Sliding Blindly

[VikingBlues]

My PRS SE has sat gathering dust since I got the Vintage Lemon Drop.

So today I tuned the PRS to open E, searched the drawer for my glass slide, wiped the dust away and tried to remember how to play blues with a slide.

Two tracks of the PRS, both through the superChamp XD on a Tweed voice. A Lawrence Fritts Backing Track "Blind Oyster Blues" in E.



Unplanned and unrehearsed. Hope it's worth a listen.

[12bar]

You remembered well (did you ever upload one?), avoid the dust!

[VikingBlues]

You remembered well (did you ever upload one?)

Does go back a bit! I think I need to brush up on the detail quite a bit - but the extra confidence I have in playing these days helped to balance that rustiness.

Apart from a bit of slide in the background, or in vocal pieces the recorded / uploaded VB slide is rare - just three recordings.

Of those three,one is the same backing track as this - "Selfish Shellfish Blues" in March 2012. Though it's a lead guitar played normally and a slide part on the PRS SE and trying to get the guitars "talking" to each other. I didn't have the confidence to do just slide.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1607&p=12837&hilit=slide#p12837
The earlier version does sound more tentative and more over-controlled. I'm slowly getting a bit more reckless in my playing - by the time I'm 110 I may even be taking a risk or two.

Then in April 2012 there was an Open D tuning on the Hagstrom using another Lawrence Fritts BT - in much the same style. Also sounding very safe.
"Cat's a Sleeping in the Sun" viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1793&p=14276&hilit=slide#p14276

The only other one - where I did get a bit more attack to the playing and sounded much more relaxed was "Rhodes to Nowhere" in September 2011.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1129&p=9338&hilit=slide#p9338

So I think it's safe to say I've not played too much slide guitar. I really should as it does give a bluesy edge to recordings much more easily than standard playing.

avoid the dust!

I also found a thread on 12bar back in July 2011 where I was documenting my first attempts to play blues with a slide. It was interesting to hear my first attempts - it's easy to quickly forget just how difficult the beginnings of learning something new are. Everyone here was very kind and encouraging though, which is a great help to developing a new skill.

[12bar]

The 2011 one is my favorite!
A while ago I did some slide and used it as background music. Inspired (if not stolen from... ) by Ry Cooders playing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNA2jJQ9ygE

[VikingBlues]

The 2011 one is my favorite!

It's a much more inspiring backing for a moody piece of playing!

A while ago I did some slide and used it as background music. Inspired (if not stolen from... ) by Ry Cooders playing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNA2jJQ9ygE

I think I recall feeling seasick watching the video.
A piece of music which makes me really wish you could post your recordings up more often. Great piece of playing.

[HalfBlindLefty]

Better play some more slide in the future VB, would hate to not have the option of listening to new lside stuff from you :)

[MichaelRobinson]

Continue sliding blindly. What you do now is good. Some day you will see.................

[VikingBlues]

Thanks HBL and thanks Michael.

I'll try and keep up with more slide.

Though it's difficult to decide what to play at the moment!

As well as the slide playing there's my usual style of 6 string electric with BTs, there's the 12 string to explore more, the acoustic to explore, the Spider Capo "open" tunings to explore (particularly on the acoustic), the thumb-pick to get used to and the potential for expanding more into fingerstyle, and playing along of an evening with my better half Sandra and her Uke collection! Plus I'm currently fighting Resonator GAS.

I've hardly played a 6 string electric in 3 weeks now - very strange experience.

[MichaelRobinson]

Though it's difficult to decide what to play at the moment!

Yes. Improvisation is not so easy at the sliding in the moment, I can imagine it.

[GibsonBlues]

Very cool. The back track + your sliding = sounded just like a The Doors song in tone. Very impressive and enjoyable to listen to.

Keep rockin'.

[VikingBlues]

Very cool. The back track + your sliding = sounded just like a The Doors song in tone. Very impressive and enjoyable to listen to.

Keep rockin'.

Thank you GB - appreciate your encouraging words. I do like the way just a few notes can sound so much bluesier than usual when played with a slide.

[tytlblues]

Wow VB!!! this is very nice!!! great down home blues sound!!! the slide work is so clean!!

[VikingBlues]

Wow VB!!! this is very nice!!! great down home blues sound!!! the slide work is so clean!!

Thanks Tytl.
The PRSE SE seems to like being played with slide - I'm going to have to work hard on my attempts to get as effective a slide sound on acoustic / resonator.