An amazing slide! ...market research?

[Michael Messer]

Hi everyone,

I am doing a bit of market research about a slide that I tested a few days ago.

I was approached at a concert last week by a guy who has made what could be the absolute ultimate metal slide.

The slide is made of tungsten carbide and is absolutely beautifully engineered. I was a bit sceptical when I first saw it, but having played with it for 20 minutes I was totally amazed by its performance. It has the most incredible tone and feel of any metal slide I have ever tried......and I have tried them all! There is nothing about this slide that I was not totally knocked about by, it just glided over the strings like silk and the tone, volume and clarity of the notes produced was just incredible. This slide is without doubt the best metal slide I have ever seen. The other advantage to tungsten carbide is that in general use, especially as a guitar slide, it will never wear out or even mark. This thing will stay perfect....mint....as new... forever.

Now here comes the market research bit. If any of us slide fanatics wanted one of these wonderful slides it would have to cost approximately £250 (GBP)! Yes.....that is right, you did not read it wrong and I did not type it wrong. It really would cost that amount of money to put one in mine or your hands.

My question is, and it is a serious one because this guy is serious; if you could get such a slide.....the best sounding indestructible slide that has ever been made, would you pay £250 for it?

I am not sure how I feel about it, except, I can only say that taking the price out of the equation for a moment, that it was the most amazing piece of metal that I have ever put on my finger!

I look forward to reading your replies and so does the guy who makes them, who incidentally is a member of this forum.

Thank you....

Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

I'd have to lie about how much it cost and would be paranoid about losing it, but, if it was my idea of the ultimate slide tone as well then yes I'd go for it but would have to try it first. What was the weight like?
Jules.

[Deleted]

No.
A player with an ozark with a £250 slide looks less cool than a player with a duolian with a copper tube.
TT

[pete1951]

Thats a tough one. I love the slide I use, but if I got a better tone it would be tempting . £250 just seems too much.
Is it turned from a block/rod or is there a `stock` tube . I guess you need some fancy cutting stuff to work something so hard?
PT

[Deleted]

That would be way too much for this po' boy, especially as an American with the über-weak $$$!

I've read about various metals like that, & the Martin Simpson one... if I could afford it, and was a pro full time, most likely yes, I would shell it out... but for my meager needs? Probably not.

I thought the $60 US for the Daddy German Silver slide was pretty steep...but worth it and the $50 for the Tribotone was expensive (worth it) and jeez, Ian's Diamond Bottlenecks master glass works come in at a pretty inexpensive 20-40 bucks (sooooo worth it, if not much more) When my strings start going dead, I've started pulling out the old $18 Latch Lake Acoustaglide (heavy brass) to pull the rest of the tone out of the strings... so I guess I'm set... PLUS my wife would kill me

[waffle]

I would buy one..but for me it would be like buying a guitar.I would need to try first at that price.Would be nice to see them on a stall at some music festival or something.

[Michael Messer]

Everyone's comments are valid and interesting.

The tungsten carbide is very expensive to buy and apparently even more expensive to cut, shape and polish. The only material that will do this is diamond.

I too could not even consider paying that amount of money for a slide without spending time with it first.

Deuce - I understand your comment and although it is not the 'cool factor' that I am considering, I am in two minds because I have been playing listening to slide guitar for most of my life and apart from the occasional Martin Simpson track, none of the tens of thousands of recordings that I have heard were made using £250 slides. My problem is that while I can say what I have just said, I can also honestly say I have never used anything as good as this.

Hookedonrzophnx - the Martin Simpson slide is the same guy.

Jules - the weight varies depending on the design, but the ones I tried were made to Martin's specifications and were too heavy for me. I didn't weigh them, but I reckon they were around 6 to 8 ounces. I would only be interested if the weight could be reduced without significant loss of tone.

David - I would be very happy if you join this discussion because you are able to talk about these slides in a way that I cannot.

Any more thoughts on this subject....

Shine On
Michael.

[slide496]

Might there be issues of loudness and superior projection or other performance enhancing attributes associated with that slide that would be of interest to the professional performers among those who are considering it?

Peace,
Harriet

[leeophonic]

Too expensive for me.
Regards
Lee

[lewiscohen]

I probably wouldn't spend that money because I often use different slides just for a bit of a change and because I alternate between ring finger and pinky depending on what I'm playing.

But I have made that kind of investment in the past - i.e. I spent nearly £200 on a capo which most people would think is madness but which I haven't regretted for a second.

So if I was a "one slide man" I'd probably spend that much on the last slide I'd ever want.

[washboardchris]

Just to put it into perspectiove, I know a Cello player that paid £2500 for a bow.Idf you are playing for a livng & if it gives you the sound you want then go for it (but dont lose it)

[blueshome]

Not for me. Too much money - I've bought nice guitars for less.
Besides, one man's idea of great tone isn't necessarily what another wants to achieve, it's a very personal thing.
Let's face it, at least 80% of a player's sound comes from their touch and technique, not the guitar, the strings, the picks, or the slide. MM (I know because I've heard him do it) can pick up any guitar and stick any old slide on his finger and still sound like MM.

[Bottleneck John]

Sounds like an amazing slide material, the part of it not wearing out is the key thing for me! I'm a bit tired of the fact that all my fav slides has been used so hard over the years now. They all have scars..
Would love to try one but I couldn't afford one I think.

The Cello perspective is interesting though!!!
If one live long enough and the slide NEVER wears out, it's a good investment I'd say..

[wolvoboy]

Way i see it if you can afford to spend thousands of pounds on a guitar 250 does not sound like a lot of money, i think if you are a professional musican and you sound would benefit from it then yes go for it
wolvoboy

[Michael Messer]

I am not sure what to think, because while I do think the tungsten carbide slide is an amazing tool that I would very much like to add to my collection, I do have a slide that is twenty two years old and is still like new. It is a bored out steel rod that was hard chromed and polished. I have used it constantly for all those years and is still like new. Having said that, it did not come cheaply, I remember paying £60 for the plating & polishing. The slide was a gift, but if I had bought it I would have had to pay a lot to get a solid steel rod bored out

Shine On
Michael