solo acoustic slide help needed

JR#97

JR#97

New member
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1749&alid=-1

I'm about to re-record a solo acoustic slide piece called Mediterranean Slide. I have no idea how to record slide, so please critique my first go around I did live back in 1999. This recording is pretty "in yer face". I mic'd it close to avoid room chatter. I'm looking for an intimate setting.. not a tongue down your throat setting. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me.....
 
this is great, I find the recording to be pretty warm, not that slashing kind of metalic slide that you sometimes hear. For someone that doesnt know how to record slide you did a pretty good job on this one!!!
 
I like the sound you got ....
you might want to pm crawdad ... I think he plays slide so he could offer some advice ...
 
Fed said:
I like the sound you got ....
you might want to pm crawdad ... I think he plays slide so he could offer some advice ...
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Good call.. that's actually the first thing I wanted to do. Him and phil ummm... phil something or the other... Genius minds think alike.. so how I thought of that one, I have no idea!
 
I likes it....the tone is about right for slide. The only thing is there's a lot of noise from the slide hitting the strings and an occasional fret.
Crawdad would be a good one to contact about this.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I likes it....the tone is about right for slide. The only thing is there's a lot of noise from the slide hitting the strings and an occasional fret.
Crawdad would be a good one to contact about this.
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That's where the delima is... fret and slide noise vs boomy body. I recorded it dobro lap style with a 57 aimed at the 14th where the body and neck join.. any closer to the body and the bottom end is a bit much. I mic'd further away.. actually straight up, and it sounded flat. I tried a Shure BG 4.0 condenser and it picked up the slide and fret noise even worse. I'm guessing a side chained compressor or de-esser might help? Oh.. and technique... :rolleyes:
 
Man, that's a really beautiful piece of music, and you obviously have some guitar skills that I don't (yet) possess.

Have you tried a glass slide? I use a shotglass a lot and it cuts down on the contact noise a lot.

(please don't totally embarrass me by writing back that you WERE using a glass slide...you could just PM that to me, and that'd be just fine)

:D
seriously cool piece of music
 
Kramer said:
Sweet sound..tuned to an open E?
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Yup, open E.. but 2 steps lower to open D ;)

I used a raised nut extension thingy to raise the action because that low of a tuning is way to loose for slide otherwise. Another trick I use is to use a this metal piece out of a cheapo capo that's about the width of a bass E string. I Slide it under stings and put a Shubb capo behind it to keep the tension. It raises the action a tad and I don't have to fuss with loosening all the strings to add the raised nut extension thingy.
 
chrisharris said:
Man, that's a really beautiful piece of music, and you obviously have some guitar skills that I don't (yet) possess.

Have you tried a glass slide? I use a shotglass a lot and it cuts down on the contact noise a lot.

(please don't totally embarrass me by writing back that you WERE using a glass slide...you could just PM that to me, and that'd be just fine)

:D
seriously cool piece of music
Click to expand...

It is a nice piece.. the guy who wrote it, Frank Morone is Italian and I can't find his stuff anywhere. I learned the piece out of Fingerstyle magazine. Now that I've said it, I'll probably get sued... oh well... I'm poor already...

I have a glass medicine bottle slide...but my accuracy with it sucks. It's wider than my metal slide. It also doesn't project as well and I have a hard time getting the balance between the "fretted" notes and open strings. But I guess that's why they invented practice. Thanks for the comments.
 
Man, you play really well! A slide player who's in tune--now, I gotta like that! This is a beautiful tune too. Well done!

If you want less fret noise, I'd say get a raised nut for the guitar--like on a dobro. hey--I think some company makes a metal nut that you can slide right on top of the existing one. Check those dobro sites--those guys would know.

As for the bar noise, some of that comes with the territory. I personally find it pleasant and an intrinsic part of the sound, but if you want it less apparent, then you gotta block behind the bar with your hand, so things are muted there. You can also mess with right hand blocking to kill the strings you aren't playing when possible. A heavy slide like a steel guitar bar or even a big ass socket wrench that fits over your finger (like a spark plug socket) will help. Light weight slides all ow for too much chatter on an acoustic for my tastes. Electric slide is a different thing--I use a glass slide for that and love it.

I don't record a lot of this kind of thing, but here's an idea to try. Put a condenser at head level facing down at the guitar and put your 57 or another condenser about 6 inches from the bridge. The 57 should get the sustain of the stings and the condenser will get the full body sound. Mess with the mix until you get the best of both worlds.

These are just ideas, so try what you wish. Don't mess with your style though, because its there in spades!
 
so...this is the song that you are going to redo??
I am not sure that you can improve on this performance or sound
I would love to get a sound like this!!!
 
crawdad said:

As for the bar noise, some of that comes with the territory. I personally find it pleasant and an intrinsic part of the sound, but if you want it less apparent, then you gotta block behind the bar with your hand, so things are muted there. You can also mess with right hand blocking to kill the strings you aren't playing when possible. A heavy slide like a steel guitar bar or even a big ass socket wrench that fits over your finger (like a spark plug socket) will help. Light weight slides all ow for too much chatter on an acoustic for my tastes. Electric slide is a different thing--I use a glass slide for that and love it.

I don't record a lot of this kind of thing, but here's an idea to try. Put a condenser at head level facing down at the guitar and put your 57 or another condenser about 6 inches from the bridge. The 57 should get the sustain of the stings and the condenser will get the full body sound. Mess with the mix until you get the best of both worlds.
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Heavier slide... duh... that makes sense... since I'm playing dobro style, why not use a dobro slide? Very heavy... much practice will be needed with one of those, though.

I'll be sure to try those mic suggestions. Thanks for the comments!
 
King Elvis said:
so...this is the song that you are going to redo??
I am not sure that you can improve on this performance or sound
I would love to get a sound like this!!!
Click to expand...

thanks! But I'm not happy with the performance. I'm also not happy with how "in yer face" it sounds. But nobody's commented on that, so maybe it's not that big of a deal.
 
ok, this sounds really good......as far as warmth and string noise, i played your song then some tracks from Leo Kottke's 6&12 string guitar album (the best solo acoustic guitar album ever in my opinion), here's what i noticed........string noise, your fine.....it's at an easily tollerable level, you're a human playing guitar and that's what it sounds like.....you don't have any clanks that sound like a person playing slide and messing up, it just sounds like a person playing slide.........as far as the in your face goes.......it is a little more in your face than Leo's album, not that that is a bad thing........you said you were really close to the mic last time, about a foot or two back could probably help and still keep it immediate..............great stuff
 
powderfinger said:
ok, this sounds really good......as far as warmth and string noise, i played your song then some tracks from Leo Kottke's 6&12 string guitar album (the best solo acoustic guitar album ever in my opinion
Click to expand...

You did all that for me? Thanks! Good reference... I'll have to dig that one out and listen to the production. I was always too busy listening to him kick my ass to pay attention to his production. I saw him on Austin City Limits once.. he had a C14 in front of him and it sounded huge! No C14's in my immediate future :mad: Thanks for the comments.
 
Sounds great, I certainly wouldn't mess with it much.

Are you using a metal extension nut? It's kind of must if you're going to bear down on the strings. Dobro capos are handy too. As for a slide, I've always used a Stevens, the shape is comfortable and weight quiets the string noise, and allows you to bend the strings on the backside of the bar (3rd and 2nd string for E tunings and 2nd for G tunings) to get a pedal steel sound.

I don't have much out there to sample as far as slide goes but I've got a sort of eclectic sampling of songs at mp3.com under John Malcolm Penn.......look for 'Cottonwood' and 'Happy Hour Blues', there's some Wiessenborn on those.
 
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