From glass to brass, ceramic, and steel, and short to thin, domed, or highly maneuverable ... a multitude of ways to wail.
D’Addario Rich Robinson Brass Slide
The Black Crowes' lead 6-stringer's signature model is a hefty brass affair with a slight taper inside to help keep it in place when the gig gets too wild.
$20 street
daddario.com
Jim Dunlop Derek Trucks Medicine Bottle Slide
This glass bottle might have the name of a modern master on it, but it's squarely designed to fall within the lineage of Duane Allman's famous Coricidin slider that graced so many legendary recordings.
$14 street
jimdunlop.com
Jetslide Stainless
Specifically for players who wear a slide on their ring finger, this futuristic design allows for a quick change to play single-notes and chords without letting the hardware get in the way.
$26 street
jetslide.com
Diamond Bottlenecks The Redhouse
This customizable model offers three different profiles, a notch-cut option, and various lengths and diameters—plus they come in a handful of colors.
$20 street
diamondbottlenecks.com
Steve Clayton Pork Knuckle
By using an inner ribbing that helps to prevent slippage, this beefy ceramic model aims to offer smooth sailing no matter your finger size.
Starts at $18 street
steveclayton.com
The Rock Slide Ariel Posen Signature Slide
Created specifically for those who sport a slide on their pinky, this ball-tip model comes in at 5" in length with a cutaway at the second knuckle for maximum finger flexibility.
$29 street
therockslide.com
Rocky Mountain Slides Salidan Middy
This handcrafted ceramic model sports a thicker wall for a brighter tone, is available in three different lengths (standard, middy, and shorty), and a handful of colors.
$26 street
rockmountainslides.com
Fender Glass Slide
Offered in a variety of thicknesses ranging from 1.5 mm to 4 mm, this bare-bones glass slide sports rounded edges for comfort and smoothness.
$5 street
fender.com
Thimble Slide Maxim
Although the slide is a bit larger than a thimble, the hybrid design offers flexiblity when moving from a singing lead to a fretted passage.
$25 street
thimbleslide.com
Shubb Reversible Slide
Afraid of commitment? This brass slide allows you to easily move from fretting notes to slippery glissandos pretty quickly.
$30 street
shubb.com
A comfortable slide that gets out of the way when you don't want it.
Los Angeles, CA (October 15, 2014) -- Thimble Slide today announced the release of their latest slide the Just Plain. As it sounds, the Just Plain features no overt decoration on it’s top and answers requests from those guitarists who want a sleek and elegant Thimble Slide. All patented features of the original thimble slide the Fleur De Lis are present which allows the wearer to slide when they want yet still fret the strings when needed while still wearing the slide. The slide surface length is also the same: 1"—enough to slide up to three strings at a time.
Aside from having no overt decoration, the Sizing Gap, which allows the wearer to adjust the slide a little tighter or looser, has been moved to the top. Says Thimble Slide inventor Cole Coleman, “With the Just Plain, we’ve maximized functionality and comfort. With no decoration on it’s top this slide is evenly balanced and therefore feels lighter on the finger. We’ve moved the Sizing Gap from the side to the top where it is felt even less but most importantly that diminishes the chance of someone marking up the bottom slide surface while using a tool to fit the slide smaller.” This release is made of brass but Cole says he’s experimenting with a chrome version.
The Just Plain is currently offered in size medium but sizes large, extra large, and small will roll out over the next five weeks. Will there be further designs of the Thimble Slide? “Yes,” says Cole, “we’ve had a lot of requests for a slide with skulls and I hope to do that in 2015.” The Thimble Slide is available directly through their website but they will be seeking to put the Just Plain into stores this coming year.
For more information:
Thimble Slide