Introducing Paloma Stone Slides

[Jay Seibert]

I began this project over a year ago and now, after literally hundreds of prototypes to get it right, I would like to introduce my new line of hand-crafted ceramic guitar slides for resonator, lap steel, steel, and bottleneck players.

“The best new guitar slide product to come along in years”… the Paloma Stone Guitar Slide… is hand-made in Washington State, has top-drawer finish quality, yields excellent tone and sustain, comes with a free velveteen pouch, and is very competitive in price!

Paloma Stone Slides are the first and only hand-made high-fire stoneware slides in the world! Developed with a multi-talented focus group of veteran players, the Paloma Stone Guitar Slide is poised to be “the next new thing for slide players”.

I offer the following styles in White and Cobalt Blue glaze finishes:
Bottleneck… two lengths and six finger sizes
Round tone bar… two lengths and three diameters
Shaped tone bar… (Stevens style) three sizes, and two lengths
Shaped Tone Bar/Bull Nose… (Stevens Style) three sizes, two lengths
Tall, Shaped Tone Bar... coming soon!

Current retail is $20 with free velveteen pouch... $4 shipping anywhere on the planet.

www.stoneslides.com

Thanks for looking!

Jay Seibert

[Stephen Abruzzo]

Hey Jay.....there's no info about round tone bars as to length and diameter.

[Jay Seibert]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the contact. I am still building the web site and adding info on a daily basis... sorry the info wasn't up yet.
The round tone bars are available in two sizes, soon to be three:
15/16" to 1" and 1 1/8th to 1 3/16" in diameter.
They are 2 15/16" to 3" tall.
Due to many requests I have just started making a round bar which will end up at about 3/4" in diameter. I have also begun to make lengths in addition to the 3"... I will have a 3 3/16" and a 3 3/8" soon.
The 1" dia bar 3" length weighs 80 grams.
The 1 1/8" dia bar 3" length weighs 98 grams.

While light in weight, the slides' tone benefits from the very dense, high-fire stoneware clay body... yielding a nice warm, full tone with a nice taste of highs. And the light weight makes them easy to slide around.

If you get one and don't like it, I'll be happy to refund your money.

I should mention that the cobalt blue slides put out a bit warmer tone spectrum than the white slides... and both feature a very slick, quiet, surface glaze coating.

[Larry Robbins]

E-Mail sent

[Jay Seibert]

I have had many queries over the past few days regarding making special shapes and lengths to suit the particular player's special wishes so I thought I would post these photos as examples to get your imagination working. I have the ability to make pretty much any shape and length you might desire within certain ceramic-specific limitations.

The pix here show several slides which were "suggested" by players who wanted something different from what I was already making. These are shown fresh out of the bisque kiln and still need to be sanded/buffed before glazing and then a final firing at 2250 degrees.


*Existing small round tone bar on back left, new smaller one on back right… I’ll be doing three lengths in three diameter sizes. *New tall shaped bar with indents, front. *New tall shaped tone bar without indents on middle left, current small shaped tone bar right.


*end views of same

What does a special slide shape cost? I'll have to look at each "idea" individually and estimate costs from there... so let's talk!

[Laurence Pangaro]

Any thoughts about a double ended bullet bar?

LP

[Danny James]

How does being dropped on a hard floor effect them?

[Jay Seibert]

Easy to do... should it be in my current product catalogue? I can't recall seeing one before, but then again, I'm a new guy at all this slide stuff! I sure am having fun though!

How many and what size would you like?

[Jay Seibert]

Right off the bat, I should say that the slide is made from clay... a high-fire stoneware clay body that has been fired two times in the process. First, a bisque firing takes them to 1950 degrees and turns them from organic clay matter to a fired rock. I then dip the slide into my own glaze formula and fire again, but this time, at 2450 degrees. Typically hotter than "diner porcelain" but tougher as stoneware has a more varied particle size than porcelain... yielding a more dense and tough body. We have made stoneware dishes and mugs for 30 years and happily report excellent "torture-ability.

