How can I get better sustain?

[GIANTRobOT42O]

Is that you Stew?

[damian]

Quiting smoking will always improve sustain.

[cookieman15061]

So G I'm confused are you Jackson Brown or Darius Rucker?

[Silenced Fred]

Well, unless you top wrap, you will never be able to get sustain OR slash tone.

 

This thread is getting good

[NeoConMan]

Well, unless you top wrap, you will never be able to get sustain OR slash tone.

And string it with 13's.

[Smoke]

Quiting smoking will always improve sustain.

 

Say what now ? nah nah just get you some guitar viagra. It is called a compressor.

[Smoke]

So G I'm confused are you Jackson Brown or Darius Rucker?

 

Jack Drucker, credit card and diesel thief at your service. Them trusses heavy !

[milod]

Okay, this may be a dumb question but...

 

I made the suggestion of using a volume pedal. Steel guitar players have used 'em as long as the instrument existed. Back in my "wild rocker" days, it worked exceptionally well not only to increase sustain for ages, but also to give the player infinite options on attack and decay.

 

What is it about the current rock culture that doesn't seem to take 'em seriously?

 

I've known lotza rock and country pickers who have used them and/or master volume dials (E.g., Roy Buchanan) for the purpose. Am I missing something here?

 

m

[Smoke]

No you got it Milod. I think there are a few schools of thought on sustain. One is that the guitar itself should be setup or built or modified in such a way as to give supperior sustain. Well that is nice but we are dealing with electric guitars that are not limited in this day to just plugging into an amp and hoping for a good sound.

As you stated the volume pedal was quite the thing to utilize for a longer note. You just set your amp and guitar to play at a lower volume in general but when needed you could roll on the pedal as the note decayed thus extending it in the context of your normal parameters.

[Smoke]

Now todays technology is so advanced that I can lay down some notes play on top of that..........have that play while I go out for a smoke......come back and play on top of that into an infinite cascading loop of what turns into a morass.

 

Sustain......well first practice your vibrato and bending.

[NeoConMan]

I was always curious about a volume pedal with electric guitar, and wondered why nobody used them.

Asked some super smart guys at a few guitar shops years ago (when pedals galore was all the rage) and they scoffed.

 

"Pfffftt!!! Don't need it."

 

Okay...

 

Later on I was looking at them in Musician's Friend (the MFers) and found only a few to select from.

Prices were scary too.

 

Decades later, I still wonder 'what if' now and then when I see threads like this one.

[Smoke]

It is like this, if you were to play with your guitar knob volume rolled back to 5 all the time, when you needed that little bit of juice you got it right there. With the volume pedal it is the same thing except you can have both hand engaged while you use your foot to roll up the power. The pedal is not a boost or overdrive and requires you to get your sound without everything on ten.

[milod]

Hey, I've got nothing at all against using what used to be considered studio effects in performance. Nothing at all.

 

In fact, my opinion is that increasing numbers of musicians will be running through a "laptop" computer of some sort with various pre-programmed parameters, and then punching the computer output into a PA. Forget amps, forget stomp boxes. Just buy software and software plug-ins and a decent PA. Saves a lotta weight. Also saves costs that not everybody wants you to save. <grin>

 

I've seen a lot of that sorta thing already.

 

My "school" accepts that quite easily - but I still like personal control too much to give it all to the "box." That brings back the volume pedal and/or a master volume.

 

BTW, folks like Buchanan could pick and run the master volume simultaneously. I played with a country lede picker who did it all the time on a Jazzmaster. Close your eyes and it was a pedal steel.

 

Gibbie-style guitars tend not to have an accessible master volume. It's a lack of a feature I criticize.

 

Neo: Look also at the often less expensive volume pedals for electric keyboards. At least they used to be less expensive. Also less well made 'cuz the player usually was sitting rather than standing and was less likely to put so many foot-pounds of pressure on it.

 

m

[jaxson50]

Milrod

I use a volume pedal and it really comes in handy, a loop helps a lot, and use one of these;

http://motion-sound.com/product?name=srv-212

[milod]

Whooooeeeee...

 

Yup. Reminds me of my olden days when I had a Fender version of a Leslie 'stedda the Boss Leslie emulator. Great sound but... Sheesh, I'm too old and tired to haul the damned thing and a similar size/weight tube amp as I did at 30-35 when I dumped the Leslie. Still have the big amp, though.

 

m

[jaxson50]

Milod'

Yea, those Leslie and it's Fender counter part were very heavy. I have a friend who plays slide,(pedal steel) he uses a old Music Man tube head to drive one of the Motion Sound boxes with a reverb tank and a loop. Sometimes you would swear he is playing a organ.

[Mr. Natural]

"Milrod"?

[milod]

Hey, I've had my name written in far worse ways. <grin>

 

Actually I'm pretty happy with my Boss Leslie emulator for pretty decent "B3" sorta sounds. And it weights a whole lot less than any rotating speaker except for an old "Maestro" brand unit I saw some 35 or so years ago that was about the size of a hat box.

 

m

[jaxson50]

"Milrod"?

Not only am I dyslexic, I am also persistent...It's a curse..

[LarryUK]

Try using a double pot volume pedal to switch between amps. Clean to dirty in a smooth motion. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.