Setup for playing slide

[ShortBuSX]

Ive got enough guitars now that I can devote my Squier Tele to slide and alternate tunings...but when I put a slide on it, it sounds bad, as in not good.

To be honest Id set this up for slide awhile ago, but then for some reason I decided to radius my strings and saddles, which knocked it out of the whole slide setup.
My previous method to set it up for slide was to play it with a slide, then raise the string saddles until the tone wasnt dulled or muted. Naturally this left the action a lil on the high side...which is also probably why I decided to radius the strings with the neck, I dunno.

Ive got a 9 1/2 radius, Im thinking if I radius it for 12" thatd probably get me in the ballpark...but Im curious what others do to setup a guitar for slide? Any tips?

 

[just strum]

I would be interested in hearing some comments on this, so

 

[wingsdad]

I'll start by qualifying what I've got to say in that I'm not much of a slide-player. There's lots of folks her that are, and will porbably have all the right answers. Meanhwile, here's my 22 cents worth:

My biggest problem with trying to play slide is controlling the light left hand touch and not contact the frets with the slide. So I don't play slide much...too impatient to really work at it...I go with learning dobro and lap steel - by design, high action over a flat fretboard.

Because the slide is flat-surfaced, it's not gonna make good, solid contact with the strings on small fretboard radius guitars like 7 1/2". Strats are usually 12" radius, and do well for slide, as do Les Pauls and SG's with thier flatter radius neck profiles. Danelectros make great slide guitars because they've got something like a 17" radius, making them virtually flat.

Still, to try and play slide, I got a Nut Extension doohickey at my Local GAS Station, years ago, to setup a guitar for slide, because It fits over the nut and raises the action. It's some kind of schlock alloy metal, really light weight.

This birdseye view pic comes from the Elderly Instuments listing for one they carry. :

Here's the listing. You'll notice this one is 1 7/8" wide, and spaced for 1 3/4" wide nuts, so it's probably NOT gonna work on too many electric guitars, typcially with 1 5/8" nut width. Mine's not THIS one, because mine's 1 5/8" wide and must be designed for electic guitars. :
Nut Extension at Elderly

At the other end, raise the bridge a bit. With a Strat, raise the saddles and get them level, not radiused. You want to try to set things up so your pretty close to parallel to the fretboard all the way. You may also need to raise your pickups an equal amount, or you'll lose signal strength, and that will kill your tone and string response. I know I did.