I invented the Hoolahan slide with passion , from a kid I have loved Rory Gallagher's guitar playing with such a passion it inspired me to create the Hoolahan slide . many great slide player..s from Lenny Pogan to the late great Rory Gallagher st-rived to have a slide that allowed them to get that slide finger onto the fret board .
http://www.roryon.com ,Article 379 explains more onthe kind of Bottleneck as used by Rory on the Taste Live at Isle Of Wight film ,
this is the shortest slide I have ever found Rory using ,it was still difficult even for Rory getting the tip of his slide finger on to the boards but as you can see Rory always reached his goal .
one day after Rory..s sad passing away
I had the same problem trying so hard to work out playing a slide intro to one of Rory..s classic songs Dont Start Me Talking from the Defender album ,kicking of with a slide run followed by a short riff followed by a four fingered chord just couldn't be done , little did i know at the time I was listening to over dubbed guitar parts on a studio album but thats when i discovered cutting away the slide body as you see gives you sweet spots in a wide variety all round the slide and these can be altered by putting the short cut side of the slide on your finger first or the long cut first .
. . set your fingers free .
Hoolahan Slide reviews from musicians friend
I absolutley love this slide! The quality is great. The sound beats most every other slide I've used. I got the medium size, it was a little big for my finger, but I can switch from fingering to sliding eaisier than normal. Like it is stated on the box, this slide solves the century-old problem of fingering while using a slide. This is a great slide. I'd highly recommed buying this product. Posted by Josh S. Akins from Lanett, AL on Jun 24, 2005.*****
I just got this slide today and I think its amazing. I went with the medium because I wear it on my ring finger. It fits my finger snug in both positions but still allows for quick fingerpicking for solos or anything really. It sounds good, looks good, and plays easy. Its a great slide if you want to switch between slide and solos. Posted by rocker M from kalamazoo MI on Feb 5, 2007.
I was quite surprised by this slide - I bought it to replace my 4th broken glass slide. I play on electric and an old acoustic, and the Hoolahan sounds great on both - just a speck tinny on the electric, but I'm getting heavier strings soon, and anyway, any good amp smooths that out. Plays surprisingly well on nylon acoustic strings, bright tone. It's pretty quick to learn to spin the slide to fretting position too. Nice design there, comfortable on any finger (I play ring or middle, depending) Posted by valhallas_end from Syracuse, NY on Apr 2, 2008
The HOOLAHAN slide Changing from fingered notes to slide in an instant is effortless
wear one on any or every finger !
Shortly after I made the perfect slide my father sadly passed away with cancer ,I used the money my father left me in his will to obtain UK patents on my slide because i knew it was so good .Once I registered the patents I phoned Jim Dunlop, He said they had my slide over in the USA and I said "no you haven't or you would be selling them " and he said OK lets see it and that became the start of The Hoolahan Slide .
I was kinda reluctant to send the slide as I have lost other inventions through people putting me off ect. Dunlop kept saying to me before we bonded his so called licence (which no lawyer can decipher if its an assignment of my IP or a royalty licence, Dunlop has ignored legal request to explain his agreement and to this day is still ignoring even news reporters who are asking Dunlop to respond to a story being done on my slide )
"TRUST ME" Phil would you just please send it over we cant move forward if I cant see the slide ". I kept on saying yeah OK but I was worried after he said I would not get a UK patent and I assured him I would as the UK patent office told me as far as they can see I would and of coarse I did but Dunlop never filed for a US patent yet it says in his so called royalty licence " Dunlop further agrees to pay for and to use its best efforts to obtain a Design Patent in the United States".
Dear Mr Dunlop
18th Aprl 2008
Having taken legal advice in relation to our Agreement of January 1, 2001 I am writing to inform you that I consider it to be terminated in view of Dunlop's failure to perform with respect to a material condition of the Agreement, namely that "Dunlop agrees to pay for and use its best efforts to obtain a Design Patent in the United States". Irrespective of the existence of the earlier Pogan design, Dunlop's failure to actually submit a Design Patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and thereby formally test the patentability of the Hoolahan slide clearly amounts to a failure to use its best efforts. As it is no longer possible for Dunlop to perform its obligations under the Agreement, the Agreement is therefore terminated.
Phil Hoolahan
Check this March 2008 there..s an business profile on Dunlop in the Glasgow Herald business magazine where the article ends with Dunlop saying "as far as rewards are concerned I think time brings its rewards.If you are doing something good ,you will know that and it will feel good .We have all heard the expression"find a need and fill it " ? Well,just dont forget to get a patent.
