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heads on fire « Such an innovative product. »
Published on 11/01/11 at 20:12Features:
Small plastic housing
9v powered
On/off switch
Harmonic/regular mode switch
This unit is INCREDIBLE. It makes your guitar string sustain forever! Well, as long as the battery lasts. It will even cause an acoustic guitar, or bass guitar's strings to vibrate indefinitely. The operation is very simple - hold the EBow directly over the string that is intended to vibrate, switch it on, and hold your breath! Actually, don't hold your breath - this unit can keep the sustain happening much longer than you can hold your breath! You'd pass out from oxygen deprivation before this baby quit working! This is a pre-cursor to cool innovations like the Fernandez Sustainer pickup, and the Moog Guitar, both instruments that allow infinite sustain on a physical guitar string.
The effects one can achieve using one of these little guys are incredible! It can make an electric or acoustic or bass sound like a cello, violin, synthesizer, horns, flutes...it is a world-class box built on a great idea. The harmonic modes are especially cool, and with a little practice, one can develop a technique to switch back and forth between the regular mode and harmonic mode while simultaneously holding a sustaining note. Adding ambient sounds like reverb or delay can definitely add to the effect's effectiveness.
The only "downside" I can see at all is that multiple strings cannot be sustained, but I'm not sure how physically and practically/financially possible that idea would be for the designers of the EBow to integrate. I guess another minor gripe is that this is a tad cumbersome for the hand - it would be neat to see a unit that sustains like this, but could also allow the player to continue to hold and use a pick at the same time.
All in all, this is an excellent product, rife with inspiration, and I'd recommend it to any forward-thinking metal-stringed instrument musician. The hours you'd spend creating new sonic textures and soaring solos will definitely make it worth the hundred dollar price tag.
Small plastic housing
9v powered
On/off switch
Harmonic/regular mode switch
This unit is INCREDIBLE. It makes your guitar string sustain forever! Well, as long as the battery lasts. It will even cause an acoustic guitar, or bass guitar's strings to vibrate indefinitely. The operation is very simple - hold the EBow directly over the string that is intended to vibrate, switch it on, and hold your breath! Actually, don't hold your breath - this unit can keep the sustain happening much longer than you can hold your breath! You'd pass out from oxygen deprivation before this baby quit working! This is a pre-cursor to cool innovations like the Fernandez Sustainer pickup, and the Moog Guitar, both instruments that allow infinite sustain on a physical guitar string.
The effects one can achieve using one of these little guys are incredible! It can make an electric or acoustic or bass sound like a cello, violin, synthesizer, horns, flutes...it is a world-class box built on a great idea. The harmonic modes are especially cool, and with a little practice, one can develop a technique to switch back and forth between the regular mode and harmonic mode while simultaneously holding a sustaining note. Adding ambient sounds like reverb or delay can definitely add to the effect's effectiveness.
The only "downside" I can see at all is that multiple strings cannot be sustained, but I'm not sure how physically and practically/financially possible that idea would be for the designers of the EBow to integrate. I guess another minor gripe is that this is a tad cumbersome for the hand - it would be neat to see a unit that sustains like this, but could also allow the player to continue to hold and use a pick at the same time.
All in all, this is an excellent product, rife with inspiration, and I'd recommend it to any forward-thinking metal-stringed instrument musician. The hours you'd spend creating new sonic textures and soaring solos will definitely make it worth the hundred dollar price tag.