What does this mean?
Drop it on a wood floor... should be no problem.
Drop it on a tile floor... could very well break the tile and survive just fine if dropped on either end. If it hit sideways, it might break the slide.
Concrete... might or might not survive.

Much tougher than a porcelain slide, or a glass slide... will sustain longer and have a fuller tone.

I have received a suggestion to make them with a lifetime guarantee... if it breaks, I'd replace at no charge... but I'm still considering that one.

Would you pay more for a lifetime guarantee?

[Jay Seibert]

Updated dropped info...
I just walked out to my pottery studio and dropped some round tone bars on the concrete floor! If they are dropped on either end... or if dropped so one end hits before the other, they won't break! They will bounce off the floor! Really! I tried about six slides! Even I was surprised!

If dropped perfectly on their side/long surface on concrete, they will break.

[Stephen Abruzzo]

Jay......you say that you have 2 lengths to the shaped tone bar. I only see one size length, 74 mm....what's the other size? Thanks.

[Stephan Miller]

Definitely interested. Jay, can you make a cobalt blue round bar, 2 15/16" in length, and tapered from 7/8" diameter at the butt end to 3/4" at the nose? I'd be willing to pay extra for one or two with those specs.

(Tapered bars of different sizes have been available to steelers through the years...at this time though, there's just one tapered bar commercially available that I know of, in stainless steel, one size only.)

[Jay Seibert]

86 mm is the other size I make now, now but I am still playing with lengths on these. I am open to suggestion but I'm shooting for having three different lengths in stock sizes. As with my focus group, I'll let the players (that would be you)tell me what sizes they like best.

I try to make the slides in sizes and shapes to please the players, not myself... I've only been playing slide, C6 6-String, for a short while so I'll defer to the "pros" out there.

Is there a length you favor?

[Jay Seibert]

Wow! This is the first request I've had for this tapered shape. I'll have to ponder this one for a bit... and make a few attempts at solving the riddle. Let's stay in touch... this might be a very cool concept to follow through.

Anyone else like this idea?

[George Piburn]

Players that depend on 3 note Slants require a perfect Radius on the Bullet Nose.

This is a major concern to be able to tune out 3 note slants regardless of the diameter.

Many players want a very heavy weight, eg; 8.4 oz 7/8 diameter x 3 inch length -- which is a typical size of a pedal steel bar made of Stainless steel.

Hope this information adds to your research.

MR.Boards

[Gerald Ross]

I prefer a lighter weight bullet bar 2.75" X .75"

[Stephan Miller]

Pedal players do favor a larger, heavier bar. Lap steel/non-pedal players move the bar around the neck more and (at least the ones not coming from a pedal background) like a smaller bar-- in diameter 3/4" is very popular, followed by 7/8", and in length usually 2 3/4", 2 7/8", and 3".

[Danny James]

Updated dropped info...
I just walked out to my pottery studio and dropped some round tone bars on the concrete floor! If they are dropped on either end... or if dropped so one end hits before the other, they won't break! They will bounce off the floor! Really! I tried about six slides! Even I was surprised!

If dropped perfectly on their side/long surface on concrete, they will break.

Jay these are pretty impressive stress tests, and I think your prices are very reasonable

[Gary Meixner]

Jay,

I would like to encourage you with your venture and would offer the following input. My preference would be a tone bar that is 3/4" in diameter and between 2 3/4" - 3" long. Getting the weight right is very important to me. My current favorite is a little over 5 oz. A thumb detent is important for slants. The price is right on. Good luck.

Gary

[Dick Chapple Sr]

Howdy Jay:

I sent you an email just now for an order.
I am needing two bull nose shaped bars, one small white(clear) and one lg blue cobalt. I too would like a tapered bar 7/8" to 3/4' bullet nose. I started using a tapered bar right off in 1947, have two of them and they are of course worn out now, now I use a standard bullet nosed 3/4" by 3 1/4" bar.

