In one embodiment, a banded slider application obtains values from users via a banded slider. In operation, the banded slider application generates a banded slider that includes multiple sections. Notably, the interior of a section included in the banded slider is visually distinguishable from an interior of another section that is adjacent to the section. Subsequently, the banded slider application performs operation(s) to display the banded slider and, in response, receives a user selection of a location along the banded slider. The banded slider application then computes a specified value based on the location. Advantageously, empirical evidence shows that the banded slider enables precise and/or repeatable specification of values without inducing bias associated with an inherent propensity for users to select locations that are at or near the decorations (e.g., tick marks) along conventional sliders.