Slide Guitar

Acoustic Slide Guitars

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My acoustic slide guitars are an original design. There are currently some Chinese made Weissenborns that have copied my sound holes and head design. But as they have not copied my bracing and other acoustic innovations, they sound like Chinese Weissenborns.

	I am making slide guitars in two scale lengths: Standard guitar scale is 644mm(25 3\8"), and the longer version is 683mm(almost 27"). I prefer the 27" for C tuning, the shorter for E, and either for D. The fixed bridge guitars have a huge sustain and full bass, especially suitable for solo playing. The Cedar top version has more harmonics than the heavier Blackwood top. Youtube of 683mm scale and 644mm I currently use Tasmanian Blackwood on my back, sides and head stock.
	A floating bridge and tailpiece version of the guitar can be used in situations where higher string tension is desired, or for 8 strings like the guitar on the right. The difference in sound with the floating bridge version is that the attack is slightly rounder but the sustain following the note is not as loud. Blackwood top floating bridge audio Here is a page exploring guitar acoustics
	The neck inlays are highly visible in peripheral vision which is very important during a performance. The multiple sound hole design allows the guitar to display a full 24 frets. I also find them better for recording than a round soundhole.
	Japanese made Gotoh tuners with small buttons are what I mainly use on my instruments. The exact model changes depending on suppliers.
	There is a huge difference between the design I use, and the old slotted head design that is a nightmare to restring. My heads are not "slotted", rather the ends of the rollers are exposed making string replacement easy. I have a page showing a secure and easy method for fitting the strings. My heads are positioned so that pushing with the thumb (anti clockwise) tightens the string. This is the same direction as tuning a normal guitar. I mention this because slide guitars with the tuners upright, usually tune in reverse, which is a pain.
	The 50mm/2in removable brass nut fits deep into a slot in the neck and is set for a string height of around 13mm. The strings are 9mm apart at the nut. The extra width helps when using the slide on individual strings.
	My instruments are hand made in limited numbers which means that there is a waiting period. It also means that with proper care, they will last a lifetime.
	The guitars are sent in a normal plywood guitar case with the accessory compartment removed.

Info and specs

Fret scale length - 644mm or 683mm

Nut width - 50mm (8str 60mm) - height - 13mm

String spacing - outer strings - 45mm at nut - 58mm at bridge

Top wood - WR Cedar or Blackwood

Body wood - Blackwood

Fingerboard - Blackwood inlaid into fiddleback Eucalypt

Bridge and Pickup

The spacing at the bridge is 58mm between outside strings, a good fingerpicking size. This spacing is common on classical guitars but can be altered to suit. The undersaddle pickups that I use are a low profile high output piezo version that I make myself. I charge $100 aud to supply and fit it. I do not fit preamps into the side of my guitars, as my instruments will long outlive any electronics.

The output a the piezo element is very high but if it goes into the wrong type of circuit the sound will be thin and muted. Most mixers will have this problem because they are designed for low impedance microphones. Most modern FX pedals, or signal processors use jfets or similar on the input, so using one between the guitar and the mixer is a good way to match the impedance.

Strings and tunings

These are a couple of string sets that are well suited to DADF#AD tuning. John Pearse and D'Addario. These strings can also be tuned up a tone to EBEG#BE on my standard scale guitar without a problem. This same set of strings works well on the long scale guitar for CGCEGC tuning. G Dobro tuning (GBDGBD) is too tight for these gauges.

The guitars are optimized to a string tension of around 70 to 80kgs. (150lbs) They will handle more tension than that, but dynamics will decrease as the tension starts to lock up the sound board. Although my guitars are stronger than most, you can still destroy them with excessive string tension by using the wrong strings for the tuning. Please use this chart as a guide.

Fingerboard markings

The large wood inlays on the fretboard are much more visible than the inlaid dots used on most slide guitars. After a lot of experimenting, I have found that just using 5, 7, 12 and their octaves is the most effective. I can do added markers for those who really want them, but I think that after a couple of weeks of using this system, you would understand why it has become my standard. You really don't need a marker to show you 3 frets above or below the octave and you can always use stickers while getting used to it.