Don’t Make These 5 Slide Guitar Mistakes

The Rock Slide: therockslide.com/
PRS NF53 guitar: prsguitars.com/electrics/mode...
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Using the Wrong Size Slide
03:04 - Incorrect Action
06:08 - “Is My Guitar Good for Slide?”
07:48 - Too Much Gain
10:16 - Beating Yourself Up
13:11 - Bonus Mistake
14:23 - Outro

[@mozartsp]

Great stuff Dylan! Just one question, when you talk about string action are you measuring it from the 12th fret? with no capo on the first fret (I assume)?

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Yes, pinning this because I meant to mention it in the video: I’m measuring from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the string, no capo or anything

[@johanneslund5323]

I would love a video of you discussing right hand technique! It seems really complex.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

I definitely plan on it!

[@seancummings6379]

Yes, this would be super helpful!

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

just get used to resting 5 digits on the 6 strings (rejig it to catch the other string when needed) they kill and mute the strings as well as picking em, it's challenging at first, particularly useful if you are playing in standard, i use it as a lap guitar technique too now. picking the g and e only, for example, is hard because the b has to be dampened and the other strings too.. you will get it mate.

[@StillAGreatNight]

Jut started learning slide after nearly 30 years of playing guitar. Your videos have been a godsend! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@scottlowsongs]

Same!!!!

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

@@scottlowsongs i did this too, ages ago now, it will feel as natural either way soon..

[@gergemall]

Me,too over five decades of experience playing guitars’ I’ve always wanted to get proficient playing slide guitar too . Dylan is EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND INCREDIBLY INFORMATIVE. EXCELLENT CONTENT 😊🎸

[@mrstrat222]

Great info!! Thanks!

[@flaskater49]

Good stuff. Tks as always !

[@markdouglas1994]

Great video - tips are spot on!

[@jniggel]

Another great video. Thank you!

[@__-cr6fv]

Solid helpful advice! Thanks

[@lelandstronks319]

Thanks for the info Dylan.🎼👍🎸

[@VeniceKing1]

Love your videos man, keep them coming

[@tomp.4471]

Loved this video, lots of really good advice!

[@drewdietz2115]

another great video, thanks

[@the_icerasta7]

Really enjoy your videos, super helpful!

[@warrengold8357]

Great video. So helpful. Thank you.

[@FitnessForToday]

Thanks for the encouragement!!!❤

[@JamminJim42]

Great advice !!

[@johnharris3013]

Great video, especially appreciate tip 5. Thanks!

[@Blues40]

Wonderful tips, thank you 🙏🏽

[@josephperkins8262]

Awesome video man! Love your content! Those last 2 topics were great!

[@cmscss]

Thanks for taking to time to share your knowledge - amazing. Cheers

[@Dang...]

Thank you!

[@HardDriveNation]

A lot of good information here. Thank you for putting it out there.

[@martinboggess149]

Video quality keeps going up! Keep it up my man

[@thecommentchannel2442]

Thanks Dylan! Your videos inspired me to try slide.

[@larniete-puki7651]

Great lesson and thanks Dylan excellent advice

[@dandedee1]

Great lesson!

[@jhnel13]

Thank you Dylan, good advise.

[@chessrootslove9916]

Well, this was a nice channel to stumble across, I've been looking at those Rock Slides for a minute now. I've always loved the sounds a guitar can make with a slide, very close as to the human voice. Great presentation, Dylan!

[@sjefwagemakers]

Thank you for the very usefull tips!

[@michaelkay611]

Great video! I find playing slide on a 7.25" radius trickier, though I am sure there are people out there who do it really well. The 12" radius is comfortable. I don't really have experience with 9.5" and wonder how that would feel. Your point about gain is really important for almost any kind of guitar playing, though I think with slide the temptation to up the gain to get lots of sustain is strong. One thing is while Duane or Derek or many others did not use a lot of gain, they do get to play really loud. That makes a difference. High headroom tube amps that stay clean sounding still give you a lot of sustain when they are up high enough. Most of us don't get to play that loud anymore, whether at home or even at a gig. So we have to find our own way to the right tone.

[@BryanClark-gk6ie]

You can take a piece of copper tubing' pack it full of sand and bend it to match the 7:25" radius.

[@scottcurry4116]

Nice video Dylan. I work on slide a lot in standard tuning after watching your earlier videos. It’s a lot of fun and a challenge!

[@mdspman000]

"No shortcuts" and being persistent are 2 great tips. I think a 3rd tip is having a consistent plan that you follow to gain the appropriate skills. You are what you practice and that starts with learning fundamentals. Following random youtube videos won't build a practice routine, though you can extract helpful tips to augment an existing plan.

