Fastest Slide Guitar Setup... AND It's Reversible! | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 97 | Thomann

[@balazsmagyar4211]

Check out Gary Rossington how he plays the song Freebird live, that trick is also super easy: he put a thick electrical wire (incl. insulation) under the strings at 1st or 3rd fret. Works fine unless you want to go down to lower frets or open. It lifts the strings enough and easy to remove. Congrats Kris to the channel, you and Guillaume are the best, so good and proud to see a fellow countryman contributing in one of the most viewed guitar channel (not speaking of your other YT-channel, love that too). Cheers from the distant Stuttgart ;) Üdv, Balázs

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

So true, Gary is a legend! Thanks a lot Balázs, we really appreciate your kind words!! Nagyon köszi és rákkenroll! :) //Kris

[@WorshipGuitarist4life17]

Gary rossington AKA MY MOOOOOSSTTTT FAVORITE GUITARIST EVERRR!!!

[@bernardhossmoto]

I have one of these metal nut risers which make it super easy to raise the action for slide.

[@lone-wolf-1]

I was interested in some of these, but was afraid they scratch my fretboard and the headstock. Don‘t they?

[@bernardhossmoto]

@@lone-wolf-1 No worries, you just put it over your nut.

[@antsonc]

Me too, it works great and no adjust needed

[@pharmerdavid1432]

But then you can't fret the strings too, those are meant for lap style playing.

[@cradd00]

Good tips! You make slide playing look easy, nicely done!

[@richardkenna149]

Check out Dylan Adams,he plays slide on 9s with low action and he's up there with Trucks and Allman, must have the lightest touch

[@bheater2615]

Looks like a lot of fun I’m gonna do it with one and leave it that way for playing slide only, thanks for the tip a dobro is fun as well

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Good idea, I setup my Epiphone SG with .011-.048 set and slightly higher action for slide, I don't like the wide-flat neck for regular playing anyways.

[@notecrackervideos]

I’m not a professional guitarist by any standard, but if there is one thing I have learned by listening, watching and learning from the masters, old and modern, it is that there is absolutely no reason to change the setup of any guitar for slide playing. Whether the strings are 10’s or 12’s you don’t want to apply nothing but the lightest pressure on the strings. The slide should simply kiss the strings and sliding between notes should be effortlessly and musical. Any attempt to apply more downward pressure than is needed will make the smooth and bluesy tone you associate with slide rock/blues sound harsh and rough. Playing slide on electrics is a combination of that and your favorite overdrive or gain setting. The light touch is everything with slide. Just my opinion of course. Peace.

[@yetimatzenightcat8702]

You nailed it 🤷‍♂️👍 No preasure is the goal

[@jratcliffe91]

your right - the man himself, derek trucks, plays on like 10's with action super low....

[@lordofthemound3890]

You don’t need to do any of this, especially if you go back and forth from slide to regular playing, as a lot of people do.

[@pharmerdavid1432]

@@jratcliffe91 Actually he uses .011 and .014 for the 1'st and 2'nd strings, the rest are the usual .017-.026-.036-.046... Many great slide players use regular .010-.046 sets in standard tuning, with medium action.

[@Kingofrestrrooms666]

@@pharmerdavid1432 my main guitar i use a hybrid 9's combo with a lighter G string than normal set of 9's. i was/am going to set up another guitar just for slide using 10's (still light enough for my normal lead and rhythm). My main guitar is super super low action with hybrid 9's and felt too low for slide. Now after reading your comment and the others above I'm not sure what to do? what do you suggest. Oh one last thing David, I saw a video on KZbin and the guy said you have to press really hard on the strings with the slide, use 11-12's with high string action! now I read here you guys are saying the exact opposite. (btw I am new to slide but have dabbled over the years and a very experienced guitarist of 50 years. Not bragging just letting you know my skill level in case you have any tips and advice. cheers Dave Captain.

[@lone-wolf-1]

Cool tips here, Chris!👍🏼 I usually practice slide playing on regular low action 09's or 10's. I’m too lazy to mess up my „perfect“ setup. So, constantly sliding with some buzz and fretting, but the benefit I hope for, is later a super light touch and the ability to play the slide on any guitar. With low action, if you want to play some fretted notes inbetween, they sound good too. Till then, and to reduce my frustration, I will soon build me a 4-string cigar-box-guitar with raised action.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Big YES to the cigar box guitar! Those are so much fun!! Cheers //Kris

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Jack Pearson is a slide master, and he uses extra-light strings with low action, but he's a Maestro.

[@benjimenez7702]

hey brother - i used to use business cards to raise the nut to play slide - but now i'm trying your tips - thanks brother

[@josephhughes9490]

Kris, The man can slide too. Nice Les Paul 👌

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thank you Joseph! Well... I try playing a slide, hah! My favorite guitar players are slide dudes (Derek Trucks, Joey Landreth, Arien Posen) so I listen to a lot of slide music. I need to practice it a lot more though, also because of the open tuning which is super confusing. Haha! Cheers //Kris

[@RaxFx]

Why not use a "Göldo ASNUT Slide Saddle" or "Grover Perfect Guitar Extension Nut", both sold by Thomann ???? These little helpers make it simpler than messing around with trussrod and bridge height

[@kingstumble]

You beat me to it!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hi, those are great if you want to have a radical change. But because all of the slide players that I admire also fret notes sometimes, I prefer a "just about enough high string tension" setup for slide playing. Also this "non-radical" way you can still use the guitar for normal playing if needed, which makes a lot of sense especially if someone only has one instrument. I didn't want to ignore all those viewers. Does that make sense? Cheers //Kris

[@thebrysmith3]

Another option is to pick a guitar with a flatter fretboard radius (if you can). I just picked that up from another channel. Seems to do the trick.

