd ever tried.

I have to agree with everyone who use good strings. Less breakage and easier to keep in tune. I can yank on Boomers and stretch a new pair in quickly.

I did get a few sets of ernie Ball's Super Slinky. Going to try them on my next build. I'll swap them back and forth with some Boomers. Stay with the brand that'll get me closer to the sound I'm looking to get. Forgot to mention. I use 9's.

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Permalink Reply by Maddog on May 4, 2014 at 5:44pm

As far as slides go I have a couple bottleneck slides that I make that I really like, I make a lot of bottleneck slides that I sell at shows we do and people seem to like them. I own a restaurant and lounge so we go through a LOT of wine so I have a never ending supply of bottles, the thicker the glass on the bottleneck the better the slide. Certain glass is also better, don't ask me why it just is.

I have a really heavy chrome metal slide I like and the ceramic ones that Dan Mullen sent me are nice also and of course Randy Bretz makes great bone slides. I have 3 of Randy's and like them.

As for strings I use the acoustics from Gitty on my 1,2,3 and 4 stringers and really like em. The Blues Breaker Strings from Gitty are a great set for heavy delta blues sound.

I use Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom, Ernie Ball Super Slinky and Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Nickel Wound Electric strings on my six stringers.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on May 5, 2014 at 1:27am

I knew we'd get a Blues Breaker vote from you, Patrick. I've played em on you guitars and they did sound strong and good. I see 3 mentions of your bottleneckers here too.

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on May 4, 2014 at 6:01pm

Well, I don't play slide, although I have a Planet Waves thick glass one which I can make a half-melodious sound out of.

I do spend a lot of time thinking about strings, however. When I started making these I used medium acoustic strings, but I play with quite a light touch so I changed over to electric ones, and thinner ones at that. I buy mine from a local music shop so I just get the individual ones (Ernie Ball) - I also find nickel wound strings sound much nicer on a magnetic pickup than bronze wound ones. I've never in the 15 years I've been playing used cheap strings...

Where possible, I like to try to go for even tension on the strings, I find it makes them easier to play, although I do think I overthink it at times. For example, for GDG, I use a wound 36 and 22, and a plain 17. This way each string's tension is betweem 7-7.6kg (approx 15lb). This is the calculator I use, if anyone's interested.

http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on May 5, 2014 at 1:29am

Huh. That makes sense on even tension. I notice too that if the string height is uneven I don't play as well - especially with slide.

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on May 4, 2014 at 11:23pm

I note Hendrix used to play tuned to D as the strings
Bend easier.
I do this on my guitars too.
Earnie Ball heavy bottom light top are great for
Electrics

I have set of 16's on a guitar which sound awesome
but destroy ya fingers!

Still can't get that Melon to slide too well though.
Might try varnishing it.