Sometechniques

AppearedatHawaithelastcenturytheslidetechniqueconsistsofplayingnotbyfrettingthestringsbutbymovingon
theseonesanobjectinmetalallowingtorelizethesesocaracteristicsslidesbeforeorafterthenotes.
Wehavefoundthistechniqueinblueswiththeuseofthebottleneck.
Itispossibletoplayinslideonhishabitualguitarbutsomechangesarenecessaryinordertoavoid
some"unpleasant"noises...
Firstkyyouhavetoincreasethedraughtofyourstrings(lightattheminimum),thenyouhaveto
increasetheactionofthestringsbygoingupthepontetsofthebridge(foranelectricguitar)orbyusing
abooster,whichisputbetwwenthestringsandthesillet(foracoustic).
Finallyyouhavetochooseabottleneckoraslidebar(ifyouwanttoimitateBenperfectly...)
Thebottlenecksare:
insteel,resonantbutinterferences.
incopper,lesssustainbutawarmersound.
inglas,foradullersoundandfastparts(likeinthesoloofBurntoShine).
Therearetoodifferencesaboutthethicknessandthelengh.Letmetellyouforexamplethatweusetheshortsfora
mixtplayfrets/slide.
Forthepositiononofthebottleneckyouhavethechoice(personaladvice:takethefingerwiththeone
youfeelatease);eitherthelittlefingerforamixtplayorthethirdfinger.
Theplayinsliderequiresgenerallyatuningdifferentthanthestandarttuning,thetunings,whicharethe
mostusedbyBenarethefollowings:

G:DGDGBD(forWhippingBoy,Goldtome...)
E:EBEEBE(forForgiven)
A:EAEAC#E
D:DADDAD(forLikeAKing...)
C:CGCCGC(forGroundondown)
F:CFCFCF
Ddropped:DADGBE
Onetonelower:DGDFAD

AmpliEqualizations:

Microphones,aninterviewofBenHarperaboutSeymourDuncanmicrophonesheuses:
Groundwire:HowwereyouintroducedtoDuncanpickups?
BenHarper:Ineverstoptryingtobettermytone.Whenyoureinconstantpursuitofatonethatisperfectforyou,
youendupgoingthroughalotofdifferentguitarmakersandpickupmanufacturers.ThewayIcameacrossDuncan
wasthroughafriend,KeithNelsonfromBuckcherry.HemetaguitarbuilderfromNewJerseynamedRobMondellof
JustinSainGuitarswhohadmadehimsomeguitars.Keithcalledmeupwhenhegothisfirstoneandhewasfloored.
Hesaid,Man,youneedtogetintouchwiththisguy!Butitjustneverhappened.Thenoneday,Keithshowsupatmy
housewithtwocustomlapsteelsguitarsthatRobhadmadeforme.Inthepast,Robonlymadestandardroundneck
guitarsandthesewerehisfirstlapsteels.Robsmainguitardesignsaremadewithmetalandwoodinthetraditionof
theZemaitisguitars,buttheyreverymuchhisown.AtthetimeIhookedupwithKeith,Iwasrightinthemidstofa
tourandwasgoingtobeawayforthenexteightmonths.BecausetheguitarsdidnthaveflightcasesandIhadntheard
themyet,Ileftthemathome.Iwasntgoingtotakeoutsomethingthathadntbeensoundtested,andIalreadythought
thatIhadthebestsoundinglapsteel.
Afterthetourended,IwentintothestudiotorecordDiamondsOnTheInside,whichiscomingoutinMarch.WhenI
gointothestudio,IbringeverysingleguitarIhavebecauseyouneverknowwhattonesaregoingtofiteachofthe
songsbest.TheresasongonitcalledTemporaryRemedythatsbass,drum,guitarthreepieceinthetrue
Cream/Hendrixtradition.Iwasplugginginallofmy20mainlapsteels,tryingtofindtherightsound,butitjustwasnt
happeningyet.ThenIpluggedinoneofRobsguitarsanditjustblewup.Everyoneinthecontrolroomstartedjumping