It would be nice if these all had indents in the back ends for doing reverse slants.

I once saw a steel bar equipped with a swivel ring on top to wear over your finger to help hold on to the bar. Don't know if they ever caught on, but I would be tempted to try one if I knew where to get one.

May your venture be successful.

Dick Chapple Sr

[Dick Chapple Sr]

Phew...just saw where I said a tapered bar 3/4' long, wow....better build a lap with 20 strings or so.

Dick Chapple Sr

[David Mason]

Well, as long as you're taking suggestions. I am a Demon... slide player, that is. It's a really good idea to list both inside and outside diameters, and also total weight (grams and ounces).

One technique that's important in modern (post-Sonny Landreth & Leo Kottke) slide playing is playing a single string inside of two other open strings, and to do this the slides have to be pretty precise in length. I usually use my ring finger, and I need a slide that's between 2 3/16" and 2 1/4" long to do this well. I'm not picky, as long as it's between 55 and 57 millimeters... There's usually this "hole" in the lengths of many slide manufacturers, they have one that's too short to cover all the strings, and one that's too long, which is why I usually use brass pipe I cut myself. There is a wide variety of needs out there - you got your over-the-little-finger guys like Sonny Landreth, your second-knuckle little finger guys like Johnny Winter, your ring finger guys like Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, your middle finger guys like Jeff Beck and Joe Walsh... each needs a different length too.

If you can figure out a way to sell bread-and-butter slides, and run a full custom shop, you'll be in a good position. People can develop pretty unnatural attachments to their slides (not ME, of course ) - they're far more useful fetish objects than glow-in-the-dark baby Jesuses and such.

(BTW, I have spent over $40 to buy four feet of just the right brass pipe, to get a 2 3/16" piece - it's not about cost... it's about perfection! If you can cost out a medium (20mm) that's 56mm long, I could certainly be nudged off of my brass for a while.)

[Jay Seibert]

First of all:
I'd like to thank the SGF for all the incredible support shown for my new slide products. I never expected to receive so much positive response and helpful suggestions when I joined the Forum. And I am truly enjoying meeting so many of you through personal emails. What a fantastic bunch of folks! I feel like I've found a new home, and I thank you all for that. Rest assured that I will do my best to maintain your respect and trust.

It's a "personal" thing:
I have received so many requests for custom slides that I am having to re-think what I'm doing. Initially, I thought that I had the bases pretty well covered with a good selection of sizes and shapes that would work for most players. I didn't realize how specific or "personal" many player's needs were. (I should have known because I have been extremely "personal" about my own instrument choices and set-ups, why not slide players as well?)

On to custom slides:
It is no secret that I hand-extrude these with my home-built extruder and then finish them by hand. This process allows me to easily make whatever lengths I want by simply cutting the wet clay off at whatever length is desired. Since the clay shrinks about 13% from start to finish-firing, I need to calculate the change in size to get the right finished length. It's not exact science, but it works pretty well, it is pottery, not machined metal. So length requests are easy to provide.

Different shapes are another matter as I make a new die for each shape out of 3/16" steel plate. Time and materials are the investment here. Once the die is made, I can run whatever lengths I need. I am trying to estimate how to charge someone for a special die/shape I'd make for them.

I have had so many requests for an indent for the thumb in the end of the round tone bars that I will include this feature on all round tone bars I make from this day forward... at no additional cost. As far as other "personal" requests, I'll look at them on a one at a time basis. My goal is to deliver a slide that nails it for the player... with your continued support, I believe we can make this happen!

I have started shipping out your orders, I only introduced these to the Forum last Friday, and am chomping at the bit to hear your reviews. They really do sound different than what's out there now!

Thanks again, keep the comments and requests coming, and Keep Slidin'!

[Peter Jacobs]

I ordered mine last night -- can't wait to give it a whirl. Thanks for listening to the needs of the users, Jay -- that seems to be a rarity among manufacturers.

[James Inkster]

Hi Jay,

Did you get my PM yesterday?

Thanks!