Yeah, guess I did. Old age is a bitch. As for trying it out, you can probably skip it unless you’re looking for a tinny sound, at least with metal that thin.
Thanks Chefguy,
The first two Matt Smith lessons have a ton of information. After a few trips through Lesson 1 I was having a ball just making up some tunes on my own.
I noticed that the guitar as purchased has a medium set of strings on it. I think a medium set with standard tuning probably works better in a store display as most people play in standard tuning and are probably not carrying a slide with them anyway.
From Scabpicker’s advice I ordered a heavier gauge set off Amazon (designed specifically for resonators). I’m looking forward to putting them on. Right now I have difficulty getting a good sound out of my lighter strings as they deflect so much from the slide that they bump the fret. Most likely a combination of my inexperience and the strings’ lower tension in open D.
Thanks also to Wordman for the link,
Blind Bubba-Belly Watson
I haven’t checked in to this thread for a while, so I thought I’d post a bit of an update.
Mary Ann and I are still together, although it’s somewhere between a dalliance and a passionate affair. I’m still using Rocksmith, and enjoying it, although I sometimes wish it wouldn’t increase the difficulty quite so quickly. I’d like to get a little more comfortable with the easy version before it starts adding more notes. But I’m still using it, so it must be doing something right. And there are enough songs I like to keep me interested, including a few surf and classical pieces. And I looked up a few songs online that I try to muddle through.
In general, it seems like there’s a small sweet spot of songs that are complicated enough to be interesting, but still simple enough that I can make headway.
And I just got some strap locks and variety pack of picks.[sup]*[/sup] We’ll see if that shakes things up a bit.
- And a pair of Buddy Holly glasses. Long story.
Speaking of Rocksmith: I’ve put in about 150 hours into it but I still do not like the way it presents the songs. I have to slow them down so much on the more complicated parts to make out the notes. I want tabs! Well guess what I found? I found a way to convert all the RS songs to tabs which I can then open with a program called Tuxguitar. So now I can learn a song the way I want using tabs and then play along in rocksmith and slow the song down where needed. Win-win!
I have the same problem, but other than buying a guitar that’s dedicated to slide, I don’t want to change the strings. I try to use a really light touch to avoid banging the frets. My teacher gave me some difficult advice to follow: practice. 
Hmm. . .come to think of it, I’ve got that telecaster that, for a variety of reasons, I never play; maybe it would work as a permanent slide guitar. To the room of forgotten instruments, Robin!
Chefguy, here is a little reading on setup, and some inspiration…
Somewhat annoyingly, the strap locks do not fit.
Fit what? The posts on the guitar? Most guitars don’t come with strap lock posts.
You have to buy them. Schaller and Dunlop are the two most popular. Then replace the posts on the guitar.
I bought Dunlop first. Hated them. The button attaches to the strap with these snap C rings. The leather strap was a bit too thick and I couldn’t get the C ring into the slot. Struggled for 30 mins with long nose pliers trying to compress the leather. The C ring would go flying and I had to search the floor for it. Dunlops went into the trash. Good riddance.
Schaller uses a nut to fasten the button to the strap. I had them on in less than ten minutes.
The Schallers are the ones I got. The posts went on the guitar just fine, but I’m having the same problem you did with the strap and the Dunlops. The ends of the strap are two layers of leather. I put the button through the strap, put the washer on, but then there aren’t any threads poking out for the nut to get a purchase on.
I’ll try again, but even if I can get the nut started it doesn’t seem like it would go on more than a turn or two. If it ever worked loose it would come all the way off pretty easily.
I suspect I’ll need a thinner strap (or one with thinner ends, at least).
You can compress that leather with a couple nickels and a C clamp. one nickel on each side and tighten down the C clamp. Wait an hour and tighten some more. leave a few hours or over night. The strap button should fit with no problem.
you only need a small 2" C clamp. a couple bucks at Home Depot.
So far, I haven’t had any problems with the nut on my strap button coming loose. There’s only three threads holding the nut, but it seems to work.
That sounds worth a try. Don’t have a C clamp, so I’m using a Vice Grip.
Nope, that sucker just ain’t gonna fit. Time for a new strap.
Have you ever seen hammered leather? It get thinner when you pound on it.
I use the Schaller strap locks as well, and thick straps are a problem.
Personally, I just clamp it down until I can work the nut onto the threads, after that the inclined plane takes care of the rest when you tighten the nut. But getting it onto the threads in the first place can be be a bear. Thankfully, once you get them on there, and they’re tight, that’s usually the last you have to deal with them.
I put a nickel on either side of the strap (as aceplace57 suggested), clamped it all in a Vice Grip for 16 hours, and all I have to show for it is two bent nickels.
I’m telling you folks, those buttons ain’t going on this strap.
:eek: Bent nickels! Good lord, what is this strap made of?
I have said before that I am not a fan of those kinds of strap locks. I just use the cheap resin plastic ones that fit over the strap button and twist open and closed to lock it into place. Why “install” anything?
But, yeah, bending nickels - whoa.
Well, it’s not like I turned the nickels into taco shells. They’re just a teensy bit concave.
I’m gonna try to swing by Guitar Center tonight. (Before the They Might Be Giants concert, yay!) I bought my current strap when I bought the guitar; it was plain black and sturdy, and none of the decorated ones appealed to me. I didn’t pay any attention to whether the ends (the leather part) were any thicker than the others, but I will this time.
Hope to find something I like. These look kinda nice, but they almost seem too thin.
At Guitar Center, they usually stock Franklin straps. There are ones that are plain black - I have a few of those, and some others that are more buff-colored. They use a few leathers; I get the ones that have a soft, almost garment-leather feel to them. Super comfortable - I get the wide version - and the suede underside keeps the guitar well-positioned. Once I found them, I saw no reason to look elsewhere; probably have 7 or more around the house.
The nickel and C Clamp trick worked with my strap. The leather must be a little thinner than what Robot Arm uses.
I always buy Levys MSSC80 - 2" Heavyweight Cotton Guitar Straps. It has reasonably thin Leather on the ends.
http://www.samash.com/levy-s-mssc80-2-heavyweight-cotton-guitar-strap-lmssc80
black straps for my electric guitar and bass. Brown for my acoustic (if looks nicer with the wood finish)
All leather straps are too stiff for my taste. They Scratch and chafe my neck. YMMV