upanddowninthatsheerinstinctualwaythatonlygoodtoneandgoodmusiccanbringout,andtheywerejust
freaking.Thatstheguitar!Itwasanewsonicstepforward.
ThepickupsinRobsguitarsareDuncan59sthatarewiredforstandardhumbuckerandsplitcoils.Forme,whats
amazingaboutthesepickupsisthatyoucansplitthemtosinglecoil.Splittingtheneckpickupiskeybecauseyouget
intoveryreverberantroomswherelowendtakesoffandneckpickupsnaturallyhavealotoflowendresonance.The
abilitytosplitthemtosinglecoilcutsdownthelowresonantfrequencywithoutyouhavingtogotoyourbridge
pickup.Itallowsyoutostillusebothandgetarichsoundwithoutclashingwiththebass.Soitslikehavingfourorfive
guitarsinone,beingabletospliteachpickupindifferentpatterns.Thesepickupsarereallykickinforallmyelectric
stuff.Theyrejustputtingoutlikenoneother.Thebettertheguitarsounds,thebetteryouregoingtobeplayingit,
period.
WhatIlovethemostaboutthe59sishowtheyvetransformedmyelectriclapsteel.Ashumbuckers,theygiveitatrue
LesPaulsoundandwhenIsplitthecoilstosinglecoil,theygivemewhatIconsidertobemoreofatrueStrattone.Its
notsortoflikeaPaulorsortoflikeaStrat,itsnailingthem.Theresnocompromise.Itsfinallybroughtmetothetone
thatIveheardinmyhead,asfarasmyelectricslideplayinggoesandIcancontrolthemlikenoothers.
GW:Wheredoyoufindthatsinglecoilandhumbuckingsoundsworkbest?
BenHarper:Asinglecoilsoundissweeter.IftheresaversethatIwanttobesweet,thenmostlikely,Illpullthe
neckpickupupinsinglecoil.Itgivesagentlenessthatworksreallywelltocomplementmyvocals.Thenforachorus,
whenIreallywanttocrushorgointooverdrive,Icanjustdropitdownintodoublecoilanditsjustperfectfor
chorusesandsolos.Soitsacomplementtomyverse/chorusstyleofsinging.Asinglecoiljusthasgotadelicatenature
thataddstoaballad,tothesoftersideofasong.Inmymusic,itssuperimportantbecausethedynamicsarejumping
withinthesong,aswellasfromsongtosong.SoIvegottobeabletohavedifferenttones.
GW:YourecentlytestedtheMagMicononeofyouracoustics.Howdiditrate?
BenHarper:TheMagMicisgreat.Itsgotaverybalancedfrequencyresponsefromthelowwoundstringstothe
plainsteelstrings.Themicfeatureishighlyfunctionalanditspositionedinthebestplacerightupoutofthe
soundholewheretheresthemostairmovementanditsinproximitytoyourfingers.Ithasablendfornaturalacoustic
resonance,aswellasmagneticpickup.Youcanblendinmoreorlessmic,whichisgreatforplayingliveandinthe
studiobecauseyoucandialthesoundindependingonhowreverberantaroomis.Itsveryresponsiveanditsavery
workablemicrophonesound.Youdontwantamicthatsgoingtopickupalotoftheslapbackfromtheroomandjust
causephasingproblems.Youllbegettingmoreoftheroomsoundthanthetruesoundoftheguitaritself,whichiswhat
youdontwant.Whatsgreataboutwherethismicisplacedonthepickupisthatitsshieldedfromanythingotherthan
theacousticsoundoftheguitar.Havinga12stringoptionalsoupsthevalue,asdotheadjustablepolepieces.Having
asmanyoptionstogetthesoundthatyouwanttoget,whetheritstheblendingofthemicortheadjustmentofthepole
position,itsideal,really.ItswellputtogetherandImafan.
GW:Describeyourbacklinerig.
BenHarper:Ihaveacoupleofdifferentamps.IuseaDemeter100wattheadandwhatsgreataboutitisthatitsgot
verytruecleananddirtychannels.Thedirtychannelgetsupandkicksass,andthecleanchannelisverysweetlikea
tweedFenderBassman,whichIlove.AndIalsousea50stweedBassmanforsomeofthecleantones.Iplugallofmy
guitarsthroughthatrig,butIcanalsoA/Bthemtogobetweentheamps.SoIcanusethedirtyorcleanchannelfrom
theDemeterandIcanrunadirtyorcleanchannelthroughtheBassman.Foreffects,IhaveanoldIbanezTS808Tube
Screamer,aVoxwah,anoldIbanezAnalogDelay,andanElectroHarmonixSmallStonePhaser.
GW:Tellusaboutthenewrecordandyourplansforthecomingyear.
BenHarper:Thesongsrangeinsoundandstylefromballadstostraightuprockandreggaestylemusic,blues,soul,
andfunk.ItsjustgotthemixofmusicthatIloveandfeel.TherecordcomesoutonMarch11thandthenIllbe
touring.Iusuallytourintwoyearcycles,soIllbeoutfromthisMarchon.ThetourwilltakeusthroughAmerica,
Canada,Australia,England,Japan,Europe,Brazil,andSouthAfrica.Thatllkeepusbusyuntilthenextrecording
session!punches,youwillnaturallybecomethebest.

From the Ben Harper FAQ on his web site:

quote:

How does Ben tune the Weissenborn, in general?

Ben has written several songs on the Weissenborn with respect to several different tunings. He
uses:
D Major....D-A-D-F#-A-D
E Major...E-B-E-G#-B-E (sort of the standard tuning for slide)
The tunings below are changed a bit to accomodate the tones Ben likes to hear. You can see
that there are only two open notes across the whole tuning. This gives a more drony sound. He
uses the D and E tunings in the same way at times by dropping the 'third' (string) one full
step. i.e. F# becomes D, and G# becomes E.
Lower modular tunings:
C...C-G-C-C-G-C
B...B-F#-B-B-F#-B