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

i like keeping it quite random but i make sure all aspects are being covered and get stuff down, been playing ages now though.. they are good tips though, yes.

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

another is 'even learn stuff you don't like' either you will come out liking it or have a clearer idea of what you do like, it's win win..

[@JanCoelus]

Love your spirit!

[@antoniushalim2829]

I love the way you explained the real truth on slide learning. Most of all I love your style ( musical) . Thank you for sharing.

[@semin811]

Such quality content! Your videos are just keep getting better. I really want to be able to play slide guitar like you one day, and it still feels so unrealistic at this point. Please keep making contents and I promise I'll always be waiting for more! Thank you.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks so much man, I’m trying to up the content/production quality with each video. And just keep chipping away at learning slide! It can be daunting, but every great player started from nothing, just gotta put in the work. And I’ll be here to help, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon with the videos! Best of luck man 🤙🏻

[@ricksalvador2672]

Great advice on tone and gain. At first it seemed I needed a lot of gain but realized it was kind of a crutch for bad technique. Now I practice with little or no gain and it requires me to have a better touch for consistent pressure, note attack and volume. Then I add gain as needed. Keep the videos coming Dylan they are the best!

[@toploadtele]

Thank you Dylan! As an old guy... with your help I'm determined to learn slide come hell or high water 😂

[@gregmiller2170]

Ditto!

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

age is just a number, although, yes, mine is a rather large one too :D

[@gergemall]

Sounds sweet Dylan. Liked, subscribed and shared l .. Saving for a future guitar lesson with you.

[@petepeltier6691]

Great video and advice. It confirms most of what I already knew and believed. I agree about the Rockslides. They’re amazing. Been using them exclusively for several years now. Keep up the great work. Your playing is fantastic.

[@anthonyleddin8055]

Thanks cobber . Good stuff!

[@MashaT22]

Always amazing advice, Dylan. You’re giving me hope with each and every video that I can learn this technique. Part of it is having a good teacher, and part is getting good advice about gear, setup, etc. Do you ever play slide on acoustic guitars of any kind? I’d love for you to talk about that sometime - there’s plenty to explore because acoustic guitars are like a whole other instrument than an electric guitar. The Acoustic Life KZbin channel with Tony Polecastro show recently did several episodes on slide and a variety of topics on the subject for people who might be interested in dabbling or are ready to jump on in. For instance, he was showing people how to convert a round neck to a square neck with an inexpensive doohickey that raises the action for playing like a lap steel. He also was showing resonators vs. standard wood guitars for the purpose of playing slide. That made me realize that you can talking about playing slide in the popular playing position vs. playing flat àla pedal steel type or square necks. Maybe you can talk about your preferred method in relation to the other, and how to get started doing it flat. His content made me wonder if you can show us how to make slide sound great on an acoustic guitar, perhaps using some of the gear and ideas suggested by Tony. He’s really nice, and I bet he’d let you use some clips. Anyway, I always wonder if one must be plugged in to make the slide sound best on an acoustic of any kind or whether it’s possible to achieve with a room mic (or while unplugged at home for all the minimalists and apartment dwellers out there, lol), I always wonder if the slide playing is technically different in the traditional position as compared to an electric guitar, how the setup might differ, how to start playing horizontally if one wishes to go that route (just seems so unnatural) and why one might want to chose that method, etc. I know you mostly play electric guitar from what it seems, but it would be a great avenue to explore for current acoustic players, people who might be interested in picking up acoustic guitar, and even for yourself personally - especially if you’ve never really done anything more than dabbling with slide on acoustic. Could be fun to watch the process of you figuring stuff out. 😉😂 Thanks so much, my friend! Always a great content to be had here!

[@lukecotton6768]

Loving these videos man. I’ve got my rock slide coming in the mail from sweetwater. I’ve been using a Dunlop 212 for a few years (on my ring finger) and I’ve gotten decent at slide in open and standard tuning, but you’ve really encouraged me to push towards learning to play behind the slide and just really trying to dive in and woodshed my slide playing!

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

i bend behind the bar but i have to learn to play behind it too now! heard about this and will check this guys videos on it, cheers!

[@jleber]

Practicing the Freebird slide lick over and over until it was fluid and perfectly in tune helped me a lot with my slide playing (especially in standard tuning)

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

it's a brilliant part, i used to play something fretted, then with a slide, the same way i got good at bending, hard when you first encounter this stuff, you have to become like a violinist or singer basically.

[@EnkiknE]

Thanks Dylan ! Cheers from France !

[@danielmiller2886]

My guitar teacber had me tune to open G tuning to start learning slide. I found that extremely helpful.

