Shires handslide weight

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Pieretti
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Shires handslide weight

Post by Pieretti »

Sorry if there is a thread related to all-shires-questions, but I would like some insight into the various weights on slides (pros, cons). I just want to know what has been your experience with it.

FYI, I play on a 7YLW, traditional rotor, TB47, 1 Leadpipe.
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Matt K
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by Matt K »

You mean like a lightweight slide vs a "regular" slide? On Shires, the only difference between an otherwise identical slide is the presence of oversleeves. On some horns, such as Bach, lightweight slides are made of nickel and have no oversleeves. So there is a difference of both material and weight.

I don't like oversleeves because they force my fingers to be ever so slightly wider than on slides without them and it sometimes causes mild discomfort. The advantage to lightweight slides is that they weigh less. The cons are that some people find the lighter slide to sound different in a way that they don't like (thinner is one such descriptor you'll hear).
Pieretti
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by Pieretti »

Yes, I’m also curious as to the heavy slides as well.

I’m just curious what has been the experience playing on the various weights.
Tbarh
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by Tbarh »

Pieretti wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 6:20 pm Yes, I’m also curious as to the heavy slides as well.

I’m just curious what has been the experience playing on the various weights.
Heavy slides?? :idk:
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Matt K
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by Matt K »

Does Bach put the "HW" on the slide? That means, as far as I know, that the eblel is heavy weight not the slide. I don't think I've seen heavyweight out in the wild. I'm sure someone has made one but it would probably involve just making the oversleeve longer.
GabrielRice
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by GabrielRice »

There is not a standard Shires option for heavy weight slides, just standard (with sleeves) and LW (without sleeves).

That said, anecdotally, I have owned Shires standard weight slides in the same materials that were clearly heavier or lighter than others. I believe this had to do with changing tooling over time.

Also, I believe that one of the custom aspects of the Bollinger model slide is that one of the outer tubes is thicker than standard.

You could probably order a heavier slide, which would be achieved by drawing the slide tubes with different tooling, as a custom order, but it would certainly be non-returnable.
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by GabrielRice »

Very generally speaking, LW slides have a little more point at the articulation and blow a bit more freely. Standard weight slides tend to sound thicker and feel more stable in the sustain. A lot of players - particularly on large bore tenors and basses - probably find that it is a bit easier to have consistent articulations and consistent tone at different dynamics on standard weight slides. But that is by no means universal.

There are also significant differences when you use different alloys for the tube and crook. Nickel tubes tend towards a kind of stability that makes them a good choice for LW slides for many people.

For my main Shires bass setups, I have ended up gravitating towards the classic Bach combinations: yellow brass bell with a standard weight, yellow tube, yellow crook slide, and gold brass bell with a LW nickel tubes and crook slide.
Pieretti
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Re: Shires handslide weight

Post by Pieretti »

GabrielRice wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 7:41 am Very generally speaking, LW slides have a little more point at the articulation and blow a bit more freely. Standard weight slides tend to sound thicker and feel more stable in the sustain. A lot of players - particularly on large bore tenors and basses - probably find that it is a bit easier to have consistent articulations and consistent tone at different dynamics on standard weight slides. But that is by no means universal.

There are also significant differences when you use different alloys for the tube and crook. Nickel tubes tend towards a kind of stability that makes them a good choice for LW slides for many people.

For my main Shires bass setups, I have ended up gravitating towards the classic Bach combinations: yellow brass bell with a standard weight, yellow tube, yellow crook slide, and gold brass bell with a LW nickel tubes and crook slide.
Appreciate the insights!
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