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Or flatten the radius at the saddles on Fender guitars with 7 1/2" radius 'board.

[@JustVinnyMusic]

That does help. Very old guitars back in the day that were 12 frets had originally been Hawaian's and had flat fretboards. If you can find one that's playable they are a lot easier to play. Personally I also like thinner and higher frets than you normally find even on resonators. It's a lot easier to fret higher on the fretboard when your action is set a little high.

[@jamesmalamute7874]

Gary Rossington from Lynyrd Skynyrd has some type of metallic round thin rod right before the nut on his famous SG when he plays the intro to Freebird( like a Zero fret that is taller than the other 22 frets) It raises the action at the first fret which is good, but I am sure the bridge needs to be compensated, and set up for good intonation

[@hockeyman2274]

I believe Rossington used a nail at one point. Don't know what gauge, but it would seem simple enough to do. Detune strings insert nail, tune up.

[@Ans12237]

Does it make sense to adjust the tail-piece downwards for higher string trension?

[@douglaschristine8387]

Sounds great but I never realized you had to do all that to play slide. So I guess guitarists have one guitar for slide. Great show you guys have.

[@racerdaveracerdave]

You certainly don't need to do all of this, but that's all depends on your touch or lack thereof. I lack a fine touch on the slide, so I need to perform these setup tips, which were excellent by the way. Two guitars are a good way around it, but not everyone has that at their disposal. What he suggested was a great middle-of-the-road approach. (a lighter slide like a glass one can help as well over the heavy brass one he was using because you can be a little more sensitive to pressure)

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, thanks! Well, if you like a little higher action anyhow you don't have to change anything. That will work instantly. Most of us use a low (or medium low) action which makes slide playing way harder, that's why I recommend raising the strings a bit. Cheers //Kris

[@tonato17]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Very helpful tutorial. Thank you. Is there a measurement for medium action ? What measurement would you consider "little high action" to play with slide, but still quite ok to play without it? Hope my question makes sense. Thank you!

[@musicproductionvideos5019]

​@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Yes please can you give us some basic measurements? How high off the 1st & 12th fret do you consider a starting point?

[@johndaugherty4127]

Excellent

[@boomerbassmeme]

What do you think of the Grover Perfect Guitar Nut? I have seen Andy Dion use it to convert his Tele temporarily to a lap style for slide.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

That's great if you want to raise the string way high. But if you still want to be able to fret some notes whilst playing slide, I prefer this more subtle slide setup. :) Cheers //Kris

[@boomerbassmeme]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Thanks Kris! I never tried one, and wasn't sure how well they worked. Your way makes sense for being able to fret too!

[@shader26]

Would have been nice with some metrics on the string height, high and low e sides.

[@WorshipGuitarist4life17]

2:29 2:30 what way do I turn to loosen it? I tried lowering hight on my acoustic, I loosened it quarter turn, 12:00 to 10:00

[@Kingofrestrrooms666]

Hi Thomann and thanks for the straightforward video. My question is,... Don't you have to adjust the intonation? Thought changing the bridge height and adjusting the truss rod would put the intonation out.? gosh if that's all i have to do re video the ill do it. I've been hesitant due to thinking id have to adjust the intonation, which is a bit tricky for a first-time set up adjuster like me.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hi, it's recommended checking on the intonation after the setup, yes. It very much depends on how much you change the neck relief though. Especially if you use a slide with the slightly higher strings, where the frets don't really get used - or at least not that much. You don't have to worry about the intonation setup btw, we made a video on it, it's really simple: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWixeJVmp8xrmas Cheers //Kris

[@insidious.92]

I wonder how Paul Gilbert plays slide with string gauge 8/38. What kind of setup he has on his guitar?

[@JohnnyHurbonConnections]

Thanks !!!

[@JasonKeyt]

What’s you amp settings and what pedal are you using.

[@curlzwalk]

Great!!

[@PooNinja]

🎵Slide into the groove🎶 Lightly mute the strings behind the slide! IDK why it took me so long to learn that!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Because it's unnatural to do it. But yeah, muting the strings makes the tone so much cleaner. Cheers buddy! //Kris

[@PooNinja]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses most things I do are considered “unnatural “ at least according the the court papers. 😳

[@gizmogeeks]

sorry but I wouldn't call that reversable - it's a total reset - I have found the best way it just put acoustic bridge (flat ( under the strings on 2nd or 3rd fret - then take it out when your done and the guitar is back to normal ..

[@bodi.mp3]

It’s reversible in the sense that there isn’t any subtractive work done, or that there aren’t any permanent changes. To someone who isn’t fluent in understanding how a guitar works, I can see how this would be a hassle, but I’m a guitar tech for work, so with my experience I feel like I could get this done within ten minutes going either way. I’ll experiment with what you recommended, but I also suggest getting used to doing setups on your own stuff frequently, as for me at least, it’s really fun and meditative assuming I don’t come across an issue lol

[@quatzu]

“We will not change or modify anything on the guitar.” - proceeds to total re-string, truss rod adjustment, and new action set.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Well, a setup adjustment is not a mod after all, haha! What I meant is that we don't change the instrument or modify it in an irreversible way. Cheers //Kris

[@doylesmith2]

This kind of sounds like advise from someone who doesn’t play slide much. You don’t need heavy gauge stings for slide, just ask Billy gibbons

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

You're right, I don't play slide too often. That's exactly why I feel the struggle of slide beginners. 😅 If you start practicing it with thin strings, you'll fret those notes all the time which is annoying and ruins the motivation. When you get better at controlling the slide ring you can get away with a lower action and thinner strings too, absolutely true. Cheers //Kris