Strings when using an acoustic with a DeArmond

[rp]

I'm doing some big time life cleaning and found an old DeArmond 210 soundhole pickup I had set aside and forgot about. Before ebaying it I stuck it into my old ratty Guild M20 to test it, tuned to open D, plugged into my 5F1 and then St. Elmore shone divine light on me, so I'm keeping it.

There's a huge difference in volume going from the wound to the plain strings, and I had to set it up with really wacky magnet heights. I'm guessing it's the phosphorous bronze strings. So, when using an old style pickup like this what do slide players normally do, change the acoustic strings to electric strings? Pure nickle better than nickle coated? Flat wounds? Pure nickle flat wounds? What did the old blues guys use? This is going to make it hard to go back and forth btwn all acoustic and electric. I'm going to have to dedicate the Guild to slide aren't I?

Any slide guys on AG?

[Cliff Schecht]

I've been playing slide since I picked up a guitar. When my dad was better than me, it was the one thing that I could do that sorta sounded like him. 10 years later and I'm still terrible at lead slide but I'm a pretty solid rhythm/fingerstyle slide picker.

The phosphor bronze strings I think aren't as heavy as nickel and don't put out the right amount of sound for a standard pickup. I use a George L acoustic pickup (dad found it at Goodwill ) and it does a pretty good job of staying even across the strings with phosphor bronze. Pure nickel may work out better for the pickup you have. I think if you went to all nickel you would dig them for slide anyways, they have a brightness/crispness to them with a slide that sounds great with mellow old Fender/Silvertone tweed-style amps.

What type of slide do you use? I like heavy glass for electric and heavy brass for acoustic.

I grew up listening to Canned Heat and try to sound like Alan Wilson as much as possible if I'm not ripping off Duane Allman. Alan is normally known for his harmonica playing but he's one of my favorite slide players too. Hound Dog Taylor is another favorite of mine.

[David Root]

I have a '75 Bill Lawrence HB in a spring mount for acoustic and the strings on the guitar ('74 Gibson Mark 30) are probably 20 years old, but the combination is killer with a glass slide!

I have some strings I got a deal on from Tonequest magazine, Pyramids. They are electric but old style would on round cores not hexagonal. Haven't tried them yet but I kinda think the heavier gauge would be good in this application.

[rp]

I think if you went to all nickel you would dig them for slide anyways, they have a brightness/crispness to them with a slide that sounds great with mellow old Fender/Silvertone tweed-style amps.

Cliff, I think I will try all nickle flat wounds. What did people like James useback then?

What type of slide do you use? I like heavy glass for electric and heavy brass for acoustic.

I'm a total hack, every couple of years I get the slide urge and set up a guitar and mess around for a few months then drop it. Usually on my Epi Granada which is cool for slide. I stopped playing electric for almost 10 years until I smarted messing with amps again. The tone I had with my 5F1 (old molded caps) and this guitar had me wailing and totally absorbed. I'm going to try and stick with it this time, if only one day a week. I have a big heavy glass one I used for in the past when I put it on my ring finger, but the pinky is the only way to go and be able to keep the blues rhythm bopping. This week I go looking for a brass and new glass slide.

I grew up listening to Canned Heat and try to sound like Alan Wilson as much as possible if I'm not ripping off Duane Allman. Alan is normally known for his harmonica playing but he's one of my favorite slide players too. Hound Dog Taylor is another favorite of mine.

I can't figure out how to do that single note clean stuff at all - yeah I know practice practice practice... but I can get some traction with the Elmore James stuff. I haven't listen to Canned Heat in 2 decades. I still got the vinyl, I will go give it a spin. Hound dog is nuts - I love that raw stuff, I got him too, thanks for reminding me.

[Cliff Schecht]

I have no idea what the older guys used for strings..

The one-note soloing is all about the muting technique with your right hand. I'm not very good at it but I sort of adopted the Danny Gatton method, who learned his method from years of pedal (lap?) steel playing.