[@mountainsonmusic]

i’ve been playing slide for a few years (though most time has gone towards learning bluegrass banjo!) and this is one of the most straightforward and helpful videos so far

[@michaelgottlieb9083]

Great advice… love your blues playing bro… going to get my first brass slide this week…

[@PaisleyPatchouli]

Nice playing bud! :)

[@olddogguitars23]

Great tips. I’m just barely learning to play slide so this should help a bunch!

[@jorditoTX94]

Love the approach you talked about. Just taking on something and saying "I'm going to learn this. I'm going to play that." Every large leap I have taken over my 22 years of playing has been in moments when I thought that exact same way and just got after it. I think mindset is the most important thing in learning anything. I remember when I was in high-school and wanted to learn Over The Hills and Far Away so bad, but it was quite a bit above my level at that point. Especially on an acoustic. But I just went after it and spent countless hours every day on it. Within a few weeks I had it down and remember sitting there thinking "Wow...2 weeks ago this felt like a huge mountain to climb."

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

did that with a marty friedman solo when i decided to get more serious, you are right, i have same attitude now and it jumps you forward, a lot!

[@frankquinn1296]

This perfect advice. I have been playing standard for years, but I always had problems playing in minor keys, I kept going to the major scale. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didnt . Anyone that make slide sound like an open tuned guitar has my attention immediately. I think you are the only one the internet that actually studied and knows what and where to play in standard.

[@chrisg5271]

So cool man your right on the realities, of coarse not many of us will achieve much but for sure what you say is 100% and the best advice thank you

[@shallknowitall]

#5 is invaluable. Best advice 👍👍

[@Rockwatcher]

#5 and #6 are essential! Great tips Dylan.

[@robertrushing7721]

You do a great job of making me feel like I can do this!

[@davidivanjosephsalonia4566]

Thank you brother.🤗 I know what you mean with regards to learning. Like working in an office, or any job; if it's done just as a means-to-an-end, the quality of work suffers greatly, because half the minds attention is in the future and not fully in the Now. And then stress (or road rage if you are driving and gone quite insane) can easily creep in. And if you are not enjoying something you are not empowered by life because there is a hidden "No" so to speak contaminating the learning/playing process. The guitarist Guthrie Govan had a video where he was pointing out you should enjoy or learn to enjoy playing one note. Eckhart Tolle said in one of his books: "Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into the world from deep within you. The misperception that Joy comes from what you do is normal, and it is also dangerous, because it creates the belief that joy is something that can be derived from something else, such as an activity or thing. You then look to the world to bring you joy, happiness . But it cannot do that. This is why many people live in constant frustration. The world is not giving them what they think they need." I've learnt "Shed loads" from your videos thanks. David. Peace.🙏

[@TbonePlummer]

Love your playing fella

[@jeffmaxwell7041]

Very direct and very informative. Perhaps a quick rundown on how gain settings effect your tone with some shots of the amp settings? Thanks!

[@therideofalifetime]

I started learning slide about 3 weeks ago and because of your videos I’ve improved a lot. Thanks my friend hope all is well 🎉

[@jimdunlop1957]

Your #5 and #6 mistakes resonated … I learned slide from listening to Ry Cooder and Leo Kottke in the mid 1970’s.. that was my foundation. Your mention of Lowell George and compression was enlightening.. I had for 4 decades wondered how he got that sound on the Feats Don’t Fail Me Now album Ry’s Paradise and Lunch is an easily accessible master class in open tuning slide

[@bretholtz3877]

Dylan, you just flat rock. You have become my primary slide inspiration, because I needed someone to learn from who plays slide in standard tuning, and there are so damned few who do. If you don't become one of the legends of slide guitar, there is no justice in the cosmos.

[@doctorpatt]

nice advice, thanks, s

[@g-ed0818]

Im a beginner on guitar slides what a great tips and it helps a lot, thanks bro you are awesome i sub..👍

[@dlux703]

Great advice and great playing!! For 'diy' type players like me, may I suggest cutting some bottle necks for slides and looking for bottles that have a curved section that will match the radius on your guitar. Since I live in wine country I know it's possible. I use a metal cutting disc for the cuts and a belt sander to spooth out the sharp ends. "Sanded" glass slides, with a matt finish, also have advantages on acoustic guitar stings at times. A radiused glass slide on an open tuned neck can be helpful in contacting multiple strings equally.

[@5150show]

Incredible

[@roysteinbock2751]

Dylan. Your amazing. Love your playing and down to earth personality. Could you possibly do so short videos with a few licks. Not the basic Duane and Derek style playing but more of your staples. You have such a unique feel and phrasing. Keep up the great work.

