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fireslide Guitar Slide review


Phil O'Keefe

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I have used the ubiquitous BIC lighter on occasion for slide - usually out of desperation or in a casual situation where I don't have my own guitar with me. Now I have lots of slides with at least one in every guitar case.

 

Although the Fireslide looks like an interesting a novel idea I don't think it would be something I would purchase without trying one first.

 

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I have used the ubiquitous BIC lighter on occasion for slide - usually out of desperation or in a casual situation where I don't have my own guitar with me. Now I have lots of slides with at least one in every guitar case.

 

Although the Fireslide looks like an interesting a novel idea I don't think it would be something I would purchase without trying one first.

 

Compared to a stock BIC, it's a whole different animal. It has weight. A stock BIC doesn't. It's a very effective slide - again, a stock BIC isn't.

 

 

 

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Pogo and I discussed this a few months back, and I was intrigued, and ordered a Fireslide directly from him. Interestingly enough, Phil, you and I both came to the same conclusion...the Fireslide is now my lap steel 'steel'. I struggled with Pogo's documented technique for weeks, but my bottleneck slide playing habits for over 40 years were not to be broken, and the use of two fingers to hold the Fireslide seemed to be counter-intuitive to me because of that. But when I tried it on my new[er] lap steel, I knew the Fireslide had found a home.

I think for someone who has not approached bottleneck slide playing, the Fireslide would certainly be an option to learn a technique for playing slide. Lord knows, I've used many odd objects in a pinch over the years...including a Bic, a Zippo, a spare 12AX7 tube, full beer bottle, empty beer bottle, metal conduit and a Cross pen.

 

[btw, I was the one who suggested he contact you regarding this, and I see I was correct in my recommendation :thu: ]

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I had never heard of using a BIC lighter as a slide but I also know that people use all sorts of things - out of desperation or trying to be cool or different or whatever. I consider myself a slide player, almost exclusively acoustic but I play a variety of styles including lap (dobro), bottleneck (delta blues) and more modern slide (Kottke, Fahey, et al). I also have a whole collection of different slides, commercial and home made, different materials and weights. My favorites right now are a Stevens railroad track looking lap steel and a ceramic cylindrical one made by TriboTone.

 

For someone to have come up with this they had to feel that the BIC lighter was at least a valid starting point so I thought I would give it a try. I found an old BIC lighter in a drawer, got out my Weissenborn (a lap style Hawaiian guitar tuned to D) and gave it a try. I also had my trusty steel , which for lap style I hold between my thumb and index finger, with my first finger resting in the groove on top and my third finger lightly on the strings to dampen behind the slide. Held like this I can do full barres, slants (a sideways barre at and angle to the strings) and I can fret individual strings with the end of the steel. I can slide up, down, hammer on and pull off and get all sorts of vibrato. Holding the BIC with the long axis vertically (90 degrees from shown in Phil's review) it felt more or less like the steel and I had similar control (however I missed the groove in the top). Problem is, it sounded like crap. A normal dobro or Weissie has a wonderful metallic whine to the sound that seems to sustain forever, this was just a dull plastic note with very little sustain. Put the lighter down, picked up the steel and played Steel Guitar Rag - my wife smiled.

 

Verdict 1 - a BIC lighter would work for acoustic lap style playing in a pinch if I was desperate and there was nothing else around.

 

Most of the time I play slide "Spanish" style (with the guitar in the normal position) in open tunings like D or G or C. I play on almost any guitar that will hold still long enough for me to retune it - 6 and 12 strings, resonators, and once in a while an electric (which I will tune to E or A). I play with a cylindrical object on my pinkie, I use my index and middle finger behind the slide to dampen the string (if you don't you'll often get two notes, one ascending and one descending as you move the slide). I also use those fingers as kind of a gauge as to how much pressure I'm applying and I can lift the slide and play fretted notes and chords. I know a few people reach over their slide and fret notes in front of it - I can't do that and can't see a need for it. I've tried my slide on other fingers, pinkie just feels most natural and versatile to me.

 

OK, so I got the old tricone out, tuned to open G and grabbed the BIC. Try as I might, there was no way I could hold that thing to get even smooth barring of all the strings, play individual strings, fret with my fingers or anything else. I tried the way Phil shows in his pictures, I tried it like I hold the steel, I tried it between my 3rd and 4th fingers - I just couldn't hold it without dropping or control it at all.

 

And it sounded terrible. Not only the dull plastic sound which made the resonator sound like cheap acoustic but the fact that I couldn't hold it consistently against all the strings introduced buzzes and rattles and all kinds of mean nasty sounds. Put the BIC down, slid a broken wine bottle neck on my pinkie and played a little Roll'n'Tumble. My wife didn't smile (she hates that song) but I did. Put the BIC back in the drawer in the kitchen.

 

Verdict 2 - for playing Spanish style I wouldn't even consider a BIC lighter. There are so many other cylindrical objects that work so much better.

 

As I said, I don't play (much) electric slide. I don't play any lap steel or pedal steel, but I can't see this being any better than my Weissenborn. For playing single note stuff on an electric it might be OK but again, I think it would be awkward as hell. If you are an electric slide player you should form your own opinion.

 

I hate to put down something made by a fellow forumite and maybe with all the modifications the Fireslide might work very well. It might be perfect on your Tele. If someone gave me one for Christmas or something I would certainly try it, but it would probably end up in the box with all the other slides, while I go back to the ones I know.

 

IMG_0409.jpg

 

 

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I've used various things as slides,I had piston wrist pin from a semi truck that worked pretty well.Bought a glass slide that ended up breaking on the floor.Never tried a bic lighter either (probably because I don't smoke) It's a pretty good concept though.In fact this review inspired me to go to my tool box and look for a deep well socket and try a little slide once again

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Freeman, the difference here is the Bic is modified and filled with lead. The 'heft' makes a huge difference, and the tone is not unlike a glass slide, although not as bright. I agree that technique-wise, I was not comfortable using it as a replacement to a traditional bottleneck, despite trying for several weeks.

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A couple of things about the fireslide:

 

1) there's a learning curve -- I've been playing with this for a year and am still learning new techniques and refining the basics. I've been playing guitar -- and bottleneck -- for forty years and am still learning new techniques and refining the basics, this is normal. If you need instant gratification, buy a one-knob stomp box instead.

 

2) the fireslide, held in the way I suggest, will allow you to play in ways that you cannot play with just your fingers or with a standard bottleneck

 

That's why I've posted demos on the fireslide website: to show how it works. If you don't "get" that this is something different and not just a gimmick, please watch a demo (here's one: The Wind Cries Mary ) and try to duplicate it with a bottleneck slide. If you *can* duplicate it, please post a video. If not, then please accept that this is something new and valid and if it's no use to you, that's fine, but it's not the fireslide's problem. I have no use for an eight-string guitar, but that's just me: it's still a valid idea for people who have a vision of how to use it and are willing to put in the time it takes to master it.

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