[eulogy]

I'm not great at slide playing, of course, but I do know how to dampen and prevent rattling and overtones. However, on the lower registers of the high E string (as in, frets 1 to 6 or so), I've got a nasty "eery" sound when I play a note. it's not an overtone, it sounds more like... well, scratching a string against a fret.
The action is fairly high, the gauge of strings fairly big (14's), so, err...what else can I do 'bout it? Thanks.

[pimp_vince]

I'm not great at slide playing, of course, but I do know how to dampen and prevent rattling and overtones. However, on the lower registers of the high E string (as in, frets 1 to 6 or so), I've got a nasty "eery" sound when I play a note. it's not an overtone, it sounds more like... well, scratching a string against a fret.
The action is fairly high, the gauge of strings fairly big (14's), so, err...what else can I do 'bout it? Thanks.

well pressing down less heavily, or maybe test out the B string for the same stuff, check the nut at the E string, also check out the bridge height as well.

[lyra14]

One thing I can think of, sounds kind of stupid, is the slide is scraping against the wound string. Using less pressure should change that.

[dadfad]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Does the slide bump against the frets? Or are you talking about the sound that comes from behind the slide. There's a tone given off by both sides. The one between the slide and saddle being louder predoninant one, but the one between the slide and nut is there and should be muted out. If you mean the slide just rattling over the windings, it shouldn't be that bad, but you can use flatwound or ground-wound strings if you like.

[eulogy]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Does the slide bump against the frets? Or are you talking about the sound that comes from behind the slide. There's a tone given off by both sides. The one between the slide and saddle being louder predoninant one, but the one between the slide and nut is there and should be muted out. If you mean the slide just rattling over the windings, it shouldn't be that bad, but you can use flatwound or ground-wound strings if you like.

Hm, it's not the side of the nut that's giving the problems, I'm muting those just fine... I've checked a bit more, and my guess it's that the string "rattles" between the slide and the fret, despite having a fairly high action. I'll have to play a little less aggressively maybe.

[dadfad]

So (if I have it right) you're sort of "fretting out" the string with the slide, and as you slide over the fret-wire there's a sound. Just a lighter touch (also, getting that muting-finger on that string before the slide at just the right instant). Try practicing doing slide-vibratos on the 5 and 6 strings in different areas to help develop that touch just right. (Bass strings were the worst for me too.) That should do it. Let me know how it goes. There are other things that can help if the guitar is dedicated to slide and open-tunings.

[eulogy]

So (if I have it right) you're sort of "fretting out" the string with the slide, and as you slide over the fret-wire there's a sound. Just a lighter touch (also, getting that muting-finger on that string before the slide at just the right instant). Try practicing doing slide-vibratos on the 5 and 6 strings in different areas to help develop that touch just right. (Bass strings were the worst for me too.) That should do it. Let me know how it goes. There are other things that can help if the guitar is dedicated to slide and open-tunings.

Will do, will do. It's my only acoustic at the moment, and it'll be a while before I can buy an extra one, so I can't really get it set-up purely for slide in open tunings.

However, I'll keep on working on slide. Maybe it'll just come in time, developing a bit more of a touch, and controlling the slide a bit more.