[@slates1969]

Great video with a lot of good common sense advice👍

[@MrTimdriver]

Nice lesson Dylan.

[@atiostefony3760]

Good tips...I remember hearing Brian Jones on "No Expectations " when a i was 18 and it was really hard ot learn even if it was a simple song. I did have the same demons on my head saying " i can´t play this". But after a while i did, took me whole year of not doing it right, but i just keep thinking "I just got to be in tune" and it work. i am glad i did not stumble on a Duane Allman slide playing cause i that age I would have been scared .

[@chainsawteddybear]

REAL good video.

[@adamdagosto570]

#5 and #6 are outstanding points. I hate you for this reminder!! 😊. Great video. Really good job....back to practicing now.

[@bleeknoir]

Dylan, holy smokes. I FEEL those examples - tone and touch for days.

[@danthegeetarman]

Saw your video on Rhett’s new live channel, and wow. You really make that thing sing. I’ve decided to take up slide now. This video is an amazingly great start! Look forward to this journey

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Awesome, thanks so much man! I’d also recommend checking out my video “Slide Guitar 101: Basics and Where to Start,” best of luck to you!

[@danthegeetarman]

@@dylanadamsguitar perfect! Just what I was going to look for next!!

[@Stlie1]

Thanks for helping us get up and going with all the basic stuff. Without that, getting nowhere...

[@jeffro.]

Yes, i understand! I've NEVER felt like "burning my guitar," or " throwing it out," or "giving up." I just work a little harder to sound the way i want to sound! I've always felt that way about practice, and i don't know (wouldn't want to know) any other way.

[@goodknight37]

Great video👍 hearing the Fillmore album for the first time did it for me too. Also , I have the same carved wood skateboarder guy on your speaker lol

[@bloosman1]

Elmore James, Duane Allman and Johnny Winter were my first heroes on slide. Sonny Landreth opened me up to playing 'behind the slide'.

[@southportdrivers]

Dylan I’ve been playing slide for 30 years. You’re definitely waaayyy more progressed than I. But you’ve lit a fire in me again and have me trying to break out of the box I slide around in. Just an old dog trying not to get hurt learning new tricks…..thanks for the info you’re passing along

[@jasong4879]

thanks Dylan, great advice! im on the road for work a lot and i bought a shitty burner guitar to practice in hotel rooms with headphones, just 30 minutes every work day has helped so much with the muscle memory. Im only 3 weeks in.

[@pauleddy5146]

Really do love that guitar. That's my style, although dots are good enough for a simple man like me. Side dots alone is even mo' betta. I guess PRS wants everyone to know who made it immediately! Not many teachers explain how to set up the guitar AND how to dial in the tone! Nice job Dylan.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

It’s great man, I think once more people play one/see one in person they’ll say “ohhh I get it.” It just looks, feels and sounds excellent. Thanks so much for watching!

[@barruzza]

Look at you with that fancy tele. It sounds so good. I've heard nothing but good things about the PRS Telecaster.

[@gnawbabygnaw]

Liked, Subscribed, bell clicked and here’s a comment. Thanks for sharing your chops. 🤙🤙

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Hell yeah! Thanks so much for watching/liking/commenting/subscribing/bell-clicking 🤘🏻

[@APKyle]

I play lead guitar for my worship team and always considered incorporating slide, but was always hesitant as it seemed like a beast to tame. Your content and instructions have given me the confidence to make that leap and get out of my comfort zone. I now look forward to receiving the set list to see if, and how, the slide can be incorporated. God bless, bro, keep making content✌🏼

[@danielmiller2886]

I play for my church too and yeah, it's a scary proposition because mistakes could really be noticed. Check out Worship Guitar Tutorials channel and watch Bradford's "in ear mix" where he is recorded playing a service. He does a great job with slide.

[@APKyle]

@@danielmiller2886 very noticeable.. Delay can be ruthless if the wrong note is hit lol. Very familiar with Bradford and WT, but not with the in-ear mix video. I’ll have to look into that one. Thanks for looking out, brother! Peace and blessings✌🏼

[@danielmiller2886]

@@APKyle found it. Very first song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWHdioCMbaqCgcUsi=oiRGAdJIbvTuZk6o

[@charlesfitzgerald3201]

cool video, do you have any videos showing the positions and tunings as well as technique like dampening and what not, your a good player.

[@aadityakiran_s]

Great. I got the Ernie Ball comfort slide after seeing you use it on a song.

[@billpholde4816]

Your playing is excellent. Your vids are like in-depth lessons from the Allman Bros players, throughout the ages. Fab!!! I have a Google folder, called Slide Learning, where I bookmark the best slide videos...yours are the only ones in there.

