I’ll give you my take on slate calls after building them for 15+ years. It’s been my experience that the colored slates (red, green, and purple) sound more like a glass/crystal call than the ole tried and true gray slate which has the traditional sound. There’s also a lot of variations in the colored slates that make them difficult to use. They are just not consistent like the gray slate with respect to sound. I can build 10 gray slates and they all will pretty much mimic each other. I can’t do that with the colored slates as the consistency just isn’t there, at least not in the ones I’ve bought. The colored slates just seem a whole lot louder to me, much like a glass call.

Wood type makes a huge difference in sound. Usually you’ll have 2 choices in woods. You have the heavier, more dense hardwoods like Osage, Padauk, and Persimmon that will come with a colored slate. To me, these all sound like a glass call as they are higher pitched and loud. Then you’ll have the other end of the spectrum. The softer woods like Walnut, Cherry, and Cedar that have traditional gray slate surfaces. These are great for soft calling and the old raspy sound of an old hen. You just had to decide what sound you want out of the call.

As far as the soundboard goes, it makes a big difference as well. Most of the colored slates come with a glass soundboard as it doesn’t “dampen” the sound any. Some builders use slate or wood soundboards to “tone” down the colored slates some. Again, it just depends on the sound you are after.

Strikers also play a huge factor in determining the sound of the call. Custom strikers can be way more beneficial than the other things listed above. Most calls you buy now come with the standard 2 piece dymondwood with a maple top. These work really well but a custom striker can take a call from being good to being great. Look into strikers made by Jeff Harrison at JLH strikers as he’s putting out some amazing stuff. Derek Stuckey, John Sinclair, Bill Lyman all make great strikers too add the list goes on. Getting the correct striker is just as important as the call is.

Google search “best slate call” and look through Old Gobbler and you’ll see the same names mentioned over and over. Getting a custom call this time of year will be tough as most of those builders have long lists for their calls but most of the time, it’s well worth the wait.

Stony makes a fine call. I’d go with a classic walnut and gray slate

Just buy one from Stony and be done with it. I only carry one slate call and it's one Stony made for me years ago.

Got a Cedar/slate call from Wareagle22 last week, found a hickory striker that gave me the sound I was looking for. Killed 1st bird of the season on WMA opener this morning. Had him talking at 6:15 and flopping at 6:35.
Stony makes a great call and was a pleasure to buy from.

Good deal. I’m glad it worked out for you. I’m gonna add the cedar over slate call to my product line. I really liked that call and was tempted to keep it for myself and build another one for you. That was the first one of those I’ve built but definitely won’t be the last. Congrats on killing a Bama WMA bird, that’s a feat in itself.

I’ll take one when you get some made Stony. Text me and I’ll send you a check.