The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm curious as to how many folk roll versus slide to get a good vibrato. Are there times when one technique is preferred over the other? Do the two vibrato techniques yield the same sound?

Thanks.

Should have added a choice for both. I use both and several others use both. Why limit yourself to the sound of just one type?

I use both, so I didn't do the poll. I tend to use the roll on slow stuff when I want maximum sustain and contour without noise. I use the fast sliding vibrato for special sounds you don't hear that often, or when I need to endlessly sustaining "droning tones" or sound EFX, albeit with some of the frictional noises that go along with slides on the voiced wound strings.

Any good cover-song player, I feel, uses as many techniques and sounds as he can...for variety. Established (famous?) "great" players can usually dispense with variety, since most of them are known primarily for one specific sound, technique, and tone.

As a famous singer once said..."Amateurs should do it all, while us famous singers get to specialize on our own signature stuff".

I've never used anything but a slow/moderate 'rubbing the strings' kind of vibrato.

I found the rolling the bar method that I first heard recommended by Jeff Newman.......failed to meet the needs of the type of music that I was consistantly playing.