Death Letter Blues

Description

Most people associate Delta blues with a resonator guitar like the one I'm using. This is a guitar with sort of a built in acoustic speaker. It was originally invented to be a louder guitar that could accompany a horn section and a snare drum, but people seem to prefer it because of the very unique sound it has. Some resonators, like the one used on this recording, are made of all metal and some of them, like the one I'm using, are made of wood. But the resonator cone still gives it that metallic sound.

But a lot of Delta blues players also used regular steel string acoustics, so don't think you need a resonator guitar to be able to play this song. It's mostly in the slide, the style and the attitude. I'm using a metal slide which gives you that awesome dirty rattle and lots of brittle high-end.

I have the action set high enough to play slide, but still low enough that I can fret normally as well. But nothing about this song has to be pretty or perfect by any means, and that applies to the gear and tone as well. Just go for it with whatever gear you have!