Question about Slide guitar aka Lap Steel Guitar aka Hawaiian Guitar

[JNeffLind]

So my question is if anyone knows how to create some kind of a slide guitar sound in Reason. It seems like it'd be difficult (impossible?) to make a sampled refill for this due to the way MIDI is tied to specific tones and ignores the micro-pitches between them.

I was thinking about playing around with the Portamento controls on Thor or maybe messing around with the Micro-Tune RE which I don't have but I believe is pretty cheap.

Has anyone tried this before? Had any success? Any suggestions? Do I have generally the right strategy? Would you be interested in such an instrument if I could cook one up?

What say you?

[JNeffLind]

I guess no one here is a big fan of luaus or hoe-downs. Am I flying solo on this one? 

[Yorick]

Buying one is pretty cheap!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-Electr ... 339c07326f

[JNeffLind]

Buying one is pretty cheap!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-Electr ... 339c07326f

Thanks man. That's a good thing to consider. My only issue is I have a severe phobia of buying a guitar online. I have a brother in Nashville so would probably just hit up a pawnshop next time I visit him if I decide to go that route. Just thought there might be a good workaround using Reason. I should be clear that I'm not 100% set on getting a perfect slide guitar sound, more just being able to create that effect, something that at least reminds a listener of the slide sound. 

[tmask]

I needed one for a client doing a folk/country project, and while the FSB isn't exactly overflowing with pedal steel patches, I found a usable one in a Triton Refill I got a while back.  While many of the sounds in the Refill come across as rushed, the pedal steel NNXT patch itself sounded decent.  With a little massaging and effects the tracks were quite usable, especially if they are sunk a little further back in the mix.  The biggest challenge is mimicking the playing style and pitch bend techniques to get the track to sound realistic.
I told the client we could also consider a service like http://pedalsteelforhire.com (or something similar) if we wanted something completely authentic and fully pro, but so far we're happy with the Refill results for this project.

[Yorick]

Buying one is pretty cheap!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-Electr ... 339c07326f

Thanks man. That's a good thing to consider. My only issue is I have a severe phobia of buying a guitar online. I have a brother in Nashville so would probably just hit up a pawnshop next time I visit him if I decide to go that route. Just thought there might be a good workaround using Reason. I should be clear that I'm not 100% set on getting a perfect slide guitar sound, more just being able to create that effect, something that at least reminds a listener of the slide sound. 

I hear you Jeff, it's better to play the guitar yourself before buying...
I bought a bass off https://reverb.com/ and it worked out (less than half price). Was a bit more "used" than in the photos, but I got a great deal on it, so still came out better.
I bought a guitar from http://www.hellomusic.com/daily-deals/ and it was a great deal! Less than half price too.
With Sam Ash and Guitar center you can always return the purchase too.
Anyway best of luck mate!

[JNeffLind]

Buying one is pretty cheap!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-Electr ... 339c07326f

Thanks man. That's a good thing to consider. My only issue is I have a severe phobia of buying a guitar online. I have a brother in Nashville so would probably just hit up a pawnshop next time I visit him if I decide to go that route. Just thought there might be a good workaround using Reason. I should be clear that I'm not 100% set on getting a perfect slide guitar sound, more just being able to create that effect, something that at least reminds a listener of the slide sound. 

I hear you Jeff, it's better to play the guitar yourself before buying...
I bought a bass off

https://reverb.com/

and it worked out (less than half price). Was a bit more "used" than in the photos, but I got a great deal on it, so still came out better.
I bought a guitar from

http://www.hellomusic.com/daily-deals/

and it was a great deal! Less than half price too.
With Sam Ash and Guitar center you can always return the purchase too.
Anyway best of luck mate!

Thanks man. The J. is short for Jason actually. Lots of people see JNeff (J. Neff) as Jeff though so don't feel bad. I'm a bit of a guitar snob since my current stock includes a Lowden, a Taylor, and a Cordoba. (got my Lowden years ago before the price jumped to $5000 U.S. for the basic models). I may just have to start a fund to save for something quality and in the meantime put some extra thick strings on an entry level fender I have and mess around with that. I'll check out those sites though for sure. Can't hurt to look right? (except maybe the wallet)

[JNeffLind]

I needed one for a client doing a folk/country project, and while the FSB isn't exactly overflowing with pedal steel patches, I found a usable one in a Triton Refill I got a while back.  While many of the sounds in the Refill come across as rushed, the pedal steel NNXT patch itself sounded decent.  With a little massaging and effects the tracks were quite usable, especially if they are sunk a little further back in the mix.  The biggest challenge is mimicking the playing style and pitch bend techniques to get the track to sound realistic.
I told the client we could also consider a service like http://pedalsteelforhire.com (or something similar) if we wanted something completely authentic and fully pro, but so far we're happy with the Refill results for this project.

Thanks man. Good to know there's a site like that out there. I'll have to see if I can't track down that Triton refill.

[Iapetus 9]

I do quite a bit of guitar slide work, and so I don't need to rely on the samples and the like. I don't think there is much for Reason in that area. Much that would sound authentic anyway- some things are still better played. There is the Wavelore Pedal Steel. It sounds pretty good I guess. If you have Kontakt that could be an option.

[JNeffLind]

I do quite a bit of guitar slide work, and so I don't need to rely on the samples and the like. I don't think there is much for Reason in that area. Much that would sound authentic anyway- some things are still better played. There is the Wavelore Pedal Steel. It sounds pretty good I guess. If you have Kontakt that could be an option.

Thanks man. No Kontakt, but I'll keep it in mind.

[liampatrickingram]

I was looking for some pedal steel sounds last year and couldn't find anything that worked for me.  The best result I got was from learning a bit about how the instrument worked and trying to emulate it on my guitar.  I used a few tracks in a subdued tone with bends on the right notes.  Recorded hot and used my tele volume knob while playing because I don't have a pedal.  It was a ton of work and the phrasing had to be simple but on a few of the tracks it sounded pretty nice!

[JNeffLind]

I was looking for some pedal steel sounds last year and couldn't find anything that worked for me.  The best result I got was from learning a bit about how the instrument worked and trying to emulate it on my guitar.  I used a few tracks in a subdued tone with bends on the right notes.  Recorded hot and used my tele volume knob while playing because I don't have a pedal.  It was a ton of work and the phrasing had to be simple but on a few of the tracks it sounded pretty nice!

I generally play fingerstyle and not much for bending with my left hand so I'll probably just fake it on an old guitar with some heavy gauge strings. My main problem is where I live is super noisy so I try to use prerecorded samples if I can find good ones. (Plus I haven't developed the left hand technique, but I slide notes all the time with my fingers so I'm guessing I'll be able to make it work).

[Leighbeater]

Hi Jason I went through same problem as you about a year ago, luckily I had Kontakt and got this instrument when it was on sale

http://www.orangetreesamples.com/slide-lap-steel

You can run Kontakt as a standalone through to Reason, if you afford it Kontakt is awesome man, there's so many good libraries for acoustic instruments like that

[JNeffLind]

Hi Jason I went through same problem as you about a year ago, luckily I had Kontakt and got this instrument when it was on sale http://www.orangetreesamples.com/slide-lap-steel You can run Kontakt as a standalone through to Reason, if you afford it Kontakt is awesome man, there's so many good libraries for acoustic instruments like that

Thanks man. Another guy recommended another Kontakt library so perhaps I should think about investing in the program. Actually, I think I have a link to download Komplete Elements that I got when I recently received a Fishman Triple Play for Christmas which listed Kontakt (VIs).Is that the same as regular Kontakt. I might be set!