[@KevinVanSlyke1]

Love the shirt!

[@tomandaj1]

Saw a discussion by Ry Cooder, years ago. He heightened his strings so that the slide was level across all the strings. Tried it and it works well

[@johnaustin1825]

I use a socket spanner. I've tried loads but that is my favourite. It's heavy!

[@gordonbuss3981]

So good thank you. My slide is too big and I need to stop worrying about strings not high enough.

[@MrAyla]

I’m a guy who does have separate guitars for standard and open G & D . I use sets of 11s on all my electric guitars. But I do put a .13 on the highest string to add a bit more tension on the open tunings . And if I can, I will put a heavier string on the low string to add a bit more tension. This just helps to keep you from fretting out. I also raise the saddle on the highest string that I put the .13 String on to add a little bit more height for use of Slide

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Duane Allman didn't play slide until seeing Jesse Ed Davis play "Statesborough Blues" with Taj Majal. If you listen to that track online, you can hear how Duane's version sounds similar. Mearle Watson, Doc Watson's son, got really good at playing slide on acoustic, and his inspiration - like yours, was seeing Duane Allman play electric slide guitar live. Mearle got a '59 Les Paul sunburst, and liked the neck so much he asked Gallagher to make the neck on his Dreadnaught acoustic just like the Gibson 1959 Les Paul neck. Mearle's had rosewood sides and back, while Doc,s was Mahogany he preferred. Doc used medium gauge strings, while Merle would use light gauge acoustic strings tuned up to an E chord, so pretty high tension for slide. I was very fortunate to see Doc and Merle play together at a little club in Georgetown, before Merle's tragic death. He was so beloved by the bluegrass community there is a "Merlefest" music festival every year in his honor, and to keep his memory alive. I've never seen anybody play fingerpicking acoustic slide guitar like Merle could. I've always loved slide guitar, and pedal steel guitar, they create some of my favorite musical sounds. But I've struggled with learning how to play slide myself all my life, and I'm 67 so I need to master slide now - before it's too late. I'm incorporating what I learned from this video with all the other information I've learned over the years, but know it's mainly going to take my will to stay with it. JD Simo's story is inspirational, because he struggled with learning slide too. The night he finally "got it", and couldn't believe he was finally playing it with control, said he was scared to stop playing afraid he would never be able to "get it" again. I'm going to keep at it until I can "get it" under control. About the string gauge: using extra-light .09-.942 set does make it more difficult, but that's what Jesse Ed Davis used on his telecaster, went to .09-.46 on his Gibson. Gary Rossington said he likes to use .09-.042 extra light strings to get a more "greasy" sound. Rhett Shull uses extra-light now, and seems to play slide quite well on them. That said, RJ Ronquillo recommends using .11 strings too, and that flat-wound strings can help. Some people use coated strings, or polished, or ground-wound for slide. Warren Haynes uses regular .10-.46 strings on his Les Paul and most other guitars for slide, except on the Firebird he may be using .11 strings? I'm just full of information - eh? Now I need to get busy 'shedding until I get it........!

[@mq4398]

Very good lesson. As an old dude, I would add to your mistake #6 comments that though it does take time and effort to get better, try to enjoy the journey getting there. Incremental improvement and discovery has always been such a joy for me. Thx.

[@GSelick]

So very relevant and helpful. Not a lot of theory, more practical guidance. Follow what Dylan says and you'll be playing better right away!!!

[@mykneeshurt8393]

Regarding "beating yourself up". I think it is important to learn how to enjoy the journey. Have an end goal to focus on but enjoy where you are now. "The worst day playing guitar beats the best day at a crummy job.... " Great content, Dylan!

[@dalejones4322]

Very interesting video

[@PankajDas-ec1uo]

Really love your playing on Blue Sky with the band

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks so much! 🙏🏻

[@RR-qi1zw]

Great stuff! Comments on attitude and persistence are so important. Should have been the first one 😂

[@alecstone7503]

I’ve been playing for about 15 years and got my first slide probably 10 years ago. Never really learned anything with it until maybe 2 years ago. And it’s still an everyday grind to get better but there really is no secret. Even forcing myself to get out of my comfort zone and play with a slide on stage has taken me further than practicing in my room.

[@luksgibson]

Great video man! Something that happens to me it's that de volume is way low when I use slide on the electric guitar. So when I alternate between slide and fingers doesn't work. I never see any video talking about that so it seem that it's something that happens only to me which makes it really weird. I play with a pick but the fingers doesn't solve it neither. And I try differents guitars and amps and had the same result.