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Re: How an Ebow works..



Yes, nice explanation!

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 3:44 PM, Charles Zwicky <cazwicky@earthlink.net> 
wrote:
> I've seen a lot of interesting misconceptions about how the ebow works 
> and
> how "best" to use it since it was introduced in the late 1970s...
>
> Here's my simple explanation:
>
> What an Ebow consists of:
>
> The Ebow is a very simple device consisting of a pickup, an amplifier 
> and an
> output coil.  The pickup is essentially the same as an electric guitar
> pickup, it uses a coil of wire and a magnetic pole piece.  The only
> difference is that the coil is wound on a single small round bobbin and
> designed only to pick up the vibration of a single string.
>
> The pickup is connected to a very small amplifier which in turn drives 
> the
> output coil.  The amplifier is not very powerful and is easily driven 
> into
> square wave clipping, which is plainly audible in an electric instrument
> when the excitation coil is positioned above the instrument's own pickup.
>
> The pickup coil and output coil are positions at opposite ends of the
> "string channel" along the bottom surface of the Ebow's body.
>
> How an Ebow works:
>
> The pickup in the Ebow operates exactly the same as the pickup in every
> ordinary electric guitar: The string vibrating in close proximity to the
> pickup causes fluxuations  in the permanent magnetic field around the
> pickup's coil.
>
> These fluxuations  in the magnetic field induce a voltage into the coil.
> This voltage is amplified and sent to the output coil, which operates in
> reverse of the pickup: The voltage sent to the output coil by the 
> amplifier
> generates a changing magnetic field which excites the string.
> Since the signal feeding the pickup and produced at the output are from 
> the
> same string a feedback loop is created, allowing the string to ring
> indefinitely.
>
> An Ebow will work on any vibrating magnetic object which is sensitive 
> enough
> to be driven by the relatively weak excitation signal.
>
> I hope that this clarifies a few things and opens the possibilities for 
> all
> you loopers..
>
> -Chuck Zwicky
>
>
>
> --
>
> ...
> http://www.zmix.net
>
> http://www.esession.com/ChuckZwicky
>
> http://albumcredits.com/zmix
>