Acoustic Cigar Box Guitars can be used to play slide guitar. They are usually tuned to open tuning and are either unfretted or have a high string action as this will eliminate a lot of fret buzz. The slide itself may be made of glass, metal, ceramic or bone.
What Is The Difference Between Playing Slide Guitar And Playing A Slide On A Guitar?
Playing slide guitar involves the use of a hollow tube called a slide on your finger whereas you can slide between note just using a fretting finger:
Slide Guitar
Playing slide guitar is a technique where you use a hollow tube called a slide on one of your fretting fingers. This guitar slide can be made of metal, glass, ceramic or bone.
The guitar will often be tuned to open tuning allowing you to place the slide across all the strings and play a chord. Since Cigar Box Guitars are usually tuned to open tuning, ( usually open G, but also open A, D or E ) this makes them ideal for playing slide guitar.
It is possible to play slide guitar in any tuning if you intend to play individual strings and slide between notes on those strings but you won’t be able to play slide chords as a slide is only really used on one fret.
Sliding Notes On a Guitar
If you’ve been playing guitar for a while you may well have heard of playing things like bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides on a guitar. These are ways of using your fingers to play two or more notes without plucking the string between them and makes a sound that is different from picking each note individually.
I have a couple of articles that explain how to play these techniques:
How To Hammer-On With A Cigar Box Guitar
What Is A Pull-Off On The Cigar Box Guitar?
Why Would I Want To Play A Guitar Slide On A Cigar Box Guitar?
Using a guitar slide allows you to get a totally different type of sound from your guitar. Rather than playing notes individually you can get a glissando effect. This means that you can play the notes between the notes.
Just as the human voice can gradually slide up or down a scale, a slide allows you to get the same kind of effect on your guitar.
Delta blues often uses this kind of effect. I think this kind of music sounds more soulful and expressive, much like a singer singing with lots of heartfelt expression.
How Can I Play Slide On A Cigar Box Guitar?
- Experiment with different slides
- Experiment using the slide on different fingers
- Practice sliding up and down the fretboard
- Use a finger behind the slide to mute the strings (stop the strings vibrating too much)
You will need to experiment with different slides to see which you find works for you. This is because they sound different and you will want to find one to fit your finger well.
I started off with a longer ceramic slide and then tried a glass slide and a metal slide. The slides are different weights, different lengths and also different diameters.
At first I wanted the slide to fit tightly onto my finger and I used tape and funky foam inside the slide to reduce the diameter. Later I found this too constricting.
My current favorite slide is a shorter ceramic slide.
Sometimes I play with the slide on my middle finger but I often favor my ring finger. You will need to try different fingers to see what suits you.
It’s very different playing slide guitar and to be honest a bit infuriating at first. Just sliding evenly up and down the fretboard requires a fair bit of practice ( well it did for me)
A really helpful tip that someone gave me that helped me a lot was to use a spare fretting finger behind the slide ( towards the headstock) to stop the strings buzzing too much. again this took a bit of practice to get right.
I have an article you might like to read and a couple of YouTube videos:
How Do You Begin To Play Slide On A Cigar Box Guitar?
What Is The Best Slide For My Cigar Box Guitar?
The best slide is the one that gives you the sound you like and is comfortable to play. You may need to experiment a bit to see what suits you.
As far as the kind of sound you can get, here is a helpful table comparing the different materials used:
| weight | volume | type of sound | |
| metal | heaviest | loudest | bright, long sustain |
| ceramic | lighter | quiter | softer, less sustain |
| glass | lightest unless thick-walled | quieter | even softer and lighter |
I haven’t included bone slides in this table as I have no experience of bone slides.
A longer slide might suit you, but bear in mind that many guitar slides are made for a 6- stringed guitar and you may find these a bit unwieldy.
Some players actually prefer a very short slide such as Shane Speal’s Stubby Slide. This is designed to let you play individual strings easily. You can then fret one note and play open strings as an accompaniment.
I find it easier to fret across all strings, even if I’m just actually picking one string.
If you want to make the slide fit your finger tightly you can reduce the diameter with tape or funky foam or something similar. I started by reducing the diameter, but then found that bending my finger slightly within the slide held it in place without feeling too constricting.
Just like choosing a pick will depend a lot on personal preference and also on what music you are playing, it’s the same for slides. You will probably want to get a selection to experiment with and get to have one or two favorites.
Slides are often not too expensive, although some hand-made ones cost a lot more.
How Much Do Guitar Slides Cost?
You can buy cheap slides from Amazon for just a few dollars and I think it’s worth trying different materials and sizes to see what suits you before spending a lot of money on an individual slide.
My favorite slide is ceramic and there are some beautiful hand-made ceramic slides available. These can cost quite a bit more, but you are getting a hand-crafted tool which is a pleasure to use. There are so many designs to choose from too.
Metal and glass slides also come in a variety of different qualities, but I think that experimenting with cheaper slides to start with is a good idea until you know what will suit you.
There are also special shaped slides and even slide rings that you might like to try, especially if you don’t get on well with a tubular slide.
How To Make A Slide For Your Cigar Box Guitar
If you fancy making your own slide, you can cut down a piece of copper pipe to make a metal slide. Alternatively, a bottleneck glass slide can be made by cutting the neck off a beer or wine bottle.
Some players actually hold something to act as a slide. I’ve even seen players using an AA battery.
Pros And Cons Of Playing Slide Guitar
If you’ve played guitar for a while and are just starting out on slide, be prepared for a bit of a learning curve. I was incredibly frustrated by my lack of progress at first.
Remember that this is a completely different way of playing and try to enjoy the learning process.
The major benefit to playing slide guitar is the amazing quality of sound you can get from your guitar. It can sound so mournful and sorrowful and is ideally suited to playing much slower music. There is such an interest to the sound that you don’t need quick running notes to add interest.
How To Use A Slide On Your Cigar Box Guitar
One thing I haven’t mentioned so far is the positioning of the slide on the fret board. You do not need to press hard on the strings, just lightly rest the slide on top.
The slide needs to be directly over the line of the fret. Whereas your fretting finger sits just behind the fret wire to make the note, the slide is acting as the fret itself. If you want to get an accurate note you need to sit the slide directly in line with the fret wire. Of course, a lot of slide playing is all about playing the notes within the notes but there will be times when you need to hit a note accurately and this is an important distinction.
My Guitar Slide Is Causing A Lot Of Fret Buzz
When I started to play slide guitar, I could not control the fret buzz. I was playing a fretted guitar which didn’t really help, but even a fretless instrument can allow for the strings to buzz on the part of the string which is towards the headstock end.
This unwanted vibration can be removed by muting the string behind the slide. this is achieved by placing a fretting finger lightly on the strings just behind the slide itself.
It takes a bit of practice to get this right, but eventually you will hold a finger in place to both steady the slide and mute the strings at the same time.
What About Amplifying My Acoustic Cigar Box Guitar As I Play Slide Guitar?
Of course, you can amplify your Cigar Box Guitar and if you are good enough to be playing in front of an audience, you will probably need to.
Experiment with different amp settings to get the sound you like. This may well be very different settings to those you use for playing without a slide as you may want to cut down a lot on the distortion so that you can really hear those bluesy tones.
