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Re: Sustainiacs and Ebows (Was: Looper's Essential Listening revisited:)
My 3 cents,
I have owned my Sustainiac Model B since the mid 80s. I bought a Model C
(which is just the newer fancier version of the same thing) just a couple of years
ago -- mostly to use as a spare. The B is built like a tank, but it has had to go
to the repair shop a time or two in the 20+ years I've owned it when the internal
power supply fries (which it does about every 8-10 years). I love both though
and use 'em both in the two separate rigs I've put together.
BTW, I've also used an eBow since I bought my first chrome one from Heet
Sound in L.A. in 1980. Ebows and Sustainers are totally different sorts of animals
really. There is a little crossover in how you might use them. But, you get a
more accurate mental picture of what they really are good for if you simply think
of the Ebow as a BOW -- actually vibrating and driving a string -- and think of the
sustainer (at least the acoustic transducer types) as standing up close and in
front of an amp turned on full getting runaway FEEDBACK. The two are very
different things and have very distinct and different musical uses.
I use both all of the time. If you're looking to get those lovely, flutey, cello-like
sounds (a la Phil Keaggy) out of a sustainiac you'll likely be disappointed. An if
you want to sound like the king-of feedback (whoever) an Ebow will similarly
be of little use. Get the right device for what you want to accomplish.
I have a lot less experience with the "stealth" type sustainers. I sat and played
one in the Sustainiac booth at NAMM two years ago for a good 45 minutes
or so (and gave inventor Alan Hoover a chance to go grab some lunch). But
I really much prefer his original invention. The stealth models seemed like
something that was not quite an Ebow nor a feedback creator -- something
in between, and not quite satisfactory at either one. I just never warmed up to it.
Plus, I like the idea of a device that is useable with any guitar and I am rather fond
of my Seymour Duncan pickups just the way they are.
I've owned 3 Ebows in 26 years, a chrome one, a black one and a grey one.
My chrome one died about 5 years ago (to give you an idea of how long
those things can last). It broke because it got knocked off the top of my
speaker stack just once too often onto a concrete garage floor. Once
broken they can't be repaired -- they're filled and sealed with epoxy.
I sometimes use the 2 Ebows together to generate 2 bowed notes at a
time. One is usually just a drone, but if you are careful (and keep it simple)
you can play 2 semi-independent lines on 2 strings with 2 Ebows
at the same time.
Cheers,
tEd ® kiLLiAn
"Different is not always better, but better is always different"
http://www.pfmentum.com/flux.html
http://www.CDbaby.com/cd/tedkillian
http://www.guitar9.com/fluxaeterna.html
http://www.garageband.com/artist/ArsOcarina
http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2845073
http://www.netmusic.com/web/album.aspx?a_id=CBNM_17314
http://www.indiejazz.com/ProductDetailsView.aspx?ProductID=193
http://www.loopers-delight.com/cgi-bin/profiles.cgi?step=view_profile&id=121197000042
Ted Killian's "Flux Aeterna" is also available at: Apple iTunes,
BuyMusic, Rhapsody, MusicMatch, MusicNet, DiscLogic, Napster,
AudioLunchbox, Lindows, QTRnote, Music4Cents, Etherstream,
RuleRadio, EMEPE3, Sony Connect, CatchMusic, Puretracks,
and Viztas. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Blah, blah, blah. So???
On Feb 16, 2006, at 7:53 AM, jj 179 wrote:
Not sure if anybody else had this experience, but a coupla years ago I went out and bought a Fernandes Sustainer. I had been using an e-bow for years and had heard wonderful stories about the Sustainer.
It was an extreme disappointment. The guitar itself was incredibly cheaply built. The Sustain didn't work very effectively at all - certainly **not at all** like an e-bow. I could only get the faintest of feedback and it sounded lousy.
I'm sticking to my e-bow.
just my 2 cents.
At 02:40 AM 2/15/2006, David wrote:
There are two types of Sustainiac. The Electro-acoustic one that
clamps to the headstock:
http://www.sustainiac.com/model-b.htm
which is the one I use and which can be moved from guitar to guitar
(and even works on electro-acoustics) and the 'Stealth' which is the
'Guitar Pickup Working Backwards' variety:
http://www.sustainiac.com/stealth.htm
and which comes in Fender and Gibson versions.
The Fernandes Sustainer is a version of the latter, though I'm not
sure exactly when or how the development 'forked'.
the electro-acoustic and electro-magnetic versions sound and act
rather differently, so it's not a simple matter to choose between
flavour of effect and convenience & tidiness of installation.
What is the difference in the flavour of effect?
Thanks,
Kevin
The Nettles: Progressive and Exciting Celtic Music
www.TheNettles.com
