Re: EBow

["Tim Walker" <tawalker@dircon.co.uk>]

With the odd exception, the comments I've read on the EBow thread so
far seem to have been largely "indifferent" - as in, "well, it's OK,
but probably not worth the money". Personally, I couldn't agree less...

IMHO, the EBow could've been made for the looping guitarist (not to
mention other instrumentalists who give it a go). Once you've got the
hang of the unit, it opens up whole new sounds and effects which would
be well-nigh impossible without a guitar synth; and as we all know, the
more of these you have as a solo looper, the better!

As you might guess, I make extensive use of the EBow in my looping
improvisations, and a few of the many effects I've discovered can be
heard on my forthcoming MP3.com CD. Try these for starters:
- Turn up the guitar treble to about 5, stick on some chorus or
flanging, and presto! a nice "synthy"-type solo sound. My track "The
place of little rivers" is almost exclusively made up of layered EBow
parts.
- Play long sustained notes, fading them slowly in and out, and use
your looper to layer lots of them so some come up as others decay -
Fripp's "The Cathedral Of Tears" is an example of the kind of effect,
though of course he used guitar synth.
- Use a nice rich overdrive sound, and combine the EBow with a slide -
David Torn's intro solo from "Gidya Hana", or at least something close.

I'd give the EBow another chance, especially as it only costs about the
same as an average effects pedal - not bad for a unit with so much
potential. Don't be afraid to experiment and use your imagination -
you'll have people saying they never knew one guitar could sound like
that! (Well, it happened to me, anyway.)

Time to get some more practice in :-)

Tim.

*******************Tim Walker - Staines, UK*******************
     tawalker@dircon.co.uk - www.tawalker.dircon.co.uk/
          Visit Tim's NEW recordings page at MP3.com:
*********************www.mp3.com/timwalker/*******************