Comments on: Remembering to play guitar

By: Bill Jehle

Bill Jehle — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:26:12 +0000

Holy cow, good to see a picture of the guitar I made on your site Ade! As for tuning, you’ve got to get away from standard tuning. At least go to dropped D. My favorite has to be spanish tuning, DGDGBD, just like ol’ Slim Hamster plays. It’s basically just banjo tuning and I’m right at home there too. :P

I do understand the hesitation to stay in standard tuning, I feel the same way about 6 string guitars. It’s “home” and I know where everything is. Also, 9 times out of 10, if I pick up another guitar it’s going to be tuned that way.

Folks reading this will be interested to know that Ron Thal owns the sister guitar to this one. Yes, only two of them in the world. One lefty, one righty. Both in the hands of very influential guitarists. \m/

By: adrian

adrian — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:18:36 +0000

Just a standard-size glass slide, Graham. It’s no problem playing single notes with any type of slide, because your picking hand damping is always preventing unwanted strings from ringing (and I try to follow Bob Brozman’s advice of angling the tip of the slide downwards when playing on the lower strings, so it’s then not even touching the higher strings)

By: Bernamica Gray

Bernamica Gray — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:48:51 +0000

picking single notes with a bottleneck – are you using one of those small slides that only cover appx 3 strings? or are you actually getting success with single notes using the normal slide ?
PS – I have never got around to learning slide, it just baffles me!
PPS – cue for a guitarist collective task?

By: adrian

adrian — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:56:12 +0000

Steve – part of it is that I’m trying to avoid that chordal approach, especially major chords. I’m not overkeen on the sound you get when the slide produces loads of major chords by default… I’m aiming for more of a linear sound. However, I might experiment with DADGAD, where you’ve got more of an open, suspended sort of sound.

By: adrian

adrian — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:53:34 +0000

Ross – the magazine is now being run entirely for your enjoyment… didn’t you get the letter? ;-)

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:22:38 +0000

That’s why I like double-dropped D – using the middle four strings (and some judicious muting of 1 & 6), you can still play chords; or more likely, diads and have an implied (or bass) root note.

Not that I play much slide, you understand…

By: Steve Dix

Steve Dix — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:11:28 +0000

Yes, but the point is, if you go with some standard slide tunings, then you have the advantage of being able to play chords with the slide, a la pedal steel players.

Perhaps we should ask James Nugent…

Having said that I’m probably the world’s worst slide player.

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:07:38 +0000

I normally stick to standard tuning, although my Gold Top tends to remain in double-dropped D (DADGBD)… must be a hold over from when I used it for “Stuck in the Middle”.

Oh, and another thing Mr Clark – you’ve been reading my mind again. Just the other day, I decided to revisit “Under The Bridge” as a possibility for the National. Then I received my copy of the mag.

Ta muchly!

By: Bernamica Gray

Bernamica Gray — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:07:11 +0000

Standard tuning – that must be what Jeff Beck uses as I noticed when I went to see him in Manchester a year or so ago that he kept the same guitar throughout the gig, never re-tuned and yet constantly picked up slides and then after use discarded them and continued to play normally – not that anything that JB does is normal!

By: adrian

adrian — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:25:43 +0000

Standard tuning, Steve. I like being able to apply the fretboard knowledge I already have (and I’m too lazy to find my way around a new tuning!)