This time we had the pleasure to do an interview with one of our favorite slide makers, mister Ian McWee of Diamond Bottlenecks.
Ian makes one of the best handblown slides and been around since the early 1980's. Since a couple of years Mainwood Guitars became the distributor for the EU and we proudly have a nice selection here in the shop waiting for you!
Interview
1. First things first, tell our readers about yourself and your background.
*My name is Ian McWee, I'm now 69 years old and I was born in Birmingham, England.
I left school at 16 years old hoping for a career in art or music, which were my two favorite (and most successful!) subjects ~ but somehow I began an apprenticeship in jewellery design in our famous 'jewellery quarter' in Hockley, Birmingham.
This lasted for a couple of years, but due to health concerns (long story!) I had to change careers and then spent the next twenty years working in the automotive repair trade. It was during this spell that my interest in acoustic slide guitar ~ especially resonator instruments ~ began to become more of a passion and when I was made redundant in 1994 I joined a small company called 'National In The U.K.' located in Worcester, on a part-time basis.
As the name suggests, 'National In The U.K.' were the very first National Reso-Phonic Guitars dealers/importers in the U.K. & my journey into mass production of glass guitar slides began there..
2. You're the owner and founder of Diamond Bottlenecks. When and how that all started?
*I am the founder / owner of Diamond Bottlenecks and begins way back in the late 1970's. I began playing electric slide guitar after hearing Duane Allman's searing slide work on Eric Clapton's 'Layla' album and The Allman Brothers 'Live at Fillmore East' masterpiece. I graduated from electric guitar to acoustic guitar after reading that Duane Allman's original influencers were early acoustic blues from the pre-war era ~ and that was my next route into slide blues...
but, after purchasing a 1970's metal-bodied Dobro Model 33 the biggest issue I had was my slide tone ~ metal slides didn't give the warm, smooth tone I was searching for, so it was either ceramic - or glass!! I didn't care much for ceramic as, to my ears, they didn't have as much sustain as metal - and the only glass slides available were lightweight Pyrex from guitar stores.....this is pre-internet days!!!......therefore I decided look at making my own.....
In the early days of Diamond Bottlenecks (1980's) I began cutting off the necks of bottles using a steel jig that held a glass cutter and shaping & polishing them using a combination of a grinding wheel and sandpaper - finishing them off with a soft automotive cutting paste. At this time I was playing slide guitar at acoustic gigs & open mikes using my homemade bottlenecks, and audience members came up to me asking where they could purchase these glass slides....so I began making more & selling them to folks at these gigs.
3. Is it a one man business or do you share this passion with somebody else?
*I met the owner of 'National In The U.K' at a local blues festival ~ he asked how many I could make, and as I was out of work I told him "as many as you need!" This began my 4-year stint in the Worcester shop supplying authentic bottleneck slides for sale - and working part-time playing all of the new Nationals!
4. I truly believe that your slides are definitely one of the best out there. From traditional bottlenecks to the handblown crystal glass "Ultimates" with their stunning artistic looks. How did this craft developed over the years?
*The customer demand for my authentic bottleneck slides vastly outgrew my small garage output, and in 1996 I began looking to outsource production ~ this led me to meet the two glass working experts in the famous Stourbridge 'Glass Quarter' who took me under their wing, and between the three of us (myself, Brett Taylor and Richard Lamming) - we began 'Diamond Bottlenecks' - Brett & Richard being the 'hands-on' guys making the bottlenecks, and me being the backroom guy handing the orders & posting / shipping.
Now based in the 'Glass Quarter' I was then introduced to the very best of the U.K's glassblowers who offered to make the handblown crystal glass 'Ultimate' range; the non-leaded 'Blue Diamond' and solid crystal lap-slide tone-bars we'd eventually become well-known for.
5. What I like about my job is the connection with the players and artists. Can you tell me how that is for you?
*As the 'Diamond Bottlenecks' name began to grow throughout the U.K slide guitar community we created our first website in 2000 ~ this then launched us worldwide and onto the computers of our largest marketplace - the U.S.A. Through our website I've had the honour & pleasure of meeting so many slide guitarists, and not only has it been an incredible experience both chatting & meeting players in person when they've toured in the U.K., but many players have given us ideas of specific glass slides we'd never thought about - and we made them!!
6. A special moment in your career as a slide maker?
*I would say my 'special moment' was in 2012 when Mark Knopfler's guitar tech called from Milwaukee in the U.S. asking where he could get a handblown 'Ultimate' quickly - because he'd just smashed Mark's favourite slide on tour!!
....he had a roadie drive overnight to Spruce Tree Music in Madison Wisconsin to buy a bunch so the tour could continue - and Mark could still play slide on his numbers. Mark still continues to play Diamond Bottlenecks 'Ultimate's to this day.
7. Besides making these things, what do you play when you pick up a bottleneck yourself?
*In my small guitar collection I have a 1933 National Duolian and a 1997 Beltona brass tricone ~ whenever I play those I use authentic green glass bottlenecks I made myself over 20 + years ago from vintage thick-walled bottles. On the rare occasions I'll pick up an electric instrument for slide it'll be a thinner-walled 'Ultimate' or a special bronze DaddySlide from Jan Simon in Germany.
8. A couple years ago you asked me to be your main distributor for the EU. Why Mainwood Guitars instead one of the big "commercial" shops?
*Our glass slides are aimed specifically toward the acoustic slide players ~ especially resonator players. There are dozens of commercially available glass slides on the worldwide marketplace and in music stores from the larger 'big name' producers, but for 'non-electric' sliders ~ especially resonator players ~ these lightweight slides - usually borosilicate (Pyrex) lack the smoothness and sustain that denser, heavier handblown glass can provide.
Our Europe Distributor is Peter at Mainwood Guitars ~ we always prefer the smaller, 'specialist' shops carrying our slides because they have the experience of knowing how a slide should sound on specific instruments ~ especially resonator instruments ~ and if the customer is uncertain of the tone they're looking for will point them to the best slide for their requirements.
9. A while back there were some difficulties for glass suppliers, but fortunately we have a great collection in stock at the moment. How do you see the future for Diamond Bottlenecks?
*Diamond Bottlenecks has now been a successful specialist glass slide producer for more than 30 years ~ 26 of those internet-based ~ and we'll continue for as long as players buy & like our slides.....but - we're getting older each year! I'm now 69 years old (70 in November) and I'm also the youngest of our current team! My two glassblowers who produce our handblown glass products are Bam (71) and Tony (73) and they began working with me back in the mid-2000's....but they always confess to me every time we meet that they're happy to continue making our handblown slide tubes for as long as we need them!
10. I appreciate working with you and as always we at Mainwood Guitars share your craftsmanship with all our dear customers! Is there something you would like to share with them too?
*Many thanks to Peter here at Mainwood for being our Europe distributor ~ it's a pleasure supplying Mainwood with our glass guitar slides & long may it continue. There are still new products in the pipeline from Diamond Bottlenecks ~ especially the latest non-leaded European glass we use from Sweden & Germany running alongside our traditional leaded crystal (which Peter has a few in stock - check out the 'sparkly' slides!!) - so keep in the loop with Peter for slide updates.
Many thanks to you all ~ Ian McWee and the Diamond Bottlenecks team.~
Add comment
Comments