Slide Guitarist Q&A!! Answering Your Questions

[@lachaineguitare]

Thanks for the FAQ!

[@rmtomasin]

Great stuff man thank you! I would love to see a full live set of you guys since I’m on the west coast.

[@andrewbentriley]

Love all the details about your band and the value that playing with a group for so long brings to your playing. I agree about that telepathic link for sure.

[@mozartsp]

Thanks a lot for this Dylan, very useful information

[@grassrootsguitarschool]

Thanks so much for answering that dude!! Great video, stoked to see you live someday!!

[@shanelofton5857]

Do you fret with the slide when you do fast runs? Greg Koch thinks that Derek does this sometimes to get the intonation spot on. Greg explains it in his video with Andertons from 2017 at 27 minutes.

[@EnkiknE]

Tanks Dylan ! Always a blast ! Cheers from Normandie in France !

[@Guitargate]

Howdy brother! Hope to visit in JAX soon brother!

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Hey man, let me know when you do and I’d love to hang!

[@jessievasser6293]

ok some new stuff to work on this weekend, thanks Dylan!

[@michelearnaldi1843]

Super interesting, thanks!

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks for your question and thanks for watching man!

[@yolerhymenstein3866]

Helpful

[@chrisg5271]

Great advice ! Love your channel, so interesting to hear what you have to say from the questions, really answered well. Yeah love your playing man. Hey if anyone can pick up one thing from you then all is good.

[@GM-mv1ch]

Question: what is the guitar with the best access to higher frets? I am thinking also on mules and other boutique brands (not only gibson & Fender)

[@jeffreygraves7913]

Keep Going Dylan ! Awesome video!

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks Jeff, I plan to!

[@ethanturner1993]

Do you have an album(s)? Have you considered a bowler hat or something other than a ball cap?

[@josephperkins8262]

You the best mane! The more i play im sure the more questionsi will have you will definitely hear from me😎

[@latterhaha]

You are amazing and thank you for the great videos, very inspiring. Can I download the backtrack you play to anywhere? Peder

[@Krizrax]

Great vid! I don't have Insta so I hadn't heard of you planning this, and I was already heading to the comments to ask... the exact first question you answered here haha. So thanks for that and thanks for all the explanations! Been getting into playing behind the slide lately, mostly chords atm, looking forward to your vid about that too :)

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks so much for watching! Honestly I need to be more proactive about posting more playing clips and such on KZbin, I forget that not everyone has Instagram. Looking forward to doing the chord video!

[@haydencrouch2837]

Hey Dylan, you have inspired me so much to become a wicked slide player to the point where my slide basically never leaves my pinky until my girl points out that it is still on my finger while I eat dinner, not realizing it is still on. I was just curious if you ever listen to big wreck? My interest in slide began with Ian Thornley, who I guess attended Berkeley, and he also does a bunch of behind the slide playing. Is he someone you are familiar with? Thanks for the awesome content and inspiration man👍

[@samdixon6433]

there's a pretty decent slide guitar player in that band on your t-shirt! you should check him out XD my question: how do you recommend dipping into adding in "spicy" notes (b7, #4, b2, etc) to your playing. so far I just play straight major and minor which is cool but it's those spicy notes that really sell it!

[@Blazes_58]

Trombone players could have been great slide players... Jack Pearson is for me a monster slide player ..Cheers young man !!

[@johnnyglass7611]

Always listen to other instruments. My biggest slide influence was Donny Hathaway's vocals, and Ryan Zoidis' (from Lettuce) saxophone playing.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Absolutely agree, and those are two big influences for me too!! Donny Hathaway “Live” and Lettuce “Live in Tokyo” have been formative ones for me

[@johnnyglass7611]

@@dylanadamsguitar The biggest thing for me was getting out of my own head. Learning that no matter what, you have to think differently when it comes to slide and taking musical tonics from other instruments. Dexterity and intonation become super important especially with sax lines

[@bobmartin2447]

The best info I’ve gotten on slide. Please keep them coming!

[@MiguelOlivan]

I have a question as an adult beginner guitar player. Do you think playing slide is harmful for a beginner? I love the sound of the slide, I tried your slide guitar 101 video as starting point and I enjoyed the sound of it, but... Should I concentrate in regular playing instead of losing focus with slide? Whats your take on this topic? (love your videos and your playing, btw)

[@bry8500]

I have a question. I’m normally healthy guy who is of sound mind and body but I noticed it after playing slide. My left shoulder gets a little sore. I was wondering if you have any suggestions because it does limit the amount that I can practice. Do you consciously try to limit motion of your arm that has the slide?

[@mattthone9997]

Dylan, have you ever used a 12 in the high E Have problems with that string being 11s

[@josephperkins8262]

I have 11s but the high E and the b string i have 12&16

[@josephperkins8262]

Have you ever gotten into new orleans funk and incorporated slide with it too?

[@kmichaelp4508]

Does Smokestack have any higher ambitions?

[@LLASBJJ]

Will leaving my guitar in open e damage the neck?

[@garyeggleton1142]

is there a way to be as good as you or Derek with a pick....im just not there with fingers yet

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Never say never, but I think it’s nearly impossible to have the same level of control playing slide with a pick. Getting the hang of fingerpicking takes time and can be a drag, but it’s worth putting in the work!

[@fiducialpoint1]

interesting. your view on listening to gospel singers. and their melodies. i think of Mr. Ray Charles.

[@aadityakiran_s]

I just can't get myself to compromise on action to play slide. So I use that paper like Guthrie Govan.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Fair enough, ultimately gotta find what works best for you!

[@aadityakiran_s]

@@dylanadamsguitar Yeah. But I can't play any open strings so mostly I transpose everything to F and play. Could you maybe talk about that a little? High action vs low action.. can't really shred on high action. Very hard on the fingers.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

@@aadityakiran_s I go into that in the “Should You Set Up Your Guitar For Slide” video I linked in the description, essentially I’m not a fan of having super high action and super thick strings for slide. Much prefer to have basically normal action, a slide that fits well/isn’t too cumbersome, and put in the work to develop a lighter touch. I give my setup measurements in the video and for me they are a good compromise for playing slide and non-slide on the same guitar

[@aadityakiran_s]

​@@dylanadamsguitarThanks for that. I'll try to set up my guitar that way and see if I can play all the things I usually play and get back to you. Thanks a lot. Did you used to have a different setup (maybe with lower action and lighter strings) before you got into slide?