Yeah right , My personal opinion is Dunlop talks a load of bullshit
The Hoolahan slides so popular in the US companies like the one Dunlop said not to worry about they don't see it as a threat http://www.peacelandmusic.com/mringorder.php show my slide on there web page along with strange looking slides they say are patent pending .
Dunlop just launched at the Namm show 2008 The Hoolahan slide in two new materials and sent me a new licence to sign which I refused because it states any dispute arising under this agreement shall be dealt with in San Francisco under US law ( like I can afford to do that on the few hundred dollars they send me in royalties every quarter) Turns out my lawyer in Glasgow pointed out had I signed this new agreement I was signing away the right to use my name Hoolahan to sell my slide or any other products like my new invention the slide tuner in the united states .
There's a lot lot more to this story (like how Dunlop never persued Donal Gallagher offer to have the Hoolahan slide endorsed with Rory Gallagher's signature and included them with every Fender Rory Gallagher signature guitar) and Dunlop are ignoring me again and reporters who are asking him to respond to the story I have given them . I would hate to see any other inventor getting treated this way. this is the latest update.
story composed by Murry Scougall of the Sunday Post, his editor never used the story.
A SCOTTISH inventor has gone to war with a huge American manufacturer, after he accused them of trying to stop him from using his own name.
Phil Hoolahan, from Paisley, is a guitar virtuoso and invented a unique piece of equipment for the instrument that LA-based company Jim Dunlop, one of the biggest producers of music gear, licensed to mass market and sell in music shops worldwide.
Phil, 52, came up with the Hoolahan Slide, a device that allows a guitarist to play a variety of styles with minimum fuss and no interruptions.
He realised he had a unique product on his hands that could change the way the guitar was played, and applied for a UK patent for his invention before Jim Dunlop expressed an interest.But Phil has been left disappointed by the marketing of the slide and has been left near penniless after receiving around just a few hundred dollars every quarter from the royalties.
To make matters worse, Dunlop failed to apply for a US patent on the slide as was promised in their agreement, and Phil says another company are now producing slides copying his design, which is receiving much more advertising and marketing.
The final straw for Phil came last month when he was given an updated agreement to sign.
It was only after he showed it to his lawyers that he learned he would be signing away all rights to use the Hoolahan name in the future, with Dunlop effectively owning the name for any new guitar products.
Phil explained, "It's all got too much and I just want away from an involvement with Dunlop now. I want out of my agreement with them and have given Dunlop notice of such.
"I have come up with a new invention for the guitar - a slide tuner - but if I had gone ahead and signed the updated agreement then I would have been unable to market it using my name.
"I really just want to warn other people off Dunlop. I know from speaking to others that I'm not unique in the way they've treated me. They refuse to answer my emails or phone calls.
"The Hoolahan slide can revolutionise the way a guitar can be played but because it hasn't been promoted enough all I'm getting is a few hundred pounds, at the most, in royalties each quarter. I'm unemployed and the royalties are my income, but obviously I can't live off of that."
One bright spot came last April when he was invited out to California to look over the new glass and brass versions of his slide.
While he was out there he made a breakthrough that he thought would finally put the device he invented ten years ago on the map, but again he was left feeling let down.
"I'm a huge fan of the late Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher. He's my hero and he's the reason I picked up the guitar. The only music I'll play is his songs and I'm in a Rory tribute band called Defender.
"Rory..s brother, Donal, controls his estate now and I've been in contact with him over the years. While I was in America I spoke to him on the phone and he said he wanted to endorse my slide by giving it away with Rory's Fender signature guitar. But Dunlop didn't pursue it.
"I actually came up with the slide while trying to play a difficult introduction to one of his songs, Don't Start Me Talking. I didn't realise at the time that when it had been recorded in the studio, the guitar parts had been played separately then later overdubbed."But as I tried to play all the parts live I came up with the slide, which enabled me to play the introduction without stopping."Now I just want out of the deal with Dunlop. I'm looking for financial backers for my slide tuner. I've taken out UK patents - one of which has been granted - and want to do the same in America, and I've also applied for trademark protection for my surname. But it all costs money I don't have."
Despite repeated attempts by The Sunday Post over the course of several weeks to speak to someone from the Jim Dunlop organisation by phone and e-mail about Phil's claims and problems, no statement was given.
the end
Now you have read my story Mr Dunlop why dont you watch the musical below by Rory Gallagher
my website is under construcion but can you order a Hoolahan Slide right now direct from me on myspace, small medium or large . slide on
