Drop tunings

Gassage

I'm using one of my les Paul's to try and attempt slide on and to use for alternate tunings. I was messing with E B E G# B E or D last night which is a kind of E7 open and it was nice. Any recommendations for either slide or normal?

ToneControl

form kept saying my text was 18000 characters too long, trying again after cutting and pasting into notepad

ToneControl

First of all, to not answer your actual question - and in case others haven't heard of this - get a nut riser for £5,
e.g. http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/guitar-steels-slides/golden-gate-extension-nut.htm?utm_source=googlemerchant&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googlemerchant&gclid=CNWbksyw1sECFWrjwgodqygASw

then get a heavy Shubb Tonebar. This is the best for me:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shubb-SP1-String-Steel-Guitar/dp/B000EENFIG
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/shubb-sp-1-guitar-steel/6351?gclid=CI-FrOSw1sECFUsCwwodqqoAjw
the curved bit at the end lets you pick out 2 strings in the middle

For the tuning, I'd say start with the more common ones, since a lot of vocabulary has been built on them. So open G, D and A
My mate who only plays slide will change the odd string to give another chord to enable a certain song to be played, but you need to be very skilled and be picking out individual strings (eg with the SP1) to make that work. If you forgo a proper slide and nut riser, you can use those strings when you need them but I assume then you'd be using a bottleneck with little pressure, so the sound would be rattley

For tunings that are not basically a major triad, you are immediately blessed/cursed with the vibe and arpeggios that come naturally for that tuning. C6 is a great example, closely spaced tuning, I can't make this sound anything like an open G or D, it always sound slightly melancholy and a bit country
Also I tried Dave Gilmour's Em tuning, for example, and it's only useful for certain songs for me,

Easiest ones for use with existing strings are:

G:
DGDGBD - floppy bottom 2 get on my nerves  - Gilmour uses D G D G B E to play 2 songs
GBDGBD - easier to use

A is DGDGBD + 2 semitones, if using a proper slide & nut riser, it's good to have more tension,
so with a normal electric set, this is a good option

C6 = C-E-G-A-C-E low to high
David Gilmour uses Open Em chord, E B E G B E on  One of These Days and High Hopes

If you make some nice sounds you can use, I'd recommend buying one of those cheap lap steels and keeping it tuned to one of these, you can get the simple ones for £50 or so used, and put a decent SC in. Ideally a set of something like 15s will work better on these

Gassage

Thanks for that- re nut riser...I'm sending it to @mdphillips1956 for a Cleartone Nut Conversion so sorted there. Very tempted re a lap steel

randomhandclaps

This is just my opinion obviously (to prevent the derailing of this thread into some unanswerable evil of how things should be done) but other than adjusting string set/tension to better suit your any open tunings you want to use then I don't agree with adjusting a guitar at all for slide.  It was never the way we were taught either. 

The problem is (again IMO) if you just want to play slide then buy a lap steel as Gilmour does or a Dobro.  However, working at perfecting your technique or subtlety of touch (as you should do we any part of playing) and not having to butcher your guitar means you can interchange between the two.  Adjusting the guitar

This lad is a prime example.  See if you can spot the guitar change?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdCGdL3R0n0

Although standard tuning Beck is using 11s on a strat though - hamfisted fucker.

If you do buy a lap steel then Newtone strings do specific set for each tuning and I think they are fairly cheap through Amazon.

Obviously a tonebar is only of any use if you get a lap steel or defile your guitar.

ToneControl

the nutriser is useful if you want to just try out a lap steel approach (i.e. more pressure, les rattling, no fretted notes), but it is better to buy a real lap steel, which will usually be cheaper

this is the cheapest model I have seen, just over £50 new:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_slider_ii.htm
I got one the same as my first one, stuck a stacked SD in it. I'd say buy one of these.

for £75 and £170 or so you can get prettier ones made respectively by Recording King and Clear water. I have one of each I might sell one day, but I paid £110 for the RK, so most likely I will keep it to avoid remorse
http://www.thomann.de/gb/recording_king_rg_31_na_lap_steel.htm

The Pro ones start at £300
but unlike with fretted guitars, the cheaper ones are no less playable

GSP sold me 2 lovely ones which are my best. He may still have one

I like to have several and leave them in different tunings
Some tunings are not practical with a "standard" set of strings, particularly C6