Re: dtorn/E-Bow

[Tim Nelson <tcn62@ici.net>]

>Also - could someone explain to me what kinds of things an E-bow does, 
>and is
>it worth the purchase. 

An E-Bow generates a small electromagnetic field which you can focus on a
guitar string to keep it vibrating without picking. It's useful for legato,
single-string playing. The lack of a sharp, percussive attack, and the
infinite sustain are well suited to slide, and work particularly well with
a lot of delay. The manufacturer claims that one can use the E-Bow to mimic
conventional instruments like horns and synths, but I've never really found
this to be true. It is only suited for monophonic playing, one string at a
time, although many players have developed proficiency at jumping the
device from string to string to arpeggiate. (I've not found this technique
all that useful, since with the amount of delay I like to use with the
E-Bow, any squawks, clicks or other unintentional noises which happen to
occur when jumping strings come back to haunt me, and this is even more
true when looping!) You CAN get a deep, throaty squeal out of your low E
using an E-Bow that's pretty cool, kind of like a rhinoceros on steroids,
but not every player would find a use for the sounds of large, angry,
chemically-enhanced African wildlife! The newest version of the E-Bow
features a switch that is said to emphasize higher harmonics, but mine is
the older model, so I can't tell you how well the switch works. The E-Bow
IS a neat effect, but it's really not all that versatile (despite
exaggerated claims of the E-Bow's usefulness on bass and acoustic guitars
which I've found to be rather a stretch). You can get pretty much the same
sound with distortion and controlled feedback, although in low-volume
situations and when using an amp emulator, the E-Bow can be useful. It
might be a good idea to see if you can borrow one from someone to try it
out before spending $70-100 for one... You'll know fairly soon if it's
something you'll use a lot, in which case it's probably worth it. I know a
lot of people who've bought them and hardly ever take 'em out of their
guitar cases, though... I sort of fall in the middle of the road on that
one; I like my E-Bow well enough, but I really don't use it all that often.
You might be better off filling in any vacant spots in your pedalboard
first with stuff you're more certain you'